MithLuin
Mariner
Alliance: House of Finrod Felagund
Last Visited: 24 Aug 2010
Joined: 16 Oct 1999
Posts: 8140
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:12 pm |
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Hello,
Melesta
!
I think that Aredhel is a bit head-strong, yes. It is funny, Tolkien writes some very willful female characters... I would say that Aredhel has something in common with Eowyn and Haleth, and perhaps Galadriel or even Luthien. Aredhel and Galadriel are cousins, of course, but I never got the impression that they were friends, or very close. What they have in common is that they are the only daughters among brothers. (Assuming I remember the family trees correctly!)
I think that Aredhel's experience is distinct from these other women, though. Luthien is headstrong only in that she will defy anyone who tries to seperate her from Beren. So, she is only obstinate about that one thing, and her motive is pure love. So, nothing 'bad' ever comes of it. (It occurs to me that perhaps you have not finished the Silmarillion yet? I don't want to spoil anything for you!) Haleth has assumed the responsibilities of leadership of her people. Her wilfulness is for them. If she makes some unwise decisions...this is just part of her own limitations.
Eowyn is getting a bit closer to Aredhel. She is definately restless to leave the saftey of home, and she deliberately disobeys her uncle the King to fulfill her own dreams (or out of desperation since she has lost Aragorn - read it as you will). For Eowyn, the results are nearly-disastrous, but turn out to be very good in the end.
I think that Aredhel pays the harshest price for her brashness. She is basically forced into marriage with an elf who is
far
below her station. I would say that (part of) the reason for this is that her pride was not tempered by love. Luthien loved Beren, Haleth loved her father and brother, and Eowyn loved her uncle (and Aragorn, after a fashion), so their headstrong actions were 'forgivable', or able to be woven into a happy-ending story. Aredhel seems very cold, by contrast. No suitors in Gondolin are mentioned. Does she love anyone beyond herself? Does she have any 'good' motive for disobeying Turgon? And so, she has to learn the lesson of humility, and that is one of the few goods that comes out of her rash choice. A very sad story, really. Aredhel's life could have turned out much differently (on a personal level), and the history of Gondolin would have been altered.
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Aramel
Ranger of the North
Alliance: House of Feanor
Last Visited: 22 Aug 2006
Joined: 11 Jul 2003
Posts: 1587
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Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:12 am |
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Quote:
Does she have any 'good' motive for disobeying Turgon? And so, she has to learn the lesson of humility
*raises eyebrows* I don't think that
humility
is something the Noldor in general possess. Look at Feanor. Look at his sons. Look at Turgon, who refused Ulmo's call. Is that humble? don't think so. And if you ask whether she has a good motive for disobeying Turgon... Let's look at it this way. She is not bound to obey Turgon. As she herself said, "I am your sister, and not your servant". Nor was she his daughter. She happens to live in a city where Turgon is king, and might have to listen to him on that account, but when she's leaving, she does not owe Turgon any obedience. "
Beyond your bounds
I will go as seems good to me." Turgon is in control while she's in Gondolin. Once she leaves, she can do what she wants.
She's not asking him to give her an escort, but he does so anyway. Since they're her escorts, and not her jailers, she gets to say where she wants to go. Thingol won't let her inside Doriath, so she takes the other road. She is "fearless and hardy of heart", a definitely spunky girl  . I must say I infinitely prefer her over Arwen, who sits at home doing embroidery all day long, even if it
is
embroidering a banner. So she takes that road. She goes to Himlad, stays for a while, and leaves again, gets lost in Nan Elmoth and marries Eol.
I ask you: is getting married "unforgivable"? And you say that Gondolin's history would have been changed. Well, Aredhel didn't walk up to Morgoth and say, "Gondolin is over there". Her son did, and Hurin already gave away the general position. The only thing you can blame Aredhel for is for having a son, which to me is pretty silly. Besides, if Maeglin was never born, and Aredhel had never left Gondolin, Morgoth would still have found Gondolin sooner or later via Hurin's shout.
As for the suitor problem: well, if she doesn't love them, she doesn't love them. She was good friends with the Sons of Feanor, but she didn't fall in love. Does not falling in love mean that she is "cold"? I don't think so. There are plenty of people who never fall in love and get married. Just because they don't doesn't mean they only care about themselves. Obviously, she loved her son, since she was willing to die for him. And she probably had some sort of feeling for Eol, considering she pleaded for him. I mean, how much nicer can you get, than to plead mercy for your own murderer, eh?
I leave you to think on it.
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MithLuin
Mariner
Alliance: House of Finrod Felagund
Last Visited: 24 Aug 2010
Joined: 16 Oct 1999
Posts: 8140
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Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 7:32 am |
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*raises eyebrows* I don't think that humility is something the Noldor in general possess.
Well, naturally, and this is always getting them into trouble. I guess I was looking at this as, is what happened to Aredhel a good thing? I'd say no - she seems to have the most miserable marriage of anyone in the Silmarillion, with the possible exception of Brodda's wife. (Just my opinion there, I guess.) So, what led to these lousy circumstances? Most likely her pride, as well as her 'spunk', as
Aramel
put it. I will concede that she was merely willful, and not strictly disobedient (since, as you point out, she was not bound to obey her brother). I do agree that she loved her son, and, in some way, Eol. But I also think that Eol seriously humiliated her. I am not 'blaming' her for her son's actions, merely pointing out that her actions
do
have serious consequences, even if these consequences were not her fault.
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-Rómestámo-
Ranger of the North
Alliance: default
Last Visited: 15 Oct 2004
Joined: 06 Mar 2002
Posts: 2947
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Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:14 am |
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Quote:
MithLuin
: I think that Aredhel pays the harshest price for her brashness. She is basically forced into marriage with an elf who is
far
below her station.
*raises eyebrows as well* 
Since when is Eöl <far below her station> ?
Aredhel is, admittedly, a Princess of the Noldor, a descendant of Finwë. But Eöl is (in the published
The Silmarillion
), a high lord of the Teleri and kin to Elwë and Olwë.
Quote:
But now the trees of Nan Elmoth were the tallest and darkest in all Beleriand, and there the sun never came; and there Eöl dwelt, who was named the Dark Elf. Of old
he was of
the kin of Thingol
, but he was restless and ill at ease in Doriath, and when the Girdle of Melian was set about the Forest of Region where he dwelt he fled thence to Nan Elmoth. [...] But
Eöl, though stooped by his smithwork, was no Dwarf, but a tall
Elf of a high kin of the Teleri
, noble though grim of face; and his eyes could see deep into shadows and dark places.
'Of Maeglin',
The Silmarillion
.
Thus he is of Telerin 'royalty' and of similar status, so is a perfectly 'suitable' match (similar to Galadriel and Celeborn).
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Arvegil
Rider of the Mark
Alliance: House of Gilgalad
Last Visited: 16 Dec 2009
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 933
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Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:48 am |
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Romestamo might have a point: Eol is both a noble and also has that "bad boy" factor as well. Thus, he is of the same social class and appeals to the rebel element; could be a very appropriate match.
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MithLuin
Mariner
Alliance: House of Finrod Felagund
Last Visited: 24 Aug 2010
Joined: 16 Oct 1999
Posts: 8140
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Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:28 pm |
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Oops, and here I thought that being termed 'the Dark Elf' made him Avari. I really must remember to check the sources . . . The Sons of Feanor looked down on him, but then, they looked down on everyone, so that isn't saying much .
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Arvegil
Rider of the Mark
Alliance: House of Gilgalad
Last Visited: 16 Dec 2009
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 933
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-Rómestámo-
Ranger of the North
Alliance: default
Last Visited: 15 Oct 2004
Joined: 06 Mar 2002
Posts: 2947
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Arvegil
Rider of the Mark
Alliance: House of Gilgalad
Last Visited: 16 Dec 2009
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 933
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:34 am |
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Romestamo: this may be idle speculation, but: it seems like the Tatyarin origin might have been written to explain both Eol's skill and his loathing of the Noldor, but it creates even more problems than it solves (why would Thingol tolerate such a hostile presence; without Thingol's protection, would not the Sons of Feanor drive him away, etc.) The Sindarin origins of Eol seems more consistent with why Eol is allowed to remain as a psudeo-vassal of Thingol.
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