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06-09-2006, 10:23 PM | #1 |
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Matter of choice
Hello everyone! This is my first thread start-up! Here's the topic: When the Fellowship stood before Lady Galadriel for the first time, each member felt "that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear that lay ahead, and something that he greatly desired." What do you think is the significance of this choice?
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06-10-2006, 01:12 AM | #2 | ||
Maundering Mage
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,648
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Sorry for the long quote
I think we need to establish this before it's discussed at any real length because many of the answers are in the books.
Quote:
I believe it can be inferred from the following quote that all save Boromir passed the test. Quote:
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“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” |
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06-10-2006, 08:57 PM | #3 | |||
Laconic Loreman
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morm, excellent as usual. Now what Galadriel offered to Boromir we can't be sure about, because we aren't told. And certainly after Lorien a change went through Boromir. Prior to this, beside what happens at the Council Boromir had shown no pull towards the Ring. However, after Lorien we can tell it's affecting him, he's showing signs of nervousness (biting his nails) and he's questioning Frodo.
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We later find out that Galadriel has also desired the Ring for a long time. And what's interesting is Boromir calls it "a test." Tolkien has referred to "test/trial" as when one has an oppurtunity of taking the Ring, do they are don't they. Galadriel "passed the test." Quote:
Quote:
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Fenris Penguin
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06-10-2006, 09:49 PM | #4 |
Maundering Mage
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,648
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Could it be Tolkien trying to draw an analogy to Abraham and Isaac?
Can you sacrifice that which you want most?
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“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” |
06-11-2006, 06:32 AM | #5 | |
Itinerant Songster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
Posts: 7,066
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Quote:
Its significance? No less than the success or failure of the mission. The implication seems to be that Galadriel is the one doing the tempting, but the notion of temptation comes from Boromir, by which he says more about himself than about Galadriel. Aragorn, not Boromir, speaks most truthfully and insightfully about Galadriel. She has not yet passed the test herself, but that does not make her a temptress. It seems to me that she is practicing the art of Osanwë, reading their thoughts and hearts and motives, and the reading thereof necessitates their awareness of what is in their hearts. I would suppose that she is aware of this "by-product", as it were; all the better for them to be aware of their own potential failings. To have revealed to oneself the (perhaps ugly) truth about oneself is not the same as being tempted. In Boromir's case, he was unable to resist the temptation that was already in his heart, and his nailbiting is because he is now aware of that which was already there, as his owrds in the Council of Elrond show. |
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06-11-2006, 08:52 AM | #6 | ||
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: May 2003
Location: The Party Tree
Posts: 1,042
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Quote:
The choice to stay with the quest or go back to that desire became hard for Sam when shown of its destruction. Sam was ready to just fly back right then and there. It was Galadriel who reminded him that to do so was to mean leaving Frodo. And Sam broke down. *I apologize for no quotes, my books are still packed, if anyone wishes to post them feel free*
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Holby is an actual flesh-and-blood person, right? Not, say a sock-puppet of Nilp’s, by any chance? ~Nerwen, WWCIII |
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