Isabeau's Journal

By:Isabeau
 November, 12 2005

OK, folks-this is the general forum now for questions that don't seem to fit in any of the other threads. I'm going to sort some of the earlier posts into the appropriate forums, but it might take a while, so bear with me. I'll delete the ones that have already been reposted by their authors.

Comment:
Denise wrote: I have varying opinions about Heth’s maturity. With the Gift of Men, I think she's on par with most Gondorians, save only the wisest like Faramir, Aragorn, and Imrahil.

I agree with you, Denise. It's a sticky existential issue at the best of times, and I can imagine Hethlin being even less reconciled to death as a gift when she witnessed it coming too soon, and under horrific circumstances, to her parents and siblings.

On some levels, I think she's pretty mature for her age - you don't go through the crucibles she has without developing some sort of understanding about what is important in life.

True. She's not going to waste her time on frivolities. Not only has her more recent life experience conditioned her to be grounded, responsible, and practical (more so than many women her age) she was also raised to value the important things in life.

So, the way I see it, if Elrohir never "grows up," if he remains footloose and fancy-free even after Elrond departs, Hethlin would quickly tire of his antics,and the fact that he wouldn't be offering her anything more than a continuing dalliance.

I could see her dismissing his behavior with a descriptive word like "tomfoolery." ;-) She'd probably be a bit sad for him, too.

But that's definitely not what I foresee for Elrohir. If he manages to resolve the Valinor issue with his father, and commits to staying in ME ... I definitely see him getting serious about making that choice worthwhile, by making serious contributions to the betterment of Middle Earth in whatever time remains before mortality catches up with him. Otherwise, what would be the point of staying? If you just want to hang out and live lightly, why not go to Valinor?

Also, without the presence of a very powerful father and an even more powerful grandmother, things north of Gondor might actually open up a bit for a half-elf who's never really felt the need to be a serious leader.

Of course, all of this is just my conjecture!

And then, there is what I see as her romantic (emotional) immaturity, accompanied as it is by her poor self-image, with scars that go much deeper than just the physical ones.

Yes, I agree with you Denise. It's Hethlin's romantic/emotional immaturity, along with a bit of class inferiority complex, that I see as being a problem.

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