Fantastic Natural History, Part 2: Botanical Edition!

[mary_j_59]

…”Or there maybe ‘tis cloudless night/and swaying beeches bear/the Elven-stars as jewels bright/amid their branching hair” (Sam’’s song, from The Return of the King, page 194 Hardcover Folio edition)

• A   What sort of trees are Mallorns?

It was my sister who spotted this, while we were on a hike. We were going through a stand of beech trees, and, in

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

Thank you!

I've been thinking I'm due for a re-read of LotR, because I've forgotten so many of the details. I'd totally forgotten about Imrahil, so now I'm curious to see what he's about!

The kingsfoil is such an interesting counterpoint to Sam's box of dirt and mallorn nut, too. The great, grand city of Gondor needs renewal and healing from a lowly weed, while the small, everyday shire needs renewal from elvish earth and a grand elvish tree. There's so much in the books about balance and combining different aspects of life--the grand, the strange, the small, and the everyday. Aragorn is kind of a walking example of that... And then there's the ents and the ent-wives as the example of what happens when you utterly fail to reconcile those differing forces. (I am so curious about the fate of the ent-wives. Was that "walking tree" someone at the Green Dragon said they saw a hint that at least a few of them fled north? Or are there a few ents left up there from the time when Fangorn was a much larger forest?)

...and I'll stop rambling now. :-)

[mary_j_59]

Oh, that's so interesting! And beautifully put. I hadn't noticed quite this particular balance before, though it struck me very strongly that (as Stratford Caldecott said in his book The Power of the Ring) Sam is confirmed in his "kingship", as Aragorn is in his, by their nurturing natures and power to heal. Of course, we see this in Eowyn, too--she is healed when she accepts her role as a nurturer, and this in no way negates her role as a warrior. Nor Faramir's either.

And, speaking of Eowyn, she fits another pattern that jumped out at me in these books. I think it was Randall Helms, way back in the 1970s or 80s, who pointed out Tolkien actually has characters state story truths. One of those truths is that the gift of a loving heart should not be scorned (I don't remember the exact phrasing). So, Helms says, Eowyn is right to follow King Theoden, however mixed her motives may seem. Merry is also right--and there's more about the relationship between Merry and Eowyn, but I'm rambling. Here's what I wanted to say.

There aren't many women in LOTR, true. But every single female character--whether heroic warrior, wise queen, housewife, or garrulous old nurse--speaks truth to power. When the women talk, they're right. Always. All of them spur others to necessary action. Yes, Goldberry, too. And Rosie, and Arwen, and Ioreth, and even Maggot's wife, in her own way.

These books are just so terrific. I first read them decades ago, and I' still discovering new things in them.

[sunnyskywalker]

That's a good point about the healing connection! I do appreciate how healing is portrayed as a necessary gift for a leader, not just fighting or even inspiring and administrating.

There's a small echo of the idea of setting aside weapons and turning to healing in the recent Dark Crystal prequel show, incidentally. The Stonewood clan have a big crucible/sculpture/thing where they put their swords after a war, because they say that the hand that holds the sword can't also help the injured. I don't know if it was an intentional allusion, but it was one of the more interesting little background details.

I'll really have to go back and focus on Eowyn's journey. Because you're right, she has a confused mess of motives--depression, love, desperation to do something useful, and a whole lot more. And she manages to do good despite all that. It's a bit like Frodo, who is willing to take the ring to Mordor even though he doesn't know the way.

[sunnyskywalker]

I tracked down the essay that inspired a lot of my thinking here: Tolkien's summary of his work: what got left out, and why?

fictualities wrote a number of brilliant Lord of the Rings essays, if you haven't read them before.

[mary_j_59]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. That's a terrific essay! One thing I've thought about the summary: having tried to write a summary of one of my own books, you can run into trouble (and leave out things that strike you as absolutely essential) if your story doesn't fit the current commercial mold.

And it's fascinating that Sam, to me the absolute center and protagonist of these books, was a late addition!

[sunnyskywalker]

No worries! I always assume people have good reasons for not being on the internet much or not responding to a particular conversation. There are so many good reasons! (I have a desk job and frequently have arm or shoulder pain or just can't stand to look at a computer for one more minute, myself.)

Summarizing a story is so difficult, and if you're trying to sell it...yeah, it's amazingly even harder. Not to mention what one person sees as core to the story might seem totally peripheral to another reader.

It's incredible how many drastic changes the story went through before Tolkien found the groove. Bilbo as the protagonist because he's run out of money and needs to adventure for more? The mind boggles.

[mary_j_59]

Oh, wow! That was his first thought about Bilbo? His later thoughts were so much better. ;)

And I am going to go visit deathtocapslock now--as I said before, I'm loving your posts and I'm glad you're still at it. Have been offline because I've been transitioning from my (excellent) 14-year-old mac (which just died) to a new-to me one running a more modern system. Setting up a new computer is so much work, and making sure all your stuff makes it over is nerve-racking!