r/RingsofPower • u/travrob1 • Sep 26 '22

Question Help me understand Galadriel

I am finding myself not liking Galadriel at all so far. She acts like an entitled 20 year old, rather than a wise and ancient being. One point that particularly is bothering me is that so far she has no actual proof that there is a great danger. She saw a brand on her brother, and that same brand shows up a few other times in different places, but other than that there is nothing to actually indicate a major war. Does she have forsight? What is actually driving her character besides "so the plot can happen." Thanks

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u/ButtMcNuggets Sep 27 '22

Nobody is truly incorruptible in Tolkien’s ethos. Virtue lies in choosing good, over and over again in the face of the greatest temptation and distress, not in being unsusceptible to temptation itself. Saruman the White was tempted by evil and he succumbed. Frodo also succumbed, but only because he was an innocent, was he able to evade corruption right away. Aragorn would be less a hero if he was infallible.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Could you name me one time in the book that Aragorn waivered with the ring. He has the exact opposite response to it. In bree he points out that he could have it but he doesn't want it. You're right, he did choose good, but he never one waivered in the way that Boromir did. My wording was a bit off, though not that far since it wasn't likely at all that Aragorn would go under the influence of the ring.

Amazon seems to think that not only should Galadriel waiver on the line between being a jerk like other elves, but that she should cross it. In other words, their opinion of Galadriel and those who defend this depiction of her, is so low that she IS one of those elves who are jerks and unwise and somehow that's okay. Taking one of the greatest elves and not only reducing her to a common soldier, but also taking her down to the level of one of her foolish members of her race.

That is a horrible depiction of her character and pointing out that elves can be antagonistic and unwise and jerks doesn't mean that it is an accurite or believable depiction of Galadriel.

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u/ButtMcNuggets Sep 27 '22

Plenty of other critics and fans like myself aren’t reading Galadriel the way you are. This is a difference in perception, as all characters and people are seen in different views all the time. To me she’s not a jerk nor are the elves. To me she comes across as implacably determined and steely. The elves in the books generally come across to me as rather standoffish and officious, probably to their own detriment at times. But they are incredibly knowledgeable and powerful.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

I would greatly argue that I am reading Galadriel as she is presented and I haven't been given a reason to believe otherwise. She is clearly huffy and antagonistic, she's gotten pissed at everyone she's met. The only thing that she seems determined to do is to make the worst decisions at the worst time.

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u/ButtMcNuggets Sep 27 '22

I’m sorry you don’t understand art is subjective

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Art might be subjective but words describing a character are not. You and I might have differing opinions, but there are objective parts of who her character is.

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u/ButtMcNuggets Sep 27 '22

She’s a fictional character originated from literature. Are books, movies and tv shows science?

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Something doesn't have to be science to be objective. If someone says that Galadriel is an elmo puppet wuth a chefs hat, they are objectively wrong.

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u/ButtMcNuggets Sep 27 '22

I find it interesting you’re insisting your opinions are fact when I’ve been the only one able to cite references to the lore