Home » Reading & Literature » J.R.R. Tolkien » Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur? - Page 3

Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur? - Page 3

© Michael Martinez

We know virtually nothing of their mothers. Who were these women, the three wives of Elendil, Isildur, and Anarion? There is something rather Noahnic in their story, a man and his family selected to survive the destruction of the world. Their world consisted only of Numenor, and they came in time when the Downfall sent huge waves across the seas to Middle-earth, where other Faithful Numenoreans still lived. But the names of Elendil's wife and her daughters-in-law, like the names of Noah's wife and her daughters-in-law, are never mentioned. Elendil (and his wife, if she survived the trip) arrived in Lindon and went on to found the kingdom of Arnor. Isildur and Anarion, each aboard their own ships, arrived at the city of Pelargir near the mouth of the river Anduin. From there they ventured up the river and built three cities: Osgiliath, which stood upon a bridge spanning the river, Minas Anor, and Minas Ithil. Mrs. Isildur and Mrs. Anarion probably spent much of their time in Osgiliath while the other two cities were being built. We never hear about Mrs. Anarion in Middle-earth, but Isildur and his wife lived in Pelargir or Osgiliath for several years, and their second son Aratan was born in the year 3319, 10 years after the Downfall and destruction of Numenor. 40 years later a third son, Ciryon, was born in the city of Minas Ithil, which lay in the Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow rising up on Gondor's eastern border and looking down into Sauron's land of Mordor. In the year 3429 Sauron revealed himself to Gondor. His body had been slain in the destruction of Nunenor but he was a Maia, an angelic being so powerful he could withstand the loss of his body and form a new one. Having re-incarnated himself in a new and terrible form, Sauron gathered allies and raised new armies, and he attacked Minas Ithil. The city was situated in a deep valley on the northern face of a mountain overlooking an expanse of meadows through which flowed a small stream from the heights in the east down toward the west. The road leading down from the city passed north across the stream via a stone bridge and turned west toward Osgiliath. When Sauron attacked the city its people must have been cut off. And yet Isildur and his family escaped somehow, passing to Osgiliath. They may have fled the city directly on the road before the defenders were taken, but I suspect Tolkien envisioned some more dire escape. The Dunedain may have had to flee into the hills and cross the mountains to avoid being slaughtered.

The copyright of the article Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur? - Page 3 in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur? - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.