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by Unknown's avatar

In my opinion… YES!

Though there really isn’t any evidence of it in any of the books. The movies make it more than apparent.

There is no doubt about it. It’s not really apparent in Lord of the Rings although the look on Galadriel’s face is of concern when she discovers that Gandalf has fallen.

Not only that, but the way they react to each other during the White Council (especially when he first sees her) is even more evidence.

But really, the only proof I needed is this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZZloOPRnQ8

Now, is it possible that I’m thinking too much into this? Yes.
Could they have just been really close friends? Absolutely, but I don’t buy it.

Let me know what you think. Am I right or wrong?

Category: Book, Characters, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Lord of the Rings, Movie, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , ,

56 Comments on “Question: Did Mithrandir (Gandalf) and Galadriel have a relationship at one point?”

  1. As an ardent LOTR fan, I’d say you are wrong. I believe that, Galadriel being married and Gandalf being Gandalf, they would both be wise enough to remain in only a “close friend” relationship. What’s more, the real Gandalf, as in the one Tolkien imagined, never had anything romantic to do with Galadriel, so that’s the Gandalf that I like to keep in mind, no matter how much the movie changes it.
    My thoughts 🙂
    Aul

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    • Thank you, and you’re correct, in the book it makes no mention. However, the movie the Hobbit almost paints Gandalf as Aragorn and Galadriel as Arwen, affecting him from afar. In fact in the movie posters for the newest movie coming out, we see a bit more intimacy on their part. That being said, it could be their just close… weird… friends.
      But if we’re sticking to the books, then yes, there was no insinuation of a relationship.

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      • No I definitely agree with you that the movie appears to make them have a little something. Definitely a…weird…relationship too 😉
        Aul

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      • Yes, the movies paint them as almost romantically close, especially in the Hobbit films, but I think that says more about Jackson than the actual characters as it’s his interpretation there.

        I also try to pretend the Hobbit films don’t exist.

        Liked by 3 people

      • Both Gandalf and Galadriel are extremely long-lived/Immortal. They could have been childhood sweethearts, before she married. 😉 It’s be fun fan fiction to speculate why she married the other guy.

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    • The movies suggests this, but I’m not sure if the books do. Either way, if they did, I’m pretty sure it would have been a rather magical experience for both of them.

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  2. I think the book and movies have to be taken as semi separate creations each good in their own way (otherwise the movie would be perceived as not following the book and not only with Gandalf etc.) I love them both but the book was my first love so I stick with that (definitely no implied relationship.) However the beauty of fantasy is you can weave the characters and plot to whatever you please, in literature, movies or just your own mind.
    (Thanks for the follow!)

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  3. Dude, the real question should be:

    How would Celeborn react if Mithrandir and Galadriel would have date each other?

    Amd then…

    What if Galadriel and Mithrandir would have had a relationship… and mate? 😀

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  4. I agree with those who point out the differences between the books and movie. Yes, the movie hints at a past romantic relationship, but I suspect that was more the trend of projecting the sense of sex or romance in everything. IMHO, the book was better and there was no romance there.

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  5. It is an interesting notion. But only if set far back into time. And since both are beings of great longevity, who knows what existed between them before we (Tolkien, Jackson, US, or the fan-club) existed. A first love remains strong. It’s a given.

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    • Good a place to start as any; the key is what Crimsonprose said about ‘great longevity’. Putting aside the movies for the moment, recall that Galadriel is a High Elf, living in Valinor for what may have been hundreds if not thousands of years prior to Feanor’s rebellion, and the departure of the Noldor back to Middle Earth.

      During that time, Gandalf, then known as Olorin, was a Maiar, a demi-god or perhaps ‘low-ranked angel’ would be better. He often dwelt in the Gardens of Lorien, far in the interior of Valinor… now where else have we heard the name Lorien before?

      Romantic? Honestly, I’d tend to doubt it, but then Melian and Thingol ended up together, so Tolkien obviously thought cross-breeding was possible.

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  6. I think you are buying into the ‘Jackson’ version of LOTR, as there were no indications in the books other than it was apparent that the parties in question knew each other and held great respect for each other. I am particularly defensive of the books, but also like the movie versions. However, the embroidered, updated movies are what make me defensive of the books.

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    • I understand, and I was more focusing on the film version though I do mention that it wasn’t referred to in the books.
      To be honest though, when it comes to the books… have you ever read the original? Like the first unedited edition? As much as I hate to say this because of how much I love LOTR and the Hobbit… the books were not well-written. They needed work, and changes needed to be made to bring them from one medium to the next.
      There have been attempts to stick to the source material before (Bakshi and Rakin-Bass) and those were mostly total flops.

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  8. Don’t kill me for saying this, but I shi Galadriel and Gandalf and think that they would make a good pair. I mean, there is the time when Galadriel wanted Gandalf as leader of the White Council. There’s no reason they couldn’t have a relationship when Galadriel was still single. She was also concerned for Gandalf when he was “killed” by the Balrog. She found him and clothed him or something like that.

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  11. The books do make mention that there was something I her past that left her on Middle Earth. A rebellion or pride that keeps her fro the first crossing into the west. She and Celeborn have been married forever and their daughter was Elrond’s wife. My opinion. Totally possible. Celeborn and Galadriel respect each other as rulers but she is a wild hair.

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  12. Well, hmm. First of all, They’re Tolkein’s creations, so he gets his way before anyone else get’s any influence over them. And the good professor seems to have been so uncomfortable including even the merest indication of sex that one has to almost assume immaculate conception. So Gandalf and Galadriel (or anyone)? I think not.

    If you wanted to look for a sexual connection for Gandalf at all, you might as well assume he’s gay, with a chaste, but ardent affection for hobbits (those hairy toes!)

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  13. No. The movies (to me) show two friends who are really close, being known eachother for centuries and all. She is precious to all who look apon her anyway. Gandalf treats her like royalty. In turn, she can see Gandalf for the angel he is, and treats him with the respect one would a beloved friend.

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  14. No, not in the books. If you read all the books, starting with the Silmarillion, it is very apparent that they did not. Gandalf is a member of the Maia (I think that’s the name), beings that are less than Vanyar but more than elves, dwarves and man. The Silmarillion specifically states that there has only been one union between the Maia and Elvenkind, which is the marriage of Melian (a Maia) and Thingol (an elf lord). FYI, Melian and Thinngol’s daughter is Luthien, who married Beren, a man. Therefore, their descendants, who include Elrond, Arwen, Arwen’s brothers and Aragorn have all three of those races combined.

    Nancy
    http://www.workingmomadventures.com

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  15. I have to admit, I never really saw the relationship that way, even in the films. We all view things differently of course, but what I saw was Gandalf react to Galadriel in much the same way almost every other male reacted to her in the LOTR films – Gimli in particular was very taken with the she-elf but isn’t she supposed to be just that? An enchanting beauty to all that view her? I dunno, i just sort of saw it as that.
    TartanRose

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  16. Tell you what… I wrote a short story a while ago that put Earth Mother and Gandalf in a mix-up of note!! Actually, Earth Mother didn’t admit to an affair but reading between the lines suggested something along those lines. (PS – The story, along with many others, is still waiting for a publisher… so am I!!) 🙄

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  17. I think we could meet halfway and imagine a scene in which the two obtain one of the elf rings for her. If only Tolkien’s son would promote some authorized writers, then this scene could be a reality. After a close battle, the elf queen might reward a younger Gandalf with a kiss, and he would definately trust her with safe guarding the elf ring of power.

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  18. I don’t believe so, not even in the movies, but such a story would’ve been pretty interesting! 😀 For me that part of the movie wasn’t weird, and not at all romantic, just intimate. A very close relationship that can only happen between people who completely understand and love each other, more like in a sister-brother, almost twins kind of way. They both see things the others don’t and they are both very responsible people, leaders. They react to everything differently than Elrond, and this makes them alike. But I couldn’t sense any romatic weirdness in it. But I can understand if one would want it to happen, since they are both awesome! 🙂

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  19. you imagine Gandalf young and stupid. He has never been either.. It says a great deal about hollywood’s need to make everything venal. Mithrandir is a force in the whole creation. He is male in the sense of a global identity without the need to use his genitals to demonstrate that fact

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  22. That’s a nice rock to throw into the pool! …but I’m with those who say, not in the book, and that the film is quite a different story! (thanks for liking the blog, btw).

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  23. Hello,

    You know I think something’s are lost in our age of just friends or just lovers. You can have close friendships with people without it being sexual. There is trust, compassion, and honesty that can build deeper relationships between friends.

    Also, I know she has a husband, but elves do have long life spans. Maybe they’re able to build more long-lasting relationships with more people over time than humans who are limited by age. I also think that the elves were in the world before the wizards came. Galadriel might very well be almost a compassionate mother to Gandalf. He has always been the age he is, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t older elders than he.

    Just done thoughts.

    Thanks for sharing,

    Gary

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  25. ‘Shipping is fun, isn’t it? Like, Frodo and Sam obviously had something going on, right? And Saruman clearly had a crush on Aragorn…ok, maybe not. If Tolkien only had more hormone-crazed teen witches running around Middle Earth–and a spooky school to put them in…

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  26. Oh but it would be so boring to just believe that they DIDN’T have something more than friendship! Just because Tolkien didn’t put it in the book, it doesn’t have to mean that he didn’t consider it.

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  29. Per John Tolkien, this would be an absurd suggestion. Not only would he be morally offended at the suggestion but Mithrandir is a toltally different KIND of being than Galadriel.

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  30. It certainly would have added spice to the Silmarilion or The Lord of The Rings but that was not much in JRR Tolkien view who already had too many sad love stories to relate between elves, humans and elves and between humans. Moreover Mithrandir was in fact of a more elevated status being a half god. His resurrection after the battle with the Balrog proves it if needed. It certainly would have been complicated! But interesting….

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  31. The movies did a great deal that would have caused Tolkien to roll in his grave, so I think you have to consider the two universes separately. In the books, I’d say absolutely not. I’ve read just about everything on the subject that Tolkien ever wrote, including the many early works and revisions on the mythology that his estate later released from a lifetime of notes and development. There was no evidence anywhere that such a relationship existed. They would have almost viewed each other as separate species.

    While I enjoyed the LOTR film adaptation, The Hobbit films would have been (I believe) the most responsible for your perception. The Hobbit films were a joyless train wreck and had little to do with the source material outside of title and character names. So, with regard to that, why not? They were probably boning.

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  32. I’ll be the odd one out and say I have not read this series yet. I know I completely suck. But now I’m tempted

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    • Having read LTR and all the other prequels and sequels nothing happened between Gandalf and Galadriel! Wishful thinking from some (many) modern interpreters of JRR Tolkien unsatisfied with the lack of affairs!

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  33. Hard to say. Actors bring/interject so much into their roles. Do the actors have an offscreen relationship they cannot conceal, or are they adding a necessary nuance to make characters Mithrandir and Galadriel more believable? What happens in Middle-earth stay in Middle-earth.

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  34. I saw this hint of deep affection for one another as well. This scene stirs me every time I see it. Past lovers, but their destines led their paths away from one another.

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  35. I do love both but they never had a relationship. In the book “The Silmarils” (I do hope that Peter Jackson will not ruin this book as he did with The Hobbit) you are going to learn that Gandalf was there too but with another name and playing another rule far away from Galadriel. But they do know about each other as Celeborn know too. That’s the reason, the affection between Galadriel, Celeborn and Gandalf. They knew about each other since the dawn of time. For me, in my personal point of view, The Silmarils is the best book because It explains everything that was, is and will be.

    Kind wish

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  36. What a clever thought. I have briefly scanned through the comments and am overwhelmed how much your commentators know about LOTR and Middle Earth.

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  38. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I can really comment on LOTR since it has been way more than 50 years since I read the books. I saw the movie more recently.
    Keep in mind that Hollywood has a way slaughtering a book. They make it easier to visualize, but too often digress from an author’s intendend storyline.

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  39. Oh yes they did !! I can even imagine a young Gandalf in love and all that. Hehe. At least in the movie that was what I think was implied. Not in the books.

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