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Ardamírë
Doriath
Apr 23, 7:44pm
Post #2 of 8
(122 views)
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"Behold! the hope of Elvenland,
the fire of Fëanor, Light of Morn
before the sun and moon were born,
thus out of bondage came at last,
from iron to mortal hand it passed." -The Lay of Leithian
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Apr 24, 2:07am
Post #4 of 8
(107 views)
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Well done on getting published again! 
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo
My LOTR fan-fiction
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath
Apr 24, 4:03am
Post #5 of 8
(101 views)
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The discussion we had here was very helpful in focusing my thoughts, though they ended up going in a different direction.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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CuriousG
Gondolin
Tue, 8:22pm
Post #6 of 8
(14 views)
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From "soaring into the sky to meet absent husband with joy" to...Aldarion and Erendis??
[In reply to]
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Aldarion and Erendis was all I could think of when reading this passage from your paper:
However, in his biography, Carpenter also documents some of the ebbs and flows of their relationship. He describes Edith as being happiest when they lived a quieter life when Tolkien was teaching in Leeds, and less so when they returned to Oxford, while Tolkien himself flourished as an academic and author, and with his budding friendships with C.S. Lewis and the Inklings. Carpenter asserts that "Edith began to feel that she was being ignored by Ronald” and that while he "was very loving and considerate to her [..] she could see that one side of him only came alive when he was in the company of men of his own kind.”
In the case of Aldarion, I don't recall him having a best friend like CS Lewis, just that he felt most alive when he was at sea, all the sailing, exploring, adventuring in the company of men, while Erendis was left at home to raise their daughter and growing more bitter with every passing day. It's further kind of interesting in that creative people are notoriously challenging to live with (and yes, there are of course compensating factors), but Aldarion never struck me as creative, more that he was 1) restless and 2) needed foreign and physical travel to get in touch with his soul. But he's not painting, writing, sculpting, etc, and not palling around with other creatives like the Inklings.
Anyone else struck the same way, or have a different reaction?
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath
Tue, 8:54pm
Post #7 of 8
(10 views)
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... is that the love of Aldarion and Erendis, if ever truly existed and was not merely a case of mutual infatuations, was unable to survive their separations and eventually devolved into genuine hostility. In contrast, it was Elwing's genuine love and willing sacrifice that allowed Eärendil to become the guiding light that was his destiny. Just as (arguably) it was Edith's enduring love and sacrifice that allowed Tolkien to become the great artist that we know and love.
True love endures, which is why “the spiral light of Venus, rising first and shining best" is a sign that there is light and beauty that is ever beyond the shadow's reach.
Thanks for taking the time to read the paper!
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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CuriousG
Gondolin
Tue, 11:13pm
Post #8 of 8
(10 views)
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Showing both sides of the same relationship coin?
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Aldarion and Erendis isn't my favorite story to re-read because it is such a downer, even though it's well-written and an interesting counterpoint to the many near-perfect romances in the legendarium, so I can't remember if their honeymoon period was just that, or if they ever had a real foundation of mutual love, or more of an obligation to love each other. I just remember an inexorable downward spiral.
So, to mesh art and real life, I wonder if Tolkien was taking two aspects of real-life relationships: 1) the lingering resentments that can happen (A&E), and also the transcendent experiences where you see the best in the other person and feel like they've brought out the best in you (Earendil and Elwing), and he took both tales and followed them to their conclusion: Elwing soaring, Erendis spiraling downward? That's what I think in accord with your statement here:
The passages about Elwing and Eärendil are not autobiographical per se, but they are strikingly depicted because an author's own life tends to be the one most available for close observation, and their own emotions are usually the easiest to mine, even (or perhaps particularly) when it is done without the author's own conscious volition.
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