jsluder wrote:peeplj wrote:That sacrifice really was a kind of humility--she had taken her own measure and knew she fell short. She knew she couldn't master the Ring, that in the end it would master her.
I'm still not sure I'd call it "humility". The primary definition of "humble" is "not proud", and I believe that Galadriel (in the book) was still quite proud, even after refusing to take the Ring. I prefer to think of it this way: Galadriel had, over the millenia, acquired a
self-awareness which enabled her to resist the lure of the Ring and finally return to Valinor. As you said, she had taken her own measure, and she knew where she fit in the world. (Just my opinion, of course.)
Cheers,
John
John, you make a good point. Galadriel was one of the most powerful entities that Frodo and the Fellowship encountered in their quest. Born in Valinor, contemporary of Feanor, with eyes that had beheld the Light of the Two Trees before the Sun and Moon, nothing in Middle Earth could have stood against her should she have chosen to take the Ring. Even without the Ring, I think she could have overcome even the Balrog--only Sauron could have withstood her.
But the Elves by the time of the Fellowship were declined, and their days of going on the offensive against the Dark were now only a legend and a memory of their former glory. Yet still, I don't think even Sauron would have come throwing down any challenges towards Galadriel, not until the rest of Middle Earth was already firmly under his dominion. I think Sauron would have considered attaching either Imladris or the Havens to be the safer course, and would have moved on Lorien only when the rest had fallen. And even then, I don't think he would have wanted to face her directly, one-on-one.
So yeah, maybe humble isn't quite the right word for such a creature as the Lady of the Wood. Which, again, makes it so remarkable that she found the strength of will to refuse the Ring.
Forgive me, when you get me talking Tolkien I tend to babble on.
--James
