Comments on Into The Woods

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I have to admit that I've not thought much about this episode in the Silm! I am guilty of assuming Artanis would have been content--even happy?--to go. You've made me see the episode differently, as something that she might very well have perceived as diverting her from her own great goals that brought her to Middle-earth to make nice to the Doriathrim when, as she points out, she was actually useful in Mithrim.

I love this line: For all the talk of what little difference there is between neri and nissi, we certainly don’t act as if we believe it.

Oh burn! A nice dig at "Laws and Customs," which proclaims gender equality and then thoroughly dismantles it!

I am fascinated by your verse, too, which makes me realize how behind I am in reading your work. I'm particularly interested in the relationship between Artanis and the younger sons of Feanor ... although I suppose that makes sense, given that they could have been around the same age? (Depending on how you resolve that eternal question of character ages in the House of Finwe. ;)

I hadn't thought about it until I started writing this, but once I did think about it, I realized she probably wanted to stay at Mithrim. Not only did she have her own goals, Mithrim was where everything interesting with the Noldor was going on, not to mention where her nearest and dearest were. 

Tolkien did write that the neri and nissi were equal, but it doesn't seem to have translated into practice in Beleriand, and I feel like both Galadriel and Aredhel would both have called their kin on it at least once. (I don't think it's an accident they both ended up marrying Sindarin men.)

No rush. :) In my verse, Galadriel and Aredhel are the same age and besties pretty much from begetting on. Ambarussa were only slightly older, so the four of them grew up together, roaming around terrorizing Aman and getting into (and out of) all manner of trouble.  

This is an entertaining and unique take on this scenario. Like Dawn noted in her comment, I like the dig at Tolkien and Laws and Customs on the woman question. One of my favorite tropes in The Silmarillion fandom is the contradictory intersection among the Finweans of familal affection, political differences, and who is closer to whom and why. Also, do not often get to see the interaction between Galadriel and her brothers aside from Finrod.

Thank you!

I couldn't help myself with the dig - it seems like Tolkien said it, but never really thought about how equality would look in practice.

I think Galadriel and her other brothers don't interact as much because they're not around - after Thingol's huff about Alqualondë, they head north and we don't hear of them spending significant time anywhere else prior to the Battle of the Sudden Flame. So we're not used to picturing them together in Beleriand. (I mean to do more with this!)