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Phial of Galadriel
The Phial of Galadriel is an object in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. It is a gift from the Elf-lady Galadriel to the protagonist Frodo Baggins, who uses its brilliant light at several critical moments during his journey to Mount Doom.
Tolkien added the Phial late in the writing of The Lord of the Rings; it appears only in his fifth version of the chapter "Farewell to Lothlórien".
The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger describes the Phial as a splinter of the created light. This came ultimately from the Two Trees of Valinor, by way of a Silmaril made from their light, and then via Galadriel's fountain which captured a little of that Silmaril's light, shining as Eärendil's star. The Phial is one of the elements that associate the character of Galadriel with light, water, and Mary, mother of Jesus, indicating Galadriel's psychological pairing with the evil spider Shelob, symbolising light against darkness.
The Phial of Galadriel is a small crystal bottle filled with water from Galadriel's fountain. It contains a little of the light of Eärendil's star. The mariner Eärendil is the holder of one of the three Silmarils preserving the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, and he travels the skies like a star aboard his ship, the Vingilot. When the Fellowship of the Ring leaves Lothlórien, Galadriel gives each of the nine an appropriate gift. To Frodo she offers the Phial, wishing him: "May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out." Frodo then wears it around his neck.
The hobbits Frodo and Sam use the Phial several times during their journey to Mordor. Sam calls it a "star-glass". On the steps of Cirith Ungol, when Frodo is chased by a Nazgûl, and is about to give in to the temptation to put on the One Ring and reveal himself to the enemy, he holds the Phial instead, which restores his senses. Later, its light helps the hobbits fight Shelob in her lair.
"... slowly he held aloft the Phial of Galadriel. ... then as its power waxed, and hope grew in Frodo’s mind, it began to burn, and kindled to a silver flame, a minute heart of dazzling light, as though Eärendil had himself come down from the high sunset paths with the last Silmaril upon his brow."
— Book 4, ch. 9 "Shelob's Lair"
Sam uses the Phial to defeat the Watchers of the tower of Cirith Ungol. However, its power is no match for Sauron's; when the hobbits try to use it again as they approach Mount Doom, its light dims.
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Phial of Galadriel
The Phial of Galadriel is an object in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. It is a gift from the Elf-lady Galadriel to the protagonist Frodo Baggins, who uses its brilliant light at several critical moments during his journey to Mount Doom.
Tolkien added the Phial late in the writing of The Lord of the Rings; it appears only in his fifth version of the chapter "Farewell to Lothlórien".
The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger describes the Phial as a splinter of the created light. This came ultimately from the Two Trees of Valinor, by way of a Silmaril made from their light, and then via Galadriel's fountain which captured a little of that Silmaril's light, shining as Eärendil's star. The Phial is one of the elements that associate the character of Galadriel with light, water, and Mary, mother of Jesus, indicating Galadriel's psychological pairing with the evil spider Shelob, symbolising light against darkness.
The Phial of Galadriel is a small crystal bottle filled with water from Galadriel's fountain. It contains a little of the light of Eärendil's star. The mariner Eärendil is the holder of one of the three Silmarils preserving the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, and he travels the skies like a star aboard his ship, the Vingilot. When the Fellowship of the Ring leaves Lothlórien, Galadriel gives each of the nine an appropriate gift. To Frodo she offers the Phial, wishing him: "May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out." Frodo then wears it around his neck.
The hobbits Frodo and Sam use the Phial several times during their journey to Mordor. Sam calls it a "star-glass". On the steps of Cirith Ungol, when Frodo is chased by a Nazgûl, and is about to give in to the temptation to put on the One Ring and reveal himself to the enemy, he holds the Phial instead, which restores his senses. Later, its light helps the hobbits fight Shelob in her lair.
"... slowly he held aloft the Phial of Galadriel. ... then as its power waxed, and hope grew in Frodo’s mind, it began to burn, and kindled to a silver flame, a minute heart of dazzling light, as though Eärendil had himself come down from the high sunset paths with the last Silmaril upon his brow."
— Book 4, ch. 9 "Shelob's Lair"
Sam uses the Phial to defeat the Watchers of the tower of Cirith Ungol. However, its power is no match for Sauron's; when the hobbits try to use it again as they approach Mount Doom, its light dims.