Something just hit me, what do you think is Tolkien's "summer" in "kind-as-summer"??? Bcs Elrond is kind but.....summer??? Why summer? What is summer for Tolkien bcs I think "spring" - with the way he is usually characterized as "ever-kind-ever-wonderful" should be a better metaphor?
I live in a country that only has summer (and the occasional rain), no winter/autumn(unless u count the hotter dryer times)/spring, and I CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT AC!!! In four seasoned countries summer is beaches and vacations. But I don't see the joy in sunbathing when the sun is ALWAYS ON ME! Summer is humid and hot, no clouds to block the hot rays, sweat everywhere (not to mention being in a crowded space).
So "kind-as-summer". Summer is time with most sun, usually good for agriculture, but too much is too little rain, kills those greeneries. Maybe it actually means, Elrond is kind yea, but he sure as hell knows when to pull out his sword - he's knows his self-worth and knows how to not let ppl take adv of his kind heart.
(Love the idea that Elrond's - and Elros's - calmer/whimsical Sindarin roots are balanced with the Noldoran *cough* Feanorian *cough* fiery spirit : remember there's forest fire, but also candle-fire, camp-fire, and hearth-fire)
Hi!! Thanks sending this in! ^^
Ok so I feel like Tolkien was going from what he knew best - English summers.
Especially back then, the only months with truly warm temperatures where people could actually go out and have fun would have been summer months (June-August.) It was probably the only pleasant time of the year with warm breezes and the surroundings finally full of greenery. Idk much about agriculture but I think crops rely on the summer sun and dryer temperatures to properly grow. There’s more danger of a too wet summer than too dry or hot and it causes all kinds of problems. Generally summer is the most gentle and giving season.
Springs meanwhile are cold, stormy, and generally damp. It’s not warm enough for children to play or families to go out without precaution (coats, umbrellas, gloves even.) The sun doesn’t come out for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. The wind is cold enough to freeze you inside out for most of it. The days are still fairly short until May. Plants start growing and you see blossoms but most of them are short lived. It’s not a very kind season tbh.
(Ofc climate change and all that means weather’s going haywire so I’m going by early-mid 1900s England climate which is something I have briefly researched and would’ve been Tolkien’s experiences.)
BUT I love your analysis and it makes total sense for Elrond to be described as Summer for his fire too, hidden away but strikes hard and fast when needed as an all encompassing fire. Only takes a spark to start a forest fire right?
No matter how kind summer is, there’s an inherent fierceness and danger to it.
Just like no matter how kind Elrond is, if you push too far… well. You won’t like what you find. This guy survived some of the most dangerous periods of the First and Second Age for a reason.
(And I love your idea of the whimsical and fiery spirits encased in Elrond! The comforting fire of the Last Homely House, inviting people in away from danger and cold, mixed with the inherently joyous surroundings of laughter and playful teasing we see in the wood elves as a whole! And ofc the pure magical feeling that we definitely would’ve seen in places like Doriath to make that whimsical setting that takes all your stress away. Elrond’s infused it into his realm, he’s really the best mix of it all.)