Summary — The Mirror of Galadriel
That night, the Company is taken to Caras Galadhon, the
main city of Lórien. There, they are brought before Lord Celeborn
and Lady Galadriel, the rulers of Lórien. The great hall of the
Lord and Lady is built on a platform in the largest tree in the
forest. The Lord and Lady are tall, beautiful, and timeless, seeming
neither old nor young. Aragorn tells them of the loss of Gandalf
in Moria. It is a grave blow, as Galadriel knew Gandalf well. Celeborn
initially blames the Dwarves for waking the Balrog, and he regrets
having let Gimli into Lórien. Galadriel, however, quickly tells
Celeborn that it is not Gimli’s fault. She goes on to say that she
knows the purpose of their quest and the burden that Frodo bears.
As the Company stands before her, she looks upon each of its members
for a time, searching his heart. Afterward, they all feel as though
Galadriel has read their minds and offered them the thing they wanted
most—but could get only if they turned aside from the quest and
returned home. But some among the Fellowship, especially Boromir,
are reluctant to say what it was that Galadriel offered them.
The Company rests in Lórien, where the days pass almost
without notice. The entire forest of Lórien seems outside of time.
Legolas and Gimli spend much time together, and they become fast
friends. They all grieve for Gandalf, and Frodo writes a song in
the wizard’s memory. As the day approaches when the Fellowship must
leave, Galadriel takes Frodo and Sam to a basin in the middle of
an enclosed garden. She calls the basin her mirror. Looking into
it, one can see visions of far-off places and times, but interpreting
these visions is dangerous. Galadriel fills the basin with water
from the nearby stream. When Sam looks in the mirror, he sees parts
of Hobbiton being torn up and what looks to be a factory spewing
dark smoke. For a moment, he wishes to run back home, but then he
masters himself. Frodo sees many things—a bent, old figure clad
in white; ships on the sea; a white fortress—before a final vision
of a great, dark eye rimmed in fire. Frodo realizes the eye is searching
for him.
Afterward, Galadriel comforts Frodo, telling him she can
perceive the mind of Sauron and can resist his efforts to perceive
hers. As she speaks, Frodo notices a ring on her finger. Galadriel
tells him it is one of the three Elvish Rings of Power; Sauron does
not yet know that she is its keeper. She tells Frodo that, should
he fail, Sauron will overpower her. Nonetheless, even if Frodo succeeds,
the power of the Elves will fade. Either way leads to sadness, but
Galadriel greatly prefers the latter. Frodo, overwhelmed by her
wisdom, beauty, and power, offers her the Ring to keep. Galadriel
refuses, knowing that the Ring would corrupt her as well, leading
her simply to replace Sauron herself.
Analysis
Lothlórien is, in Aragorn’s words, “the heart of Elvendom
on earth,” and Tolkien spares no superlative in describing it. All
in the forest is light, pure, fair, clear, timeless, soothing—generally
perfect. The Elves have magical gifts aplenty: they bestow upon
the Fellowship long-lasting food and enchanted, chameleonic cloaks
with seemingly endless versatility. However, as much as Tolkien
evokes a sense of perfection in Lórien, he also kindles an elegiac
sense of loss. As Frodo notes, “[i]n Rivendell there was memory
of ancient things; in Lórien the ancient things still lived on in
the waking world.” Therefore, the loss and the fading that the Elves
repeatedly describe will be felt most acutely here in the heart
of their realm. Here is the Eden of Middle-earth, the paradise that
will inevitably be lost whether or not Frodo succeeds.
Even the near-celestial Elves are not above getting bogged
down in a mutually distrustful relationship with their former neighbors, the
Dwarves. In a sense, the opposition between these two races offers
two different conceptions of art and craft. The Dwarves dig deep
into the earth and work in long-lasting stone and metal. The Elves
of Lórien live above the ground in trees, and their art tends to be
more organic. Of course, there are Elven-smiths like those who made
the Rings of Power; on the whole, however, the Elves are associated
with moving water and blooming plants—quicker, more ephemeral aspects
of nature that fade, change, or disappear. This transience embodies
the paradox of the Elves: they are immortal, but their creations
are fragile and dependent on their magic. Without the power of Galadriel’s
ring, Lothlórien will inevitably fade.
However, the forest will continue to exist in the memories
of those who have seen it. For the Elves, memory is a central and
powerful force. As Gimli tells Legolas, he has heard that memory
is especially vivid for Elves, more like waking life than a dream
state. Of course, one would need a good memory to store an eternity’s
worth of recollections, and in this sense, the Elves’ ability to
remember and their instinct for elegy and nostalgia link them closely
with Tolkien himself. All the free races of Tolkien’s universe—Men,
Hobbits, Dwarves, and Elves—value songs and stories, but the Elves
seem to place the highest regard in such words and records.
