“Andreth was a woman of the House of Bëor [...] She was wise in thought, and learned in the lore of Men and their histories; for which reason the Eldar called her Saelind, 'Wise-heart'.”
I have such a warm place in my heart for Andreth, long-suffering wisdom. She is one of my favorite of the women in Tolkien’s legendarium for many reasons, but high up there is that she is allowed to be bitter and angry in the text, while simultaneously retaining the name of Wisdom. In Andreth, female anger and outspoken bitterness are not scorned or held up as negative traits, but are shown to be vindicated through a chapter in which she challenges even the wisdom of the Elves and shifts the understanding of the one she debates.
When I was growing up in a pretty conservative religious household, any anger or pushback on my part was punished as being arrogant, “too emotional,” giving in to the “sin of anger,” or not respecting those in authority around me. So to stumble across Andreth in this chapter holding her own, being angry, being bitter, and somehow still being named Wise was a lifeline that helped me get through to adulthood without losing a pivotal part of myself. As was Finrod in this chapter - a male “authority” figure who did not close her off for speaking her mind, but encouraged her to continue unpacking her thought despite her anger often being directed at him, asked questions to better understand her position, and ultimately changed his view of a pivotal aspect of the created order based on the knowledge she brought to the conversation.
Anyway, she is very dear to me and I finally tried my hand at drawing her.
“Whither you go may you find light.”
