There has been uproar from some people about the hinted Gandalf-Galadriel romance in the Hobbit trailers and pictures. Is this a case of a studio looking to cash in on the sentimental crowd (a la, playing up the Aragorn-Arwen dynamic in LOTR), or could a legitimate case be found for it in Tolkien’s writings?
Well, the user Arvedui makes a spectacular case FOR it in a middleearthecenter.com forum, an argument so intelligent and sound, we simply had to reproduce it for you below. These are Arvedui’s arguments on the forum, not ours:
With the official release of the Hobbit trailer to the public last month, the Tolkien community was revived and revitalized almost overnight. Did your eyes light up when the familiar melody of Concerning Hobbits started? Did your jaw drop when the main theme kicked in about mid-trailer? *Mountains spinnin’ round the dwarves Horses spinnin’ round the dwarves*… Chances are you’ve come across this post just as excited for the movie as I am- drooling for more, but at the same time confused and even a little disappointed at the particular “scene of interest.”
When I first watched the trailer I was also confused. After some thinking -granted Im probably the largest LOTR fanboy and within 100 miles- I realized the trailer was still epic and that nothing Peter did was out of line. Today I venture to say the Galadriel-Gandalf scene is perfectly justified. Jackson had [at least I think]more in mind than appealing to a specific demographic.
Brace yourself, Im about the throw a bunch of Elvish words at you.
Gandalf, as we all know, is a wizard belonging to the Order of Istari, a group that also includes Saruman, Radagast, and the Blue Wizards Allatar and Pallando whom we don’t really hear about. What’s important about this fact is that the Istari were maiar. Many people like to call the maiar “demi-gods.” Others like to think of them as angels. In either case, they are defined by J.R.R. Tolkien as “Holy Spirits” that took part in the creation of the world. That’s right, Gandalf took part in the creation of Middle-Earth. He’s tremendously awesome and powerful. The five maiar were sent by the Valar (Greater Holy Spirits) to aid the men of Middle-Earth in the coming fight against Sauron. They arrived in Middle-Earth in the form of old men early in the Third Age, about 2,000 years before the Hobbit Epic begins.Why am I telling you all this? In case you haven’t realized it yet, this not only means Gandalf was an extremely old soul- tens of thousands of years old at the least, but it also means he had an opportunity to inhabit the land known as Valinor (Essentially Heaven on Earth.) It was entirely accessible to normal living individuals for most of time, but forbidden to all but the elves. Galadriel lived in Valinor for about 1,400 years, meaning she had 1,400 years to mix and mingle with the various celebrities of the land, including the future wizards and even the infamous Melkor (Sauron’s master.)
There is no reason to believe that Gandalf (known back then as Olorin) did not meet Galadriel, or that they did not develop a acquaintanceship, friendship, or even semi-romantic relationship- she wouldn’t meet Celeborn for more than a millennium. What I underlined in the text above is incredibly important. Gandalf actually ages very slowly. He’s in the form of an old man not because of his actual age, but because that was the form he and the other Istari took up in order to appear more wise and trustworthy to the men of Middle-Earth.
He probably took on a form something along these lines for most of his worldly life:
When Gandalf arrived in Middle Earth much much later, Tolkien indicates that Galadriel trusted him more than the other Istari. She thought he should be head of the order over Saruman. For a reason beyond sheer instinct? The proposition seems plausible.
When we see Galadriel in the LOTR she’s about 7,000 years young. She is also extremely wise and powerful, perhaps on a level close to -if not on par with- Gandalf’s. (After all the Istari are forbidden from exercising their full power and will.) Gandalf and Galadriel are both members of the White Council, they’ve known each other virtually forever, and Gandalf is actually a lot sexier than wise-old-man form. Perhaps we should reconsider our opinion of Peter?. Sometimes he knows what he’s doing
Wow … what an amazing case. Consider us sold! What do you think?
