Tea at Trianon: When Elven Women Marry Mortal Men

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, February 17, 2022

When Elven Women Marry Mortal Men

From Gamerant:

Elves in Lord of the Rings are beautiful, strong, and wise. They seem in some respects to be superior to the Race of Men in Middle Earth. So why is it that some elven women marry mortal men? Is this intermarriage a triumph of true love? Or is it a tragedy? And why doesn't the opposite situation happen? Why don't elven men marry mortal women?

Perhaps this situation has happened but it is not mentioned really in the Lord of the Rings universe. So perhaps it was just not recorded for one reason or another. In any case, all the famous elf-human pairings seem to be elven women marrying mortal men. And that's interesting. Surely at some point, an elven man must have fallen for a mortal woman. Or maybe not? To understand the answer to these questions, it is crucial to understand the reasons behind the rare elf-human pairings.
For example, Aragorn and Arwen are the most well-known elf-human pairing in Lord of the Rings. Not only does Arwen choose to be mortal due to her love of Aragorn, she also plays a role in restarting the line of Kings of Gondor and Arnor. Though Arwen would technically be mortal at that point, she might still have the wisdom and strength of an elf. And that would be a good thing for the royal line to have. Therefore, Aragorn and Arwen's marriage serves a greater purpose in the story of Lord of the Rings. (Read more.)