We’ve been hearing a lot about Liv Tyler in the news lately, so we thought we’d talk about her character Arwen for our next Hall of Fire chat. Clearly an essential, albeit behind-the-scenes character, Lady Undomiel is peerless in her time on Middle-earth. She makes one of the greatest sacrifices an Elf can give, yet we read more of her in the Appendixes of Return of the King then throughout the trilogy. Early LotR movie rumors and gossip often turned to Arwen’s character in the films as Tolkien purists recoiled at the thought of expanding her roll in the plot and perhaps taking creative license with her personality. Now we can actually hear her speak Elvish!
We offer three sessions for our discussions. First-timers are 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, USA’s East Coast GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, Western Europe AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
You can be a Hall of Fire Moderator! That’s right folks, you can run a Hall of Fire! How you ask???
Send us your topics! If we pick your idea for discussion, you will be our guest co-moderator for that weekend. You can help us run the chat in your time zone, or all three! Of course, you will not be required to work the chat; this is our way of honoring those of you who take the time to put a topic together.
Whether you’re a first time Lord of the Rings reader or you’ve read it a dozen times, there’s nothing like discussing the actual book chapter by chapter. That’s what we’re doing in The Hall of Fire, and you are invited to join us for our next installment on April 28 & 29.
The Old Forest is a particularly good chapter. Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry leave Crickhollow and head into one part of what is left of Middle-earth’s ancient forest. Inhabited by the likes of soured Old Man Willow and unflappable Tom Bombadil, the Old Forest stands out as the hobbit’s first face to face encounter with death. Tolkien’s creative mind gets cooking in chapter six to be sure!
Check out this chat in a time zone near you:
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
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
