[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

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Originally Posted by Ivriniel

Having said that, her realm was guarded by the equivalent (of sniffer dogs, both in the literal and metaphysical senses). They had bows, and were xenophobic to serious extremes. Binding the eyes of the Ringbearer's quest was a rather intrusive gesture, after first threatening their lives.

I don't know about that. Yes, Lorien wasn't the most welcoming place you could find. But that is to everybody, and by the nature of the place itself, not because of Galadriel specifically - and not without good reasons. She, on the other hand, (and Celeborn, of course), allowed the Fellowship so many freedoms that it's just ridiculous how much she trusts them without having seen them. Then why does she have to test them later? Because that's not a test for evil, but a test for loyalty. Its results do not affect their stay in Lothlorien.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

I'm not going to see Galadriel as blunted in perception to the extent that she wasn't looking, *very* closely at the Ringbearer's company to see who stank of corruption. She read how their miens responded to her probing Elfy eye. Her whole realm was in danger, and she'd faced Sauron before. She knows, first hand, how he works. And she knows, first hand, how people fall to evil and temptation. She, herself, was tempted by The Ring and knew how it weaved violation upon those it ensnared. Recall Bilbo's equivocation just on the East side of the Misty Mountains after he found the Ring and how Gandalf sensed the subtle change in Bilbo's character. We're talking about someone (Galadriel) tens of thousands of years old, who'd dwelt in Valinor, witnessed Morgoth's prevarication, and saw the Two Trees, and their fate. She'd fought in the wars for the Silmarils, had stared at Balrogs and Dragons. She knew that Sauron had a tower on Sirion in (FA) with a den of vampires, and knew how Sauron worked. He was an enslaver, an energy thief, an invader of the mind, a perverter and someone who possesses mortal souls. She had seen the early signs of perversion in many mortal men well before Boromir. As I noted, his very denial, to what he took as 'temptation' would have announced his human foibles to her, in a heartbeat. *That* he saw 'temptation' in Galadriel's gaze *was* the test that he set for himself and that he failed. To Galadriel, watching on, she would have seen a face clamp down, shut her out, and announce some kind of human pride to Galadriel. She wasn't trying to tempt him-but that's what he saw when he looked at her. These features would have been very revealing of Boromir to Galadriel, especially since she knew she wasn't 'tempting' him at all. In modern times, we'd call it a 'projective test'.

Yes, but. I don't think she was testing for signs of Saurnishness. That implies that all evil (or ungood) comes from Sauron. But it doesn't. I think that's part of what Aragorn tells Boromir - that evil doesn't come from external sorcery and whatnot, but it comes from within men. If she is looking for evil/ungood, she's looking for that - and yes, she does have a lot of experience with it - but not necessarily, or specifically, for Sauron. Secondly, I think that she's not trying to see how weak a person is, but rather how strong they are. She would not be judging them based on their temptation, but based on how faithful they are to the quest despite that temptation. Which is why Sam, who blushed and looked away because of the temptation, still appears to her incredibly faithful - because he truly did overcome his temptation - but Boromir, who even in his mind denies any dilemma, appears like trouble - not because he is more tempted, or more evil, but because he is less loyal and dedicated to the quest.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

She was aware, I suspect, of Boromir's peril, though what she meant, saw, appreciated and discerned, exactly, we'll never quite know.

We'll never know indeed.