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Galadriel: All the Woman the Movie Needs
Derek B.

The most important woman in the Lord of the Rings was Galadriel. A queen, a sorceress, and a visionary; the wielder of Narya, one of the Three elven rings; and a daughter of the House of Finwe. Yes; remember from the Silmarillion? She left the Blessed Realm to follow Feanor, back in the FIRST AGE. She saw the first risings of the sun and moon; she survived the Dagor Bragollach and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Before the end of the First Age she had already established Lothlorien.

Who knows how old she was when she first set foot on Middle Earth? I laugh to think that so many fans of Tolkien believe Elrond was the highest elven authority. He was Elrond HALF-ELVEN, remember? Galadriel was Elrond's MOTHER-IN-LAW. Celebrian was her daughter, and Elrond's wife. Elladan and Elrohir were her grandsons, and Arwen was her granddaughter. Galadriel formed the White Council to deal with the problem of the Necromancer, who turned out to be Sauron, rising anew.

Sauron didn't faze her. She had stood against his master, Morgoth, and seen him taken down by the might of the VALAR. She had probably known Gandalf when he was a maiar back in the Uttermost West. What Galadriel feared was the Oath of Feanor finally catching up to her. Lothlorien would fade, but it was only the last of the outposts of the Noldor exiles. She had seen the greatest of those destroyed or fade away long before the second age began. Can we truly understand what Tolkien tried to convey in prose when he spoke of the wisdom and sadness mirrored in her eyes? I wonder.

And yet, Peter Jackson has passed up this glorious, magnificent, incredible female character for a minor character that was only placed in the story to justify Aragorn's determination. Galadriel was, after Gandalf, the person who sacrificed the most for Middle Earth to stop Sauron. She gave up what had taken MILENNIA to create so that Middle-Earth would have a fighting chance to defeat the Dark Lord. Who can forget the bittersweet, heartbreaking songs she sang on the day the Fellowship left Lothlorien? Through her, we were able to glance through a window into the past, and see some of the majesty and tragic history, not only of the elven people, but of the Valar and, indeed, the whole of Arda.

What disappointment she must have felt as she sailed for the Blessed Realm. I think I feel some of it today.