1)Do you think Tolkien used a different characterization of Elves in The Hobbit
and was then forced to reconcile the two views? Is Tolkien trying to
bridge these depictions when he has Sam say "Some like kings, terrible and
splendid; and some as merry as children"?
A. As others have answered, there have always been different kinds of
Elves; we just tend to meet the royal ones in both LotR and The Silmarillion.
2)So there are elves here and elves there? How many elves are there in
Rivendell anyway?
A. Since Tolkien refers to Rivendell as a "house," not a city, I always
imagined less than 100 Elves. He also drew it as a house in his picture
of Rivendell (see again the link below).
At the time of the Last Alliance Rivendell must have been a very different
place, a fortified city rather than a homely house. But at the time of
LotR most of the Elves had departed, with only a handful of High Elves
remaining even in Rivendell.
3) We meet Arwen Undomiel for the first time in this chapter.
Tolkien is relatively subtle in drawing the relationship between Arwen and
Aragorn (and especially so for a very young person reading the book for the
first time.) Did you figure out instantly that this was Aragorn’s
“girlfriend”? It took me until the banner is delivered to really get the
idea: a huge embroidery project for someone else always involves love of
some sort ;-) I like that Tolkien's very short description emphasizes her
intelligence and wisdom as well as her beauty.
A. I don't remember what I thought of Arwen when I first read this at age
nine; I probably was glad that there weren't many "mushy parts" to the
tale! Note that Sam's romance with Rosie is similarly subtle. When
we do have female characters in Galadriel and Eowyn it is because they are
playing male games, and they both repent of it later. I am afraid Tolkien
was very old-fashioned in this respect.
4) Did you form definite ideas about the appearance of Glorfindel, Arwen, and
Elrond? Feel free to share. Are there any illustrators’ drawings
that you favor ? (Please, do not post THAT picture of Elrond—you know of what I
speak.) Did the movie change your mind? The movie Arwen has
replaced my imaginings but Elrond remains firmly nebulous for me.
A. I have no definite visions in my mind, and the movie did not, in my
case, supply such visions. Tolkien's women are difficult to depict,
because they must be infinitely alluring and infinitely chaste at the same
time. Any image I can think of is either too alluring or too
chaste! Somehow I need to combine the body and smile of Anna Kournikova
or an athletic swimsuit model, the personality of a mature actress who has a
career beyond 40 like Katherine Hepburn or Meryl Streep or Susanne Sarandon,
and the virtue of one of Raphael's Madonnas. I guess I'm just a typical
man, demanding the
impossible.
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"‘I think he was a silly little man,' said Councillor Tompkins. ‘Worthless, in fact; no use to Society at all.'
"‘Oh, I don't know,' said Atkins, who was nobody of importance, just a schoolmaster. ‘I am not so sure: it depends on what you mean by use .'
"‘No practical or economic use,' said Tompkins. . . .
. . .
"‘It is proving very useful indeed,' said the Second Voice. ‘As a holiday, and a refreshment. It is splendid for convalescence; and not only for that, for many it is the best introduction to the Mountains. It works wonders in some cases. I am sending more and more there. They seldom have to come back.'"
