#VARDA!

[gacougnol]

Agnès Varda

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[dancyrilkingston]

CLÉO DE 5 À 7 (dir. Agnès Varda, 1962)

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

L'une chante, l'autre pas (Agnès Varda, 1977)

[metamorphesque]

Le Bonheur (Happiness, 1965): Directed by Agnès Varda

[mateiru]

Manwë and Varda as the painting "The Kiss" - Gustav Klimt

[yuinevo]

Varda redraw

[toiich]

Agnès Varda

[wetgeliscasualinterval]

Le Bonheur (1965) dir. Agnès Varda

[thyinum]

Since it’s Tolkien’s birthday here’s some of my favorite fanart I did ✨

[davidhudson]

Agnès Varda, Portugal, 1956.

[l-otr]

Sowing stars by Valera Lutfullina

[rinthecap]

Varda Elentári x “L’Étoile Polaire”- Alphonse Mucha

Varda, Queen of the Valar, Lady of the Stars. She was the most beautiful of all the Valar. The Elves loved her the most of all the gods because of her creation of the stars.

[akzgaj]

Varda sketch.

I want to thank you for every follow of my instagram account akzgaj.autorka. It is very important to me ❤️. As I promised, I will try to add sketches related to Silmarillion more often.

[casadabiqueira]

Povoa de Varzim

Agnes Varda, 1956

[semioticapocalypse]

Unknown. Agnès Varda dans son studio de photographie rue Daguerre [Agnès Varda in her photography studio on rue Daguerre]. 1955

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