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Old 10-22-2004, 02:37 PM   #35
Aiwendil
Late Istar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,224
Aiwendil is a guest at the Prancing Pony.Aiwendil is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
Interesting thoughts, Davem.

At the risk of sounding boorish and mundane, though, I must say that I think "perilous" can be understood in a more obvious way as well - that is, there is the simple danger of becoming too enamored of Lorien, as of most good and pleasing things. Time passes in Lorien much as it does "when you're having fun". The realization by Sam of the time discrepancy on leaving Lorien reminds me of the feeling I get when I half-wake, still overcome with sleep, thinking that it's the middle of the night, only to discover that my alarm didn't go off and I'm late for class.

This is perhaps simply a more mundane expression of what you said. Coming into contact with the Elves (here as elsewhere in the Legendarium) results in enchantment and then longing - longing which cannot be fulfilled.

One minor quibble, though:
Quote:
Of course, at the end, the Elven world will fade, its links with this reality of ours finally severed forever - so he is increasingly 'torn in two', but unlike Sam, who has chosen our reality, & whose choice will require him to let the elven world pass away, Frodo must go whither the Elves go.
I'm not so sure about Sam having "chosen our reality" or letting "the elven world pass away". The suggestion is certainly there that one day he will follow Frodo. Before the epilogue was discarded, the novel ended with:

Quote:
They went in, and Sam shut the door. But even as he did so, he heard suddenly, deep and unstilled, the sigh and murmur of the Sea upon the shores of Middle-earth.
Now, I know that the epilogue was discarded - but as far as I can tell the motivation for getting rid of it had nothing to do with Sam's spiritual character.
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