Quote:
Originally Posted by Huinesoron
And a quick comment on dwarves... my view, from the Appendices and the family trees, is that the dwarven path through life is incredibly ritualised. They have their first child at almost exactly 100 years, and 2-3 more at exactly 5-year gaps. Tolkien goes so far as to say you can spot a daughter by finding brothers 10 years apart in the records. The glimpse we had of the boys looked maybe 10 or younger, so yes, Elrond has managed to miss the most significant part of Durin's life: his courtship, marriage, and the birth of all his children.
And a dwarf would have known that. They clearly hung out long enough that Elrond should know his age, so he would have known the 5 years or so in which he would get married (if he was going to). He would have known that there would be children immediately afterwards, and roughly how many. To dwarvish eyes, Elrond seems to have deliberately skipped over all the personal parts of Durin's life, and then swanned in in his frilly tunic to ask for a helping hand. I'm not surprised he didn't want to talk to him! I think he only caved in when it became obvious that Elrond didn't actually know what he'd done.
hS
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That's why I really enjoyed the "elevator" conversation the most. They give us an immortal's perspective of the world ("what it's only been 20 years?") and a mortal's ("I know 20 years is a blink of an eye to you, but not to me and you can't come barging into my mountain demanding my attention,
friend.")
I hope that's the diversity they continue diving into. As well as, finding out why the Southlanders didn't like the Elves occupation. The Watchwarden said the land was a desolate wasteland when they first arrived and now it's a lush, growing valley. But the Southlanders joined Morgoth and still have "evil in their hearts." I don't think we've been given reasons they do not welcome the Elves other than they're just "bad people" for joining Morgoth.