Galadriel and the Fellowship

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

I look back in reflection, and see something startling and even a bit unnerving. The Fellowship failed, it broke, because of one man's fall into corruption (and the possibility of the others doing so as well, as Frodo took into account). But would the Fellowship have remained the same had they followed Boromir's advice. Oh no, they could not take the ring anywhere near Minas Tirith, that was certain, but Boromir (and Gimli) did not want to go into Lothlorien. And for good reason, the powerful sorcoress of the Golden Woods would ensnare them. And that she did. Galadriel, you see, is directly responsible (in my opinion) for the breaking of the Fellowship. Had she not warned Frodo that "HE will try to take the ring," and had she not questioned Boromir's resolve in his own head, mimicking his conscience, would he have attacked Frodo. Or more or less, would Frodo have grown anxious, worried and ventured to travel off on his own? All may have turned out well, but Aragorn could have escorted Frodo to Orodruin, with or without the aid of Legolas and Gimli (who sought to fight with Boromir at Minas Tirith). Had Frodo not wandered off, and had Boromir stayed with the group at Parth Galen, and had they not spent the last few weeks questioning eachother's motives and intentions because Galadriel "freaked them out" I don't think there would have been a problem. It just goes to show that Galadriel did more harm than good (probably accidentally, but she scared the hell out of Frodo), and that Celeborn was the wiser of the two. Just thought I'd get that off my chest.

[maiden of the Shire]

Yes, it still would have been broken.
First of all, in the book Galadriel does not say anything to Frodo like 'HE will take the ring'.
Second, when the Fellowship was at the falls of Rauros and Frodo goes off on his own, he tries to decide what to do. Then Boromir comes up to him and asks if he could speak with Frodo to ease his mind. That is when Frodo, hearing Boromir's true intentions for the ring, realizes that the ring is taking over other members of the Fellowship, then he decides, before he and Boromir scuffle, he says something to the extent of 'I'm glad to hear you speak. My mind is clearer now.' Realizing that the Fellowship cannot aid him any longer. It was Frodo's choice to break the Fellowship. And a wise one at that, may I add.

I don't know if you've read the books or not, but if the Fellowship had not been saundered the quest of the ring would have completly failed, because Aragorn, being outside Mordor plays a key part in Frodo and Sam's journey.

Cheers!

[ January 13, 2003: Message edited by: maiden of the Shire ]

[ January 13, 2003: Message edited by: maiden of the Shire ]

[Nieninque]

Wow, couldn't have said it better myself (and welcome, too)... Boromir was too far gone. He would have tried to take the Ring regardless of what Galadriel said to him. See, there's another way he could have gone: he could have /not/ tried to steal the Ring because of her warning, but he didn't. He went right on ahead.

Also, without the aid Galadriel, Celeborn and their gifts, Frodo and Sam would never have destroyed the Ring, thus was the case with the lembas. The lembas gave them the renewed strength and hope they needed to fulfill the quest.

[Manardariel]

Not only with the lembas, but also with the phial, I might add. An another gift is important: Aragorn is given the Elessar, the later symblol of his kingship.

But for every member of the Fellowship, Lórien is an important expieriance.
Gimli learns to see more behind a person then their race, he also learns that it doesn´t mean anything if your races are actually enimies- you can still be friends. I think it was Galadriel who made the friendship with Legolas possible.
Sam and Frodo, a part from their gifts, found courage in Lórien. After Galadriels´s mirror, they both knew they had to go, or all that they were fighting for- The Shire- would b destroyed.
And Boromir. I think he profited the most out of Lórien. This may sound wierd, but it´s true. In Lórien, he noticed it was the ring he desired. Had he not, he might have followed Frodo into Mordor, causing an even worse dammage when he finally realized his wish.

I think you can´t -and shouldn´t- say that Galadriel destroyed the Fellowship. I think she put them on their paths again:
Aragorn, being king through giving him the Elfstone- I think this was a nice way of saying "Don´t go to Mordor with Frodo, we need you in the war"
Gimli&Legolas, she gave them the idea of being friends.
Sam&Frodo, reminding them of their quest, which lies in Mordor, not Minas Tirith.

[Gorwingel]

Yeah, All the gifts that Galadriel gave the fellowship were very useful in the quest. If they had not stopped a Lorien, they would not have made it far. Their stay gave them many things, the cloaks, the phial, the lembas (which was very important), Frodo and Sam would have died from starvation if they would not have had that, because just from the part about the stewed rabbit, they were having a very hard time in those bare regions of Middle Earth.
The breaking of the fellowship was a very good thing that happened if you look back on the story. [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

[Carrûn]

I believe it was essential for Aragorn not to follow Frodo into Mordor. By pursing Merry and Pippin he was able to aid in the defense of Rohan, then reveal himself to Sauron in the palantiar making him a bit nervous I guess (made him attack faster and look away from where the two hobbits were approaching), and then take the Paths of the Dead to prevent the corsairs from attacking Gondor.

[Malamute]

Sometimes foresight and wisdom is not what one wants to see.

I think Galadriel knew what perils were to befall the fellowship and gave each member exactly what he(all members of Fellowship being male, thats another thread) needed to prevail over their ultimate test/task/burden.

I dont think she was responsible for breaking up the fellowship as much as she was the voice of true neutral reality slapping them in the face. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] And being the person of such kind soul, she offered help to them in what way she knew she could. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

O yes, and please dont forget the rope.... without the rope frodo and sam would still be sitting at that first crevasse eating lembas and waiting for the invention of elevators... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] hehehe....

[Aratlithiel]

I've often wondered what might have happened if any of the other Fellowship members had gone with Frodo and Sam and I believe that the addition of any one of them would have resulted in failure. No one but Frodo (not even Aragorn) had the deep, personal awareness of what the Ring could do and the all-consuming desire to see it destroyed. And no one else had the fundamental love for him that Sam did. Sam made sure Frodo got to the Cracks of Doom not because it was the right thing to do or for the salvation of Middle-earth or any other reason other than that it was what Frodo wanted and therefore, Sam was going to see it done. Sam had blind faith in Frodo and pure love. If Frodo had a goal, Sam was going to help him accomplish it, regardless of what it was - pure and simple.

Any of the other members of the Fellowship would have eventually tried to stop Frodo as they discussed doing above Rauros - whether it be out of love or pity or any other motivation. They may have even tried to take the Ring from him (albeit only to relieve him of his burden) which would have driven him mad. Of any other member of the Fellowship besides Sam, who would have understood the complexities of the situation Frodo was in and who among them would have assisted him to his doom as Sam did? No one else believed in Frodo the way Sam did, therefore, Sam - and ONLY Sam - could have played this part in the Quest.

Besides, if any one else had come along, would Gollum have played the part he did? I think it more likely that Gollum would have been prevented from accompanying them in one way or another and so not been present at the very end.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Don't know if I've read the books? That's a very, very, very, very preposterous notion. But you bring a good argument to the bench. Things couldn't have worked out haden't she done what she did. Of course the gifts from Lorien, and the stay, and looking into the mirror all helped vastly, but I only refer to the little mental tricks. She put some of the less knowledgable members of the party on edge. I know a lot of other stuff essential to the defeat of Sauron happened afterwards, only because the Fellowship split, but I was really trying to emphasize her role in Boromir's rash choices. Had he he not questioned himself, he may not have even left the group (neither may Frodo have) and therefore, with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, or even Merry, Pippin or Sam, he may not have even dared to attempt to take it. Maybe those were his intentions, but they started only as ideas, and not long before.

As for Galadriel saying "HE will try to take the ring," it slipped my mind not being in the books, but she implied things to all of the Fellowship.