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Time Stands Still:  

Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien

by Sister Usha

Divinely Female

Three rings for the elven kings under the sky

Seven for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone

Nine for mortal men doomed to die

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne

In the Land of Mordor, where the Shadows Lie.

One ring to rule them all.

One ring to find them.

One ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.

In the Land of Mordor, where the Shadows Lie.

One of the greatest authors of modern mythology is the late Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. His writings rival in depth and sophistication any of the great myths of ancient times. He created not merely life-like characters but a believable world full of love and hate, war and peace, peril and comfort. He always maintained that he was merely the translator, not the author, that his "Middle-Earth" was simply our own beloved Earth at some time in the very distant past. It is certain that what he wrote is as real and as vibrant as any historical document, and as relevant to our own lives as any religious treatise ever composed.

We at Divinely Female choose to honor two of Tolkien's characters with the title of Modern Goddess. In some other place, we will discuss Luthien Tinuviel, the elvish princess who willingly braves great perils, confronts unspeakable evil, and in the end surrenders her elvish immortality, all for the love of a humble human hunter.

Here we focus instead on Galadriel, Queen of the elvish realm of Lothlorien. She figures prominently in the Lord of the Rings, although certain aspects of her personality cannot be understood without reading some of Tolkien's other writings. She was already thousands of years old by the time Frodo met her. She was by all accounts captivatingly beautiful, winning the love and admiration of all those around her. She was one of the elves who traveled to the land of the gods, lived among them for many years, then fled back to Middle-Earth in rebellion against them. She journeyed to the forest of Lothlorien. There, she and her husband Celeborn became rulers of elves who had never made the journey to the holy land. The reason Galadriel fled the land of the gods was so that she could become ruler in her own right, and this was her opportunity. The royal couple lived in a huge wooden palace nested high in an enormous tree.

Galadriel was the bearer of one of the three elvish rings mentioned in the first line of the poem above. The other two were Elrond and the wizard Gandalf. Galadriel's ring gave her magical powers, including the power to make time move more slowly. She used that power to isolate Lothlorien from the surrounding regions, protecting her subjects from evil. She could also see into the hearts of those in her presence, distinguishing at a glance between those who had pure intentions and those who did not. She could see long distances and could to a limited extent predict the future.

But power alone is not sufficient reason to honor someone, to hold her in awe and raise her to level of divine icon. There is one thing she did in the Lord of the Rings that shows immense wisdom and virtue. We hold her in awe because of this one act. The main plot of the story involves a quest to destroy a ring, the "One Ring" mentioned in the poem. This was created by the evil demon Sauron, chief deputy of the wicked god Morgoth. Sauron needs the power of the One Ring to complete his conquest of Middle-Earth. The One Ring, however, has fallen into the possession of a humble hobbit named Frodo. Frodo and his companions are traveling to the volcano in the heart of Sauron's kingdom, intent on tossing the One Ring into the lava, destroying it. Their route takes them through Lothlorien.

In one of the most moving and inspiring passages in all human literature, Frodo offers to give the One Ring to Galadriel as a gift. The Queen is overcome with emotion. She has for centuries dreamed of possessing this ring. With its power, she could become ruler not merely of Lothlorien but of the entire world. All Middle-Earth would fall to its knees worshipping her as Queen. She has for centuries coveted that title and that power, and longed for the chance to make her ambitions come true.

Galadriel is also keenly aware that if Frodo were to succeed in his quest of destroying the One Ring, her own elvish ring would lose its power. Her forest kingdom would disintegrate, and she would be forced to return over the sea to the land of the gods, the land against which she rebelled thousands of years earlier. She has nothing to gain by refusing Frodo's gift, and everything to lose.

She forces herself to refuse it anyway. She knows that a world ruled by the Almighty Queen Galadriel would be no better off than a world ruled by the Almighty Lord Sauron. The One Ring is evil and its power would turn her evil as well. "I pass the test" she says sadly, agreeing to give up her realm for the good of all Middle-Earth.