Oh my goodness. I am too late! With no time to read all posts! Aaahh!
So please allow me to post, though I might have been repeating some points already...uh...pointed out.
The Fellowship's meeting with Galadriel and Celeborn begins with great gates that Haldir knocks on. And they opened soundlessly...though Frodo could not see a sign of any guards. Looking ahead (I'm sorry, Esty!) we'll encounter two more places with "automatic" gates: Meduseld in Rohan and the Citadel of Gondor. So what's with these gates? Are they a technology of the Elves that were somehow passed on to Men? Or are they merely typical of royal dwellings?
Walking on, we see an interesting structure of the dwelling...
Quote:
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...there stood the mightiest of all the trees...
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Is this in some way alike to the tree-house the shipwrecked family built in
The Swiss Family Robinson? Anyway, we see that the dwelling is so closely-linked to nature, as if they coexist.
The first impression I had of Galadriel and Celeborn was that they were intimidating. They were tall, grave, and beautiful, and considered among the Wise. Galadriel had golden hair, being of the house of Finarfin. Celeborn had silver hair, being of the house of Thingol. Gold and silver...wait. Any relation to the Two Trees of Valinor?
One of the things I had overlooked when I first read the chapter but eventually stood out when I read it again was the blossoming friendship between Legolas and Gimli. It might seem pretty insignificant, but these are Elf and Dwarf we are talking about. I believe that Galadriel is somehow "to blame" for this. She showed sincere kindness and concern for the Dwarf, which made the Dwarf love her (for which I wouldn't blame him). Legolas seemed to have followed her example, and started treating him a little more decently, much to the Fellowship's wonder.
Okay, I'm off to reading the thread.