Love the example of Frodo as the naif and Gandalf as mentor. Although considering Gandalf’s long absence after his fall in Moria, maybe Sam deserves more credit. Or may it’s just a case of what would Gandalf do?’
The point about Holmes and Poirot using ‘fantastical’ methods also resonates, and maybe it’s one reason why my favourite of the classic detectives is neither of these but Peter Wimsey. It might also explain why some of Sayers’s stories were criticised as being too easy to solve, but you can’t have it both ways.
And we definitely see Wimsey’s wounded nature in the early novels.
And now I’m wondering whether my MC counts as wounded or not. She’s an orphan, doesn’t even discover who her parents are until she’s 20, and her childhood has seen her being passed around between several ‘aunts’—but she soon learns to turn this to her advantage and often enjoys solitary wandering.
A great post with much food for thought.
Love the example of Frodo as the naif and Gandalf as mentor. Although considering Gandalf’s long absence after his fall in Moria, maybe Sam deserves more credit. Or may it’s just a case of what would Gandalf do?’
The point about Holmes and Poirot using ‘fantastical’ methods also resonates, and maybe it’s one reason why my favourite of the classic detectives is neither of these but Peter Wimsey. It might also explain why some of Sayers’s stories were criticised as being too easy to solve, but you can’t have it both ways.
And we definitely see Wimsey’s wounded nature in the early novels.
And now I’m wondering whether my MC counts as wounded or not. She’s an orphan, doesn’t even discover who her parents are until she’s 20, and her childhood has seen her being passed around between several ‘aunts’—but she soon learns to turn this to her advantage and often enjoys solitary wandering.
Sounds like she’s quite wounded!
Lots of mentors and mentoring in LOTR. Sam always seems so simple but his down to earth wisdom is great. He saw right through Gollum!