Guess Who's Coming to the Disaster - Page 3
© Michael Martinez
But Sam was focusing on the mission, and at the same time, he was concerned about Frodo. It was Sam who stood up to Faramir after Sam blurted out his feelings concerning Boromir and the Ring. It was Sam who gushed and googled at the Field of Cormallen when Aragorn and the boys were celebrating Frodo's gallantry and success. Frodo seems rather emotionless through thick and thin, but Sam rides the rollercoaster of love, hate, and happiness. He gives nearly every emotion a double spin at some point in the book. There should be an old saying among Tolkien readers don't rake with the gardener, dude!
Curiously, Gondor is about the only place where women are trivialized. That is, no Gondorian woman (in the main story) really achieves much. We get Ioreth and her babbling commentaries peppered with the lore of old wives. Of course, it's Celeborn who properly points out that old wives often remember things that were once needful for the wise to know. But not many people want to give Celeborn his due. He seems to sit in Galadriel's shadow, and she gets all the glory.
Lothlorien is a magical place, but most of the magic seems to be attributed to Galadriel, directly or indirectly. Until the Company is brought before the rulers of the land, the Elves speak of the Lord and Lady with equal reverence. But once Celeborn reneges on his greeting, and Galadriel gently rebukes him, readers drop away from Celeborn's banner in droves. It takes a strong man to accept his wife's rebuke in front of the kingdom, after he's just said he'd rather leave the eight wanderers to their deaths across the border. If Celeborn were really unsure of himself, he'd have tried to show his masculinity by putting Galadriel in her place. But he accords Galadriel a great deal of respect. He values her opinion enough that he doesn't cater to any conventions that "women should be seen and not heard".
I'm not sure if Celeborn strikes any women as sexy. He is the stern, quiet type of Elf. He's the sort of fellow you hope you meet while his wife has a positive influence on him. Celeborn, after all, leads armies of Elven warriors. It's not Galadriel who takes the offensive after Sauron is overthrown; Celeborn does the dirty work. In "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", her name may come first in the title, but it's Celeborn who risks everything to lead a sortie against Sauron's army in the War of the Elves and Sauron. And despite the fact that she has a mirror which reveals all sorts of pretty pictures, Galadriel doesn't have a word to offer the Company concerning their journey south. Celeborn has to explain the deal to the travelers.
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