The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Tolkien- For the Love of Eowyn!

Lyta_Underhill · 08-08-2004, 07:13 PM

Indeed, I was intrigued by the story of Aldarion and Erendis, and felt it to be one of the greater arguments for Tolkien's ability to closely draw characters (for anyone who would say his characterizations were two-dimensional). The relationship begins with the promise of its own decay, and perhaps the most tragic part of it is the corruption of Ancalime's worldview and the beginning of the Numenoreans' separation from the rest of the world. Could one have argued that the "intermarriage" between one of Elros' line and one of the lesser (non-Elven ancestry) lines of the Edain was an underlying cause for the disparity in the worldview of these two? It seemed to be an undercurrent and whispered among some, but, in reality, neither Aldarion nor Erendis could overcome their personal agendas and personal realities. They didn't mesh, and they didn't wish to give up anything in order to mesh. Somehow, I can't help thinking that Aldarion could have explained his doings a little better, while Erendis could have made an effort to meet her husband halfway. And the greatest sin of all of them was Erendis' use of Ancalime as a living instrument of psychological revenge against Aldarion and all he stood for.

I have a hard time thinking of Erendis as a feminist; rather I think of her as tragically blinded and separate, afflicted with a sickness that, unlike Eowyn's, was not cured. The flavor is more modern (if dysfunctional can be said to be modern), the characterizations much more closely drawn, less epic, and yet a keen window into the seeds of the downfall of Numenor. Thanks, davem and H-I for bringing up this tidbit from the UT!

Cheers!
Lyta

08-08-2004, 07:13 PM	#69
Lyta_Underhill Haunted Halfling Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: an uncounted length of steps--floating between air molecules Posts: 844	Indeed, I was intrigued by the story of Aldarion and Erendis, and felt it to be one of the greater arguments for Tolkien's ability to closely draw characters (for anyone who would say his characterizations were two-dimensional). The relationship begins with the promise of its own decay, and perhaps the most tragic part of it is the corruption of Ancalime's worldview and the beginning of the Numenoreans' separation from the rest of the world. Could one have argued that the "intermarriage" between one of Elros' line and one of the lesser (non-Elven ancestry) lines of the Edain was an underlying cause for the disparity in the worldview of these two? It seemed to be an undercurrent and whispered among some, but, in reality, neither Aldarion nor Erendis could overcome their personal agendas and personal realities. They didn't mesh, and they didn't wish to give up anything in order to mesh. Somehow, I can't help thinking that Aldarion could have explained his doings a little better, while Erendis could have made an effort to meet her husband halfway. And the greatest sin of all of them was Erendis' use of Ancalime as a living instrument of psychological revenge against Aldarion and all he stood for. I have a hard time thinking of Erendis as a feminist; rather I think of her as tragically blinded and separate, afflicted with a sickness that, unlike Eowyn's, was not cured. The flavor is more modern (if dysfunctional can be said to be modern), the characterizations much more closely drawn, less epic, and yet a keen window into the seeds of the downfall of Numenor. Thanks, davem and H-I for bringing up this tidbit from the UT! Cheers! Lyta __________________ “…she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.”