Ioreth

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

"May I give Ioreth a further mention. She is admittedly a fairly minor character but she gets a fairly raw deal, I think. She is seen as a somewhat ridiculous figure prattling away and self important, but I think that prattle is a habit of those who are seldom listened to. Remember that she is (apart from Eowyn) the only named woman in the city and the city is a warzone, so she is actually quite brave. It is reasonable to assume that the only family she has are the mentioned sisters. She represents another category - the women whose work and worth are unappreciated, in a society where unmarried and unmarriagiable women have little staus. She is the Miss Bates of LOTR useful only for the care of the sick and a butt of humour; and a very good reminder for women of my generation to be grateful for the feminists of earlier generations........"

Never thought of her before as being brave, but as you mention, she stayed to help in a war zone. Nice insights.

I happen to see her as another LOTR character with a unique and distinctive 'voice' - sure she wags her tongue a bit, but who would remember her if she just stated the facts? I saw her as no more or less in stature than that of the Warden (or Beregond, or Denethor, etc) who again has a different 'woolgathering' voice.

Was Tolkien trying to say something in that ME's savior is a small 'intellectual' hobbit, and the savior of Merry, Faramir and Eowyn (amongst others) is Ioreth of stature proposed by Mithalwen?