August 25, 2003

Elvish Behavior
Lady of Rohan

To Frodo_Lives,

Your question is one that has bothered me as well ever since I first read the LOTR trilogy. (After already having read "The Hobbit."

In the Silmarillion, Tolkien states that the Elves, in addition to immortality, feel both the deepest joy and the deepest sorrow. I think that acting foolish sometimes is the only way the Elves can live with such sadness bearing down on them. They knew there days on Middle Earth are numbered in "The Hobbit," and they probably also knew that the War of the Ring was not far off.

In "The Hobbit" Gandalf speaks of the Necromancer (Sauron) having spent some of his disembodied time in Mirkwood, explaining why these woods are so treacherous to pass through. It also explains why the Wood Elves are so-let's face it-mean and suspicious. They were closer to the threat, and their tolerance for merriment was thin on the ground.

As to your comments about "The Scouring of the Shire", here are my two cents: I really like that chapter in the book, but it does rather drag on. I can see why PJ is leaving it out. It's for the same reason he left out Tom Bombadil. It would just be too odd for moviegoers, even ones who had already read the book. I have a feeling that PJ is going to make the ending so emotionallly high-charged, that "The Scouring" would seem downright stupid in comparison. To put those scenes in ROTK would also undermine the magnitude of what Frodo(especially), Sam, Merry, and Pippin had already accomplished.

Namärié,

Lady of Rohan