when I first turned to the Silmarillion, I found the character of Galadriel a bit scarier. She had a lot more pride, and the story showed just where that led. (In fact, the Silmarillion is all about following to the bitter ends all the bad consequences of too much pride.) Knowing that history about her, I found myself understanding LOTR better. I mean, I found that she was not the perfect elven queen I thought Tolkien had made her out to be. She was that in part, and Volusian's quote about Tolkien equating her with Mary to an extent is relevant here. But she also had her own sins that she had born for millennia, and that part about her being a penitent (which is something I hadn't thought of before) is very astute.

What her past also shows, however, is that the legends among men and dwarves of a terrible elven sorceress were not completely unfounded. Sorceress? Sure, to lesser beings who don't understand the enchantment of the elves and of the elven ring she wielded. Terrible? She is that, too, at least to her enemies. Consider the following line from the Old Testament, which early Christians (and later ones too) traditionally applied to Mary: "Who is she that comes forth like the morning rising--fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" (Song 6:10) Not only can we see an origin for the image of Galadriel, but we can also see both why the legends about her arose, and why they are wrong.

Sure, I think Galadriel probably had tendencies to be power hungry--after all, she was in fact powerful--but as is the way with elves, her desires were tempered with the passing of centuries, and finally she found the opportunity redeem herself--and perhaps prove to herself what kind of person she was--when the One Ring came to her.