The Temptation (and Redemption) of Galadriel
Galadriel's temptation and her rejection of the Great Ring is one of the most quietly beautiful experiences in LOTR.
To understand the Redemption of Galadriel you have to understand her sin. She was one of the leaders in the rebellion of the Noldar against the Valar. From The Simarillion:
"...but Galadriel, the only woman of the Noldar to stand that day tall and valiant among the contending princes, was eager to be gone. No oath she swore, but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle-earth had kindled in her heart, she yearned to see the wide unguarded lands and to rule there a realm at her own will...."
"But even as the trumpet sang and Fëanor issued from the gates of Tirion a messenger came at last from manwë, saying 'Against the folly of Fëanor shall be set my counsel only. Go not forth! For the hour is evil, and your road leads to sorrow that ye do not foresee. No aid will the Valar lend you in this quest; but neither will they hinder you; for this ye shall know: as ye came hither freely, freely shall ye depart. But thou Fëanor Finwë's son, by thine oath art exiled. The lies of Melkor thou shalt unlearn in bitterness...."
But then the Noldor kill their kinsmen and steal their ships to rerurn to Middle-earth. After a storm kills many,they continue to the northern confines of the Guarded Realm:
"There they beheld suddenly a dark figure standing high upon a rock that looked down upon the shore....but all heard the curse that was uttered upon those that would not stay nor seek the doom and pardon of the Valar."
"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the house of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West into the uttermost East, and on all that follow them it shall be laid also..."
"Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow....And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken."
Then as difficulties increase, Fëanor abandons some of the Noldor to die, Galadriel among them, but the abandoned persevere:
"..and led by Fingolfn and his sons, and by Finrod and Galadriel, they dared to pass into the bitterest North; and finding no other way they endured the terror of the Helcaraxë and the cruel hills of ice. Few of the deeds of the Noldor thereafter surpassed that desperate crossing in hardihood or woe...."
That sets the stage for the scene in LOTR, "The Mirror of Galadriel," between Galadriel and Frodo. Galadriel is already keeper of Nenya, the Ring of Adamant and therefore has much power.
"...Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórein will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten."
...
"You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel," said Frodo. "I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me."
"...For many years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands..."
"And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!"
"She lifted up her hand and from the ring she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad."
"I pass the test," she said. "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."
[This message has been edited by Ratatosk (edited May 19, 2001).]
Galadriel's temptation and her rejection of the Great Ring is one of the most quietly beautiful experiences in LOTR.
To understand the Redemption of Galadriel you have to understand her sin. She was one of the leaders in the rebellion of the Noldar against the Valar. From The Simarillion:
"...but Galadriel, the only woman of the Noldar to stand that day tall and valiant among the contending princes, was eager to be gone. No oath she swore, but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle-earth had kindled in her heart, she yearned to see the wide unguarded lands and to rule there a realm at her own will...."
"But even as the trumpet sang and Fëanor issued from the gates of Tirion a messenger came at last from manwë, saying 'Against the folly of Fëanor shall be set my counsel only. Go not forth! For the hour is evil, and your road leads to sorrow that ye do not foresee. No aid will the Valar lend you in this quest; but neither will they hinder you; for this ye shall know: as ye came hither freely, freely shall ye depart. But thou Fëanor Finwë's son, by thine oath art exiled. The lies of Melkor thou shalt unlearn in bitterness...."
But then the Noldor kill their kinsmen and steal their ships to rerurn to Middle-earth. After a storm kills many,they continue to the northern confines of the Guarded Realm:
"There they beheld suddenly a dark figure standing high upon a rock that looked down upon the shore....but all heard the curse that was uttered upon those that would not stay nor seek the doom and pardon of the Valar."
"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the house of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West into the uttermost East, and on all that follow them it shall be laid also..."
"Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow....And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken."
Then as difficulties increase, Fëanor abandons some of the Noldor to die, Galadriel among them, but the abandoned persevere:
"..and led by Fingolfn and his sons, and by Finrod and Galadriel, they dared to pass into the bitterest North; and finding no other way they endured the terror of the Helcaraxë and the cruel hills of ice. Few of the deeds of the Noldor thereafter surpassed that desperate crossing in hardihood or woe...."
That sets the stage for the scene in LOTR, "The Mirror of Galadriel," between Galadriel and Frodo. Galadriel is already keeper of Nenya, the Ring of Adamant and therefore has much power.
"...Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórein will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten."
...
"You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel," said Frodo. "I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me."
"...For many years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands..."
"And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!"
"She lifted up her hand and from the ring she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad."
"I pass the test," she said. "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."
[This message has been edited by Ratatosk (edited May 19, 2001).]
