I have been thesing and running around and thesing some more ALL DAY TODAY, so I stopped to read this. I'm glad I did; it made me feel calmer, even if Maitimo didn't seem particularly calm.
I liked seeing him get a little, unexpected chance for some alone time with Indis. It seems to me that he's never really had a chance to get to know her, that what he knows is the image of her that Fëanor has in his mind and that he superimposes on his memories of her all dressed up at family events. Today, Maitimo got to see Indis as a person, a woman married to the man she loves, with children and grandchildren who love her and come to visit her. That seems to have discomfited him, which is a good thing.
When you wrote about Maitimo borrowing his grandfather's clothes, it made me think of how very differently Elves might perceive such a thing as a grandparent. Since they don't age, their grandparents are just as thriving and vital as their parents and themselves. Since time moves so slowly in Valinor, it seems that styles don't change much from generation to generation, and thus it would make perfect sense for a grandson to borrow his grandfather's clothes if they fit him. I contrast that with the idea of my grandmother's clothing, which is clearly little-old-lady clothes that I could not wear even if we were the same size, because for humans, there is too much of a difference between eighty-five and twenty-nine.
On the other hand, Elves will never (at least, at this point) have the bittersweet feeling that comes with wearing something willed to you by a parent or grandparent, with the memories and the feeling of passing the torch that comes with it. My grandmother has already decreed that I am to have a particular cloak/coat of hers after she dies, and the thought of actually wearing it (though it's a nice piece of clothing in and of itself) is a little funny. I think I'd rather not have it yet.
It's good that Maitimo seems to have found, if not exactly a friend, then at least a companion in Voronwë. Fëanor probably forgets that a houseful of brothers doesn't mean quite the same thing as friends, and that Maitimo doesn't have any. Fëanor himself doesn't seem to need friends -- probably can't stand the idea -- but I think Maitimo does. But because Fëanor doesn't, and he still dominates Maitimo so completely, Maitimo doesn't grow up with friends or playmates other than his siblings, until Findekano comes along. I wonder if that's part of the reason for Maitimo's overactive sex drive. Perhaps it's not so much orgasms that he seeks as it is companionship. Of course, he wouldn't know that, since he's never been taught to expect friendship, but his hurt over Annawendë seems to be less the hurt of knowing that he's lost a lover and more the hurt of knowing that his best friend just moved away.
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rosecarmine
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Date: 2006-02-10 11:44 pm (UTC)I liked seeing him get a little, unexpected chance for some alone time with Indis. It seems to me that he's never really had a chance to get to know her, that what he knows is the image of her that Fëanor has in his mind and that he superimposes on his memories of her all dressed up at family events. Today, Maitimo got to see Indis as a person, a woman married to the man she loves, with children and grandchildren who love her and come to visit her. That seems to have discomfited him, which is a good thing.
When you wrote about Maitimo borrowing his grandfather's clothes, it made me think of how very differently Elves might perceive such a thing as a grandparent. Since they don't age, their grandparents are just as thriving and vital as their parents and themselves. Since time moves so slowly in Valinor, it seems that styles don't change much from generation to generation, and thus it would make perfect sense for a grandson to borrow his grandfather's clothes if they fit him. I contrast that with the idea of my grandmother's clothing, which is clearly little-old-lady clothes that I could not wear even if we were the same size, because for humans, there is too much of a difference between eighty-five and twenty-nine.
On the other hand, Elves will never (at least, at this point) have the bittersweet feeling that comes with wearing something willed to you by a parent or grandparent, with the memories and the feeling of passing the torch that comes with it. My grandmother has already decreed that I am to have a particular cloak/coat of hers after she dies, and the thought of actually wearing it (though it's a nice piece of clothing in and of itself) is a little funny. I think I'd rather not have it yet.
It's good that Maitimo seems to have found, if not exactly a friend, then at least a companion in Voronwë. Fëanor probably forgets that a houseful of brothers doesn't mean quite the same thing as friends, and that Maitimo doesn't have any. Fëanor himself doesn't seem to need friends -- probably can't stand the idea -- but I think Maitimo does. But because Fëanor doesn't, and he still dominates Maitimo so completely, Maitimo doesn't grow up with friends or playmates other than his siblings, until Findekano comes along. I wonder if that's part of the reason for Maitimo's overactive sex drive. Perhaps it's not so much orgasms that he seeks as it is companionship. Of course, he wouldn't know that, since he's never been taught to expect friendship, but his hurt over Annawendë seems to be less the hurt of knowing that he's lost a lover and more the hurt of knowing that his best friend just moved away.