Mark your calendars folks, this looks like a good one. From the mind of our own moderator Melian the Maia comes our next topic:
Female Characters and Tolkien’s Middle-earth
We will explore how Tolkien portrayed women/female characters in his world. There aren’t many, as compared to men. Some are incredibly strong, powerful and/or brave… Melian, Luthien, and Yavanna for example… but some, like Finduillas and Rian, are ineffectual. There are the rather stereotyped hobbit ladies we encounter, the stiff and ornery Lobelia and the yearning Rosie Cotton. And in another realm we have Arwen and Dis, characters who must have had great importance in every day life but of whom we read little.
How did Tolkien perceive his female characters? Did the times during which he wrote influence his portrayals, if at all? Might the role of women be greater if the works of Middle-earth were published today? Come on down to The Hall of Fire and share your thoughts, feelings, and insights with us. First timers always welcome!
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) GMT and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) GMT and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, the time on the USA’s east coast GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, the time in Western Europe AET = Australian Eastern Time, the time on Australia’s east coast
For the weekend of April 14 & 15, we’ll be continuing our chapter by chapter discussions of The Fellowship of the Ring. This time around is chapter five:
A Conspiracy Unmasked
Frodo learns that his secrecy hasn’t been so secret and that his true friends (and family) are there when he needs them. We also get a final taste of Maggot’s mushrooms, the classic bathing tune, and a peak at what a relocated Bag-End looks and feels like. Frodo’s bitter parting is sweetened here in chapter five.
Come down to The Hall of Fire to share this segment with us! If your reading Lord of the Rings for the first or tenth time, if you are young or old, man or woman, hobbit or elf, makes no matter. New chatters are always welcome here.
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) GMT and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) GMT and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, the time on the USA’s east coast GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, the time in Western Europe AET = Australian Eastern Time, the time on Australia’s east coast
Merry has been quite busy writing his story for Barliman’s regulars! He’s up to Chapter 5 now and has included many denizens of the room, as well as a couple of maps. Stop by the Finnish LotR site and check it out! (You might even be a character the story!) [More]
It’s high time we had a good ole fashioned mud-hurling debate in The Hall of Fire, and I hope this topic serves. A hotly debated subject for decades:
Tolkien and Allegory
The Professor himself denies it, but millions of readers can’t be wrong, can they? Is the work of JRR Tolkien supposed to be allegorical? People compare The Silmarillion to the Bible, The War of the Ring to World Wars I and II, and Gandalf to Jesus. On the one hand, Tolkien has flatly stated that he did not intend for The Lord of the Rings to be allegorical, but on the other hand, footnotes and quotes from the author belie this stance.
What do you believe? Come to The Hall of Fire and share your thoughts with us! Newcomers always welcome.
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) GMT and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) GMT and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, the time on the USA’s east coast GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, the time in Western Europe AET = Australian Eastern Time, the time on Australia’s east coast
The Story Session’s part three is out! And what is this story? It is written by me, Merry, and it is a “little” silly. The characters of the story are actually the regulars of Barliman’s – it is the chat where I started this, without a real reason, and it became a weekly event. More information can be found at the site of the story. [More]
Demosthenes dreamed up a wonderful topic to discuss and debate in The Hall of Fire for our March 24th and 25th chats:
Sauron, the Movies, and Me
The rumor mill has been grinding out lots of interesting information about the Master of Mordor, the Disciple of Doom, the number one Evil Power of Middle-earth’s Third Age, Sauron (ok I made those up, but ya know…) It’s time to hash over what we’ve heard, things like:
LOTR scriptwriter Philippa Boyens comments to the effect that she has written two scenes in which Sauron appears…
only two?
“As screenwriters, we totally agree Sauron is far more fascinating as a force of evil than as an actual presence.”
… yet we’ve heard about what he looks like… and seen lots of recent Sauron images in the news…
Lots of questions to explore here. What do you think the Dark Lord should look like in the movies? Sauron the armour-wearing axe murderer vs crowned machiavellian type? Will he have a speaking role? What kind of special effects might be employed to bring him to the screen? What are your images and thoughts of this character?
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also midnight Saturday (24:00) GMT and 10:00 am Sunday (10:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 10:00 am (10:00) GMT and 5:00 am (05:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, the time on the USA’s east coast GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, the time in Western Europe AET = Australian Eastern Time, the time on Australia’s east coast
