gutless_jim
New Member
Hello all! My name is Jorden, or gutless_jim, from Australia. After about six months of roaring through the Exploring the Lord of the Rings, I am finally here. I now find myself with nothing to listen to when I do my chores, but that’s ok. I’m going to try and join in on the livestreams where I can.
This isn’t just an introduction – I have something I’ve wanted to bring up (about the text) for a while now. I’m putting it here as I’m unsure if it’s appropriate for the “Questions For Narnion” board. It’s about Arwen’s eyes.
This is from the Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings, page 221 in my copy.
“Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost, her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring.”
I remember listening to this episode asynchronously (I forget the episode number) and from memory there was confusion around the description of Arwen’s eyes – the seeming contradiction in “the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night”. I think the issue was something along the lines of “why would a cloudless night be grey?”. I’m unsure if this has been touched upon or talked about here on the forums yet (maybe I should check!) but when I was listening along with the class, it seemed to me that the description makes perfect sense if we consider that the “grey as a cloudless night” as a value or colour is meant to be applied to “the light of stars” in her eyes, and not of her eyes themselves, or the colour of her irises. This would make sense, as a cloudless night would indeed show off the heavens fully, allowing the grey light of stars to shine down and be seen.
Anyway, just wanted to get it off my chest, as I think it’s not been touched upon again in the livestreams, though again I haven’t checked if it’s been discussed on the forums.
Here's to the next thirty or so years!
This isn’t just an introduction – I have something I’ve wanted to bring up (about the text) for a while now. I’m putting it here as I’m unsure if it’s appropriate for the “Questions For Narnion” board. It’s about Arwen’s eyes.
This is from the Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings, page 221 in my copy.
“Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost, her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring.”
I remember listening to this episode asynchronously (I forget the episode number) and from memory there was confusion around the description of Arwen’s eyes – the seeming contradiction in “the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night”. I think the issue was something along the lines of “why would a cloudless night be grey?”. I’m unsure if this has been touched upon or talked about here on the forums yet (maybe I should check!) but when I was listening along with the class, it seemed to me that the description makes perfect sense if we consider that the “grey as a cloudless night” as a value or colour is meant to be applied to “the light of stars” in her eyes, and not of her eyes themselves, or the colour of her irises. This would make sense, as a cloudless night would indeed show off the heavens fully, allowing the grey light of stars to shine down and be seen.
Anyway, just wanted to get it off my chest, as I think it’s not been touched upon again in the livestreams, though again I haven’t checked if it’s been discussed on the forums.
Here's to the next thirty or so years!
