MARINA YERESHENKO wrote, re: The Lord of the Rings:
> There was this great powerful character,
> Eowyn, and she did not even die in the end, but the guy she was in love
> with, of course, married a half-elven beauty who hardly said a couple of
> words throughout the story and spent most of it in a safe, protected place of
> her father till "bad times" were over. The former was ready to die for the
> man she loved, the latter would not even marry him unless he won the war and
> became a king, and she's got the guy in the end.
>
> The only unusual part was that the hero was blonde, and the bimbo was
> dark-haired. Usually, it's the other way around.
Arwen as bimbo? *Laugh* There is very little about Arwen in The Lord of
the Rings, so Aragorn's devotion to her does seem a little strange. If I
remember correctly, it is more thoroughly dealt with in the
Silmarillion.
> By the way, since we were talking about suicide lately ("Atrocity in
> England" thread), does anyone remember _The River_? It's a short story by
> a guy whose name slips my mind, I think his last name was Young, and he
> also wrote _There Are Thirty Days In September_. In that story, a guy who
> tries to poison himself with gas, ends up floating down the river on
> something like a boat but flat and made of a bunch of tree trunks (I
> forgot the English word for that), which was exactly how he had always
> imagined death. And he meets a girl on that river, who was also trying to
> die, so they travel together, talking about what made them do that.
> Reaching the waterfalls that they an hear all the time would mean the end
> of the journey, but right when they come close to it, they decide that
> it's not what they really want, but it might be too late. It was a nice
> story, I wonder if anyone else here has read it.
I have not read it. However, it sounds remarkably like "Slow Music", a
story by James Tiptree, Jr. In "Slow Music", a man and a woman make
their way to something called The River, an alien energy field which
will sublimate their physical bodies and absorb their consciousnesses
into a greater whole. (Going to the River, in the context of the story,
comes across as a really peaceful form of suicide.) Most of humanity has
already disappeared into these Rivers, several of which hover around the
Earth. The bulk of the story recounts their journey and growing lust for
life. When they finally arrive at the River, they must decide what to do
in the light of their new knowledge. It's a well-written, depressing
work, as are most of Tiptree's stories.
> And what [do] you all think about Tolkien?
It's true that there are very few female characters in Tolkien's books,
but... the few there are are not portrayed as weak or lesser than the
men. And I do not find the male characters to be "macho" overall. My
sense of Tolkien is that he did not think there are constitutional
differences between women and men that relegate them to separate
spheres. (I base this opinion on The Lord of the Rings and The
Silmarillion, not on Tolkien's actual beliefs, of which I know nothing.)
His men are capable of loving, nurturing behavior and his women are
capable of physical bravery and firm decision-making. As a feminist I
don't have much of a problem with him. However, there are some fairly
obvious racist elements in his works (the orcs, the Southrons, etc.). I
still enjoy Tolkien (unlike Yvonne, I find him a joy to read aloud), but
I am mindful of his faults.
-- Janice
-----
Janice E. Dawley ............. Burlington, VT
http://homepages.together.net/~jdawley/jedhome.htm
Listening to: Radiohead - OK Computer
"Reality is nothing but a collective hunch." - Lily Tomlin
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