I like most of these points very much! Especially, like to think that:

dawnfelagund:

This one’s harder than perhaps it should be. Given the size of her role in the canon, I’ve thought shamefully little about Galadriel as a character.

Favorite Thing: She’s an overachieving badass. She does not fade into anyone’s shadow, least of all any male character’s shadow. She wants to be the best and she owns it. I like, too, how Tolkien resists softening her character. She doesn’t just get borne along with her people to Middle-earth; nope, she wants and chooses and pushes to go. (See favorite line below!) She doesn’t strive for excellence in anything soft and feminine; nope, she wants to be in charge and to lead her people. (Not that there’s anything wrong with excellence in soft, feminine things, but we need to see women as unapologetic leaders too.)

Least Favorite Thing: As I wrote for the character ask for Finrod, I take issue with the hidden Elven kingdoms. I called them “morally dubious” in that post and stand by that:

But the fact still remains that the brunt of assault from Angband falls on other settlements so that Nargothrond can expend its energy being the beautiful place it is celebrated for being. That’s not just, and there are too many parallels–some people taking on unappreciated, unseen, often dangerous labor so that the privileged may cultivate their genius and be lauded for it–to real-world injustice for me to dismiss these concerns.

I was willing to cut Finrod some slack since he was personally willing to come forth and support his family’s effort–in a roundabout way, this willingness is what got him killed–but I can’t extend that same sympathy to Doriath, aside from Beleg and Mablung. I know I’m a Fëanorian sympathizer with the biases of a Fëanorian sympathizer, but Maedhros’s words at the council in Mithrim are an accurate assessment in my view: “’Doriath alone would be his realm this day, but
for the coming of the Noldor. Therefore in Doriath let him reign, and be glad
that he has the sons of Finwë for his neighbours, not the Orcs of Morgoth that
we found’” (Silmarillion, “Of the Return of the Noldor”).

In Galadriel’s case, it has always felt odd to me that she was willing to push for exodus from Valinor and then becomes content to languish behind the Girdle of Melian. I know that fanfic could derive all kinds of plausible reasons for this, but the texts are disappointingly mute on the reason why. The best I can figure is that she knew access to the tutelage of Melian would be to her benefit; all the same, spending the entirety of the First Age in seclusion seems an irresponsible choice. (See below for me trying to justify this.)

Favorite Line: “Galadriel, the only woman of the Noldor to stand
that day tall and valiant among the contending princes, was eager to be gone.
No oaths she swore, but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle-earth had kindled
in her heart, for she yearned to see the wide unguarded lands and to rule there
a realm at her own will.” (Silmarillion, “Of the Flight of the Noldor”)

brOTP: Aredhel. I love friendship stories of the two of them in Aman that has them as hellraisers willing to challenge the social order.

OTP: Celeborn, I suppose. @heartofoshun makes a convincing case (borrowing heavily from Marnie’s work) that he is not as dishwater as fandom has made him out to be but a fitting match for Galadriel.

All the same, I enjoy femslash pairings of Galadriel. I just don’t know that I’m committed to any single one to call it an OTP. But Aredhel and Melian would both make good pairings for her.

nOTP: The usual … parent/child incest is not at all my thing.

Random Headcanon: In my effort to justify Galadriel’s sequestration in Doriath for all those centuries, I like to imagine–as I noted above–that she was learning from Melian. And, with her Arafinwion foresight, she knew those skills would be of great importance and need someday, so it was worth the sacrifice of being active (and relatively untrained) in the First Age in order to have her full might and wisdom available in the Third Age.

Because I can’t go with the explanation that she was so in luuuuv that she was willing to make that sacrifice. I just can’t.

Unpopular Opinion: I don’t know that I have one. If I do, I suppose it would be that I emphasize her Noldorin qualities that brought her to Middle-earth as equally important to those qualities, generally acknowledged by scholars as What Tolkien Was Trying For, that permitted her to return to Valinor, namely humility. She is definitely an example of how pride and ambition can work out for a person.

Song I Associate with the Character: “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” by Cake

Favorite Image: Perusing Galadriel art, there is much that is beautifully done by ridiculously talented artists … but much of it is modeled after Cate Blanchett (fair enough! she was a brilliant choice for the role!) and nearly all of it is in the flowsy-gown-Elven-queen style. I am missing something a little more … active, I suppose. I’m open to recommendations.

I emphasize her Noldorin qualities that brought her to Middle-earth as equally important to those qualities, generally acknowledged by scholars as What Tolkien Was Trying For, that permitted her to return to Valinor, namely humility.