a sad literary fate - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-21-2002, 02:56 AM

Ladies and gentlehobbits! (drumroll) Please allow me to direct your attention to the most sadly neglected individual in the Lord of the Rings!
You think it must be a woman? True, true, but compared to this character, Arwen is a fully fleshed-out heroine, with a depth of feelings, described in detail.
This poor woman is not even granted the dignity of a name! She speaks not a word; her only reason for existing is to give her companion someone to speak to. She has only a second-hand identity. I speak, of course, of Ioreth's kinswoman, a country cousin who serves as a backdrop for Ioreth's monologue in RotK.
It is time we honour this worthy woman, for without her we would not have a wonderfully comic, almost Shakespearian moment in a largely serious book. Let's hear it for Ioreth's kinswoman!

01-21-2002, 02:56 AM	#1
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	a sad literary fate Ladies and gentlehobbits! (drumroll) Please allow me to direct your attention to the most sadly neglected individual in the Lord of the Rings! You think it must be a woman? True, true, but compared to this character, Arwen is a fully fleshed-out heroine, with a depth of feelings, described in detail. This poor woman is not even granted the dignity of a name! She speaks not a word; her only reason for existing is to give her companion someone to speak to. She has only a second-hand identity. I speak, of course, of Ioreth's kinswoman, a country cousin who serves as a backdrop for Ioreth's monologue in RotK. It is time we honour this worthy woman, for without her we would not have a wonderfully comic, almost Shakespearian moment in a largely serious book. Let's hear it for Ioreth's kinswoman! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'