[Gwaihir the Windlord]

I do not take that quote to be a confirmation that there was a ban on Galadriel's return. That she 'passed the test' does not mean neccessarily that the Valar were testing her, but, more probably, a moral test that she needed to take herself. At any rate, it is doubtful that she would have reacted to her passing of this test in such a mundane and museful way, if truly at last she had won the right to go back to Valinor in that moment. She did not ever seriously consider taking the Ring anyway; just pondered trivially over what could happen (as one does) -- however Frodo saw it. She was merely playing; it was not a serious test. Nevertheless the fact that her morality prevented her lust for power from taking the Ring was important, as it showed her, to either herself or the Valar, to be essentially 'good' and on the side of the West.

I believe that this issue is looked into very clearly in UT (unfortunately I don't have it handy; I'm in the middle of an operation to remove all five or so of my important Tolkien books from my bedroom bookshelf to the one near my PC, but unfortunately Unfinished Tales has not yet been shifted). Tolkien himself did not come to a conclusion on whether the ban on Galadriel existed, leaving it open -- thus we can not truly say which is correct with any certainty, any more than we can say whether Aragorn's Elessar was that forged in Gondolin. To prove that a ban on Galadriel was in place, beyond doubt, or even with small doubt, is impossible.

Two probable explanations were discussed in UT. It would appear that either, as Galadriel was 'the only remaining leading member of the Noldor's rebellion', she was sentenced to remain in Middle-Earth until the Valar relented (i.e. until she lost her pride and proved herself repentant), or her pride would not allow her to go back to beg forgiveness at the feet of the Valar, while she could still hold on against the tide in Middle-Earth. In the first explanation, her humbleness, abstainance from taking the Ring, and work against the vanquished Sauron caused the ban to be lifted, and in the second, her final letting go of pride and the realisation that she could not remain in Middle-Earth as Lady of Valinor any longer were what enabled her to move on.

It is also possible, I suppose, that the idea of a ban existed only in Galadriel's embittered mind.

Personally, I believe the second explanation to be the true one. It does not seem, from any evidence, that Galadriel was metaphorically begging to return West and that the Valar would not allow her to. In all senses she seems to be rebellious against them still, with the spirit that took her out of Valinor in the first place, and unwilling to go back to be humbled and to sue for their pardon -- again metaphorically, her neck would not bend. Rather, it is a self-realisation that appears to happen after the War of the Ring, or perhaps leading up to it while she watched the Dominion of Men rise around her, that her home is in the West and that there is nothing to be gained but further suffering by staying. For a while, she held out, but in the end could not stem the tide and returned.

Of course, there could have been a ban after all and with her keeping a stiff upper lip and making the best of life in exile, giving the semblance of her hanging on for the sake of pride. It is true, however, that she was a proud figure.

Lastly, there is not really any reason why while the rest of the Noldor could return, even those who had participated actively in the rebellion if not actually being a leader of it, she had to stay. Eonwe even entreated the las two sons of Feanor to go back with him; surely then he would have taken Galadriel. She was, after all, the daughter of Finarfin the repentant.

Ok that's my opinion anyway, hope you've got time to read it all

- Gwaihir

[ June 24, 2003: Message edited by: Gwaihir the Windlord ]