Comments on Labadal and Túrin

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Oh thank you! I still have one or two more drabbles left! You are my very first SWG reviewer!

When I read the Silm, I didn't think much of Turin; he seemed like such a jerk. But then when I read UT and CoH, and saw what a sweet person he was as a child, it changed my whole way of looking at his tragedy-- that the truly sad part of the story wasn't all the death and destruction, but that he lost that generous innocence of his so very young!

And I was intrigued by Sador Labadal, who was so very good and kind to a young child, giving of his time and his wisdom.

 

Yes, we see in the young child so much love and kindness and generosity!  We see a child with so much potential, and it seems that Labadal is the only one who seems to want to nurture that potential.  And he is such a patient and loving man.  He would have been a good father to children of his own.

his child's heart will break, and of the shards will grow a heart of stone and pride. He is his mother's son. 

And thus you give the reader the foundation of what will become Túrin's great tragedy.  His story is perhaps the bleakest in The Silmarillion, so this series of drabbles set the foundation for what is to come.   Labadal's voice -- world-weary yet full of patience and affection -- is very effective.  It's fascinating for this reader to see young Túrin in his days of childhood innocence through the old, loyal servant's eyes.  You've given Labadal a nobility and fortitude I have long wanted to see, for surely, the old loyal servant possessed these traits.

This series is an excellent foray into the First Age, Dreamflower!  Here's hoping you'll dip your toes into the waters again, perhaps by expanding on one or all of these gems.



When I read of Turin's story in the Silm, I didn't like him much.  He seemed so full of hubris and lacking in sense.  The tragedy of his story did not move me that much.  But then in UT and in CoH, I read the accounts of his childhood and his relationship with Labadal, and that changed my whole view of him.  It gave me a chance to realize that he'd had potential, that he had been a child with a lot of love to give, and that all of that had been just crushed out of him.  It truly made me empathize with him more.  He was an innocent child, with a generous heart, and then he became this bleak and bitter man.

And I was also very drawn to Labadal.  As you said, a man of nobility and fortitude, and a wise one as well.  I really appreciated the devotion he showed to this lonely grieving child.

I am glad you liked these.  I do not know if I have any more First Age fic in me-- I am very devoted to hobbits.  But I never thought I'd write this much, so who knows in the future.

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. ((hugs))