[ SECRET POST #2230 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2230 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Early because blizzard, not quite sure if power will last.

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 103 secrets from Secret Submission Post #319.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[dreemyweird]

As a history lover, I approve of this secret. You have a good way of thinking, OP.

However, I've always felt like Tolkien's worlds had nothing whatsoever to do with Realpolitik; it just doesn't work there. There's much more kindness, nobility and justice in his books than there's in actual history of mankind. Hence royal marriages might also work differently.

Also the fact that not every single royal marriage was made for political reasons makes a valid point. Some unions stood against all odds, pissing the relatives off immensely (something of the Romeo and Juliet plot is always out there).

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah. I think it's always important to take in the tone and setting of a story before making these kinds of judgments. Realistically, Jasmine from Aladdin probably would have had to suck it up and get married, but that's not the kind of world they were in.

This kind of reminds me of when GRRM was asked to compare LotR and GoT characters martially. He pegged Jaime as winning over Aragorn, but that's just silly. The kind of world Aragorn is in is the kind where men perform incredible feats of strength and valor, beyond the realm of regular people. Jaime is a very skilled man, but his world is generally more subdued in feats of martial capability.

[(Anonymous)]

I like Jaime a lot, but Aragorn would totally win. He's politically savvy, very skilled at what he does, managed to control a dead army, and still doesn't throw children out windows.

[visp]

But none of those things would help him in a one-on-one fight.

[(Anonymous)]

The decades more experience and superhuman abilities probably would.

[visp]

The extra 50 years of combat training without any aging-related problems would be a real tough one to beat, I'll give you that. His superhuman abilities, on the other hand, were more good for resisting supernatural attacks, though - so less relevant against Jaime.

[(Anonymous)]

From the Wiki page:

"From 2957 to 2980, Aragorn undertook great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan (King Théoden's father) and of Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor (father of Denethor). His tasks helped to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquired experience that he would later put to use in the War of the Ring. Aragorn served his lords during that time under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star). With a small squadron of Gondorian ships, he led an assault on Umbar in 2980, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally slaying their lord during the Battle of the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, "Thorongil" left the field, to the dismay of his men, and went East."

The man is very experienced. I just don't see a 30-year-old beating an extremely fine warrior in the context of LotR (where everyone important there is extra strong, fast, and endurable; has better eyesight, reflexes, etc), who has about 80 years of experience.

[cbrachyrhynchos]

Yeah, Tolkien staked his entire career on the idea that trying to read fantasy as a window into another culture was a bad way to read it. LotRs and Hobbit make about as much sense in relationship to Medieval history as the works of Shakespeare, which is to say, none at all.

There is a bit of self-insert at work behind Aragorn/Arwen in that he wasn't able to sell Beren/Luthien to a publisher in his lifetime. Thankfully though, he did have enough sense to push most of the A/A material out of the novel and into the appendices.

[lindermere]

During a recent rewatch/rearead of LoTR, I was struck by how the kingdoms and princedoms of Gondor are completing missing conflict with each other. Compared to, say, England/France/Spain, who were constantly either best bud-allies with each other or in a state of cold or open war, there's zero war among the Human allies. Thus it's nice but not necessary that there's intermarriage between Gondor and the Mark, or the Mark and Ithilien.