In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien writes that they breed slowly, for no more than a third of them are female, and not all marry; also, female Dwarves look and sound (and dress, if journeying — which is rare) so alike to Dwarf-males that other folk cannot distinguish them, and thus others wrongly believe Dwarves grow out of stone. Tolkien names only one female, Dís. In The War of the Jewels Tolkien says both males and females have beards.[18]
On the other hand, I suppose it’s possible that if humans find Elves that much more beautiful than humans, maybe Dwarves would be affected the same way, though it seems less likely for them.
Yeah, as JamesAndrix alludes to (warning: extreme geekery), the Dwarves were created by Aulë (one of the Valar (Gods)) because he was impatient for the Firstborn Children of Iluvatar (i.e., the Elves) to awaken. So you might call the Dwarves Aulë′s attempt at creating the Elves; at least, he knew what the Elves would look like (from the Great Song), so it’s pretty plausible that he impressed in the Dwarves an aesthetic sense which would rank Elves very highly.
There are different kinds of plausibility. There’s plausibility for fiction, and there’s plausibility for culture. Both pull in the same direction for LOTR to have Absolute Beauty, which by some odd coincidence, is a good match for what most of its readers think is beautiful.
What might break your suspension of disbelief? The usual BEM behavior would probably mean that the Watcher at the Gate preferencially grabbing Galadriel if she were available would seem entirely reasonable, but what about Treebeard? Shelob?
for LOTR to have Absolute Beauty, which by some odd coincidence, is a good match for what most of its readers think is beautiful.
Particularly when referring to the movie versions, you could consider this simply a storytelling device, similar to all the characters speaking English even in movies set in non-English speaking countries (or planets). It’s not that the Absolute Beauty of Middle-Earth is necessarily a good match for our beauty standards, it’s that it makes it easier for us to relate to the characters and experience what they’re feeling.
[From Wikipedia:}(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_%28Middle-earth%29)
On the other hand, I suppose it’s possible that if humans find Elves that much more beautiful than humans, maybe Dwarves would be affected the same way, though it seems less likely for them.
Also, perhaps dwarves don’t have their beauty-sense linked to their mating selection. They appreciate elves as beautiful but something else as sexy.
Yeah, as JamesAndrix alludes to (warning: extreme geekery), the Dwarves were created by Aulë (one of the Valar (Gods)) because he was impatient for the Firstborn Children of Iluvatar (i.e., the Elves) to awaken. So you might call the Dwarves Aulë′s attempt at creating the Elves; at least, he knew what the Elves would look like (from the Great Song), so it’s pretty plausible that he impressed in the Dwarves an aesthetic sense which would rank Elves very highly.
Yes this is definitively correct. Also, it’s a world with magic rings and dragons people.
There are different kinds of plausibility. There’s plausibility for fiction, and there’s plausibility for culture. Both pull in the same direction for LOTR to have Absolute Beauty, which by some odd coincidence, is a good match for what most of its readers think is beautiful.
What might break your suspension of disbelief? The usual BEM behavior would probably mean that the Watcher at the Gate preferencially grabbing Galadriel if she were available would seem entirely reasonable, but what about Treebeard? Shelob?
Particularly when referring to the movie versions, you could consider this simply a storytelling device, similar to all the characters speaking English even in movies set in non-English speaking countries (or planets). It’s not that the Absolute Beauty of Middle-Earth is necessarily a good match for our beauty standards, it’s that it makes it easier for us to relate to the characters and experience what they’re feeling.