This is the first real leg of the trip, even if it is mostly across rolling hills and gentle thickets, and we get our first taste of how the Hobbits will react to the road.
The chapter is broken into three distinct segments and I'll format this post in much the same way.
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| Last Sight of Hobbiton by Ted Naismith |
Preparing to Leave
Unlike the Peter Jackson films, Frodo takes his sweet time leaving the Shire after Gandalf comes by talking about how the Ring is, well, the Ring. Spring rolls into summer, and summer becomes fall, and Frodo drags his feet commenting that his home felt more comfortable and desirable than ever. This is a nice contrast with his initial energy in rushing off after Bilbo and starting his own adventure. Eventually, Frodo is convinced to leave after his birthday in the autumn.
In an additional wild bit of Hobbit gossip, Frodo sells Bag End to the Sackville-Baggins, causing quite a stir among the respectable Hobbits of the Shire. This seems to be a specialty with the Baggins of Bag End.
Frodo, Pippen, Merry, Folco, and Fredegar spend several days packing and shipping off his belongings to a new house in Buckland where he decided to "move away to". Only Sam knows the real reason for the trip (and Sam still isn't invited to spend time with the group of friends...) Folco and Fredegar head out a few days early and Merry escorts the last of the wagons to Buckland to help set up Frodo's house before he arrives.
On the eve of the departure, Frodo has an encounter with The Enemy. Not the Ring, but one of the most powerful servants of Sauron, a Nazgul. As Frodo stretches on his front stoop, he hears old Gaffer speaking in an oddly shrill voice about how Mr. Frodo went away to Buckleberry. Thinking nothing of it, Frodo, Sam, and Pippen take off into the early evening, crossing through the fields and hedges.
On the Road
I think this is an incredibly interesting section and really sets the tone for how the rest of the journey will pan out.
The first lines of dialogue on the trek come from Frodo bemoaning how heavy his pack is.
The second line? Sam offering to take some of Frodo's weight because his own is much too light (Tolkien explains that Sam is not being truthful).
Bam! Right there from the start we see EXACTLY how their relationship will look. The more I re-read, the more impressed I become with Sam. The youngest son of a poor gardener, servant of nobility of the Shire, who listened wide-eyed at tales of wonder and elves, becomes the strongest hero of the books (yes, over even Aragorn and Frodo). He knows that his own pack is heavier than Frodo's (because he packed it that way) but still is willing to give more.
The second major bit of action comes the second day of the adventure when Frodo, Sam, and Pippen are overcome with a sudden urge to get off the road and hide. A few moments later, Frodo, peeking through the weeds, sees the Dark Rider himself, sniffing the air for a scent.
The Hobbits don't know yet what this is or what it represents but Frodo already has a strong feeling of dread. He knows that he is safe and hidden, yet the Ring feels so tempting in his pocket. He doesn't know that the Rider would be able to see him then. All he knows is that the Ring makes him invisible, yet he resists?
Well, he doesn't really resist. He is going for the Ring and the Rider leaves. How disastrous would that have been? Frodo, 1.5 days out of Bag End and not yet to Buckland, loses the Ring to a Nazgul who spirits it away to Mordor. Pretty short trip.
Fortunately, the Rider got impatient first. But the pull of the Ring casts Frodo's reluctance to leave Bag End in a different light. Could it be the Ring that was making him think of how great the Shire was and how cozy it felt? Or was it his inner Hobbit finally coming out? I'll wager its a bit of both.
The Elves
After this encounter, Frodo, Sam and Pippen run into the Rider again. This time, they are saved by the timely sound of singing Elves which drives the the Nazgul away. That's 2 for 2 with lucky escapes from the Riders.
The Elves recognize Frodo as a friend of Bilbo's and hail the Hobbits. (This has been a particularly unusual day for Pippen especially. Black Riders, Elves?)
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| Elves in the Woody End by Ted Naismith |
History Lesson!
These are not just any Elves though! These are Noldor, high elves, the most powerful of the Elvish races! Their leader is Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod. Now, this likely means that he is of the House of Finrod who was a brother to Feanor, the greatest of the Elves. However, being "of the House" can mean no more than being a knight or minor noble, so it is unlikely our friend Gildor is very significant in the grand scheme of Elvish power.
Still though, he claims to lead this band of "Exiles" which is an interesting point in Elvish history. Back in the 1st Age, Finrod (whose name is really Finarfin but that didn't clear up until the Silmarillion was edited in the 70s.) and his brothers Feanor and Fingolfin left Valinor for Middle Earth. Halfway there, Manwe (think Zeus) issued the Doom of the Noldor, which is an indictment of Feanor's pride and vengeance. Essentially, an "original sin" for Elves. Finrod heeded Manwe's warning and returned to Valinor where he presumably still rules as King of the Noldor. Feanor and Fingolfin lead long and glorious lives with many great stories. We'll touch on them later as we go.
Anyway, Gildor is probably part of the group that continued sailing to Middle Earth with Feanor and Fingolfin and did not return to Valinor with his own ruler. This makes this group particularly powerful, in contrast to the woodland elves of Legolas which are a different, less powerful variety.
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The Elves takes the hobbits in to protect them from the Rider and have a wonderful little party above Woodhall. Frodo stays up with Gildor speaking of events across Middle Earth. Gildor leaves Frodo with parting wisdom and a strong foreshadow in regards to the Enemy.
"My heart forebodes that you, Frodo of the Shire, will know more of these fell things than Gildor Inglorion!" This is a substantial statement coming from a Noldor who has seen thousands of years rise and fall. He has fought the Enemy first hand at the side of the great Elf Lord Gil-Galad and to make this claim (which Elves don't do lightly) is pretty bold.
He also leaves Frodo with the wish that Elbereth protect him. Elbereth is their most beloved star, representative of the Valar named Varda. Frodo remembers this, I think, as he cries out Elbereth when stabbed on Weathertop, and its the password Sam and him use in Cirith Ungol. Each of these events had a life-threatening wound given to Frodo and yet he survives despite the odds.
Elbereth watched over him, indeed.
I really like the foreshadowing with Sam and Frodo. Definitely missed that on the first read through, but a great example of Sam being the humble hero.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wrote a comment and then it seemed to disappear.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that Sam is THE hero of the book, and definitely a humble one at that.
One thing that I found frustrating was how the characters "in the know" such as Gandalf and the Elves are unwilling to tell Frodo anything. "Has Gandalf told you nothing?" "Nothing of such creatures." "Then I think it is not for me to say more--lest terror should keep you from your journey." Imagine being told that what pursues you is so terrifying that it cannot be told to you; that sounds worse than any specific thing.
I also noted how Frodo can speak Elvish, which gives him a more worldly knowledge than I initially gave him credit for. Unlike the baby-faced Bilbo, Frodo seems more ready for his journey, and more prepared than his hobbit counterparts. Part of my perception is that he his presented similar to Bilbo in the movies in that he is just another average hobbit setting out for an adventure that's larger than him. So to see him presented as well-versed is both interesting and makes more since considering he grew up with Bilbo.
On your note about Elves, since the lineage seems significant, do you think Tolkien meant to make so important? Or was the importance of the house added after these books were written?
A bit of both really. Tolkien had pages and pages of notes before he wrote the Lord of the Rings. He developed Sindarin (Elvish) and its entire evolutionary history and then made a historical framework to fit that and explain it.
DeleteA problem we see in the the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings is that, he never intended the Silmarillion or his other works be published. So he kinda picked names willy-nilly from his histories and they've had to be shoehorned in later.
Glorfindel, who rescues Frodo later, is a great example of a name that was picked from a list of names, but one who had significance in his notes of the earlier ages. So Tolkien wrote more notes about them actually being the same that were published in the Histories of Middle Earth series.
This particular case is probably an example of missed editing in all honesty. Finrod was a name that Tolkien swapped out for Finarfin so Finrod really doesn't refer to anyone. Also, his "House" should be in Valinor still so if it's that particular Finrod, there's a slight problem. I provided a plausible excuse above and that's the one I choose to believe when I read but Tolkien was not the most organized guy and sometimes made minor mistakes with names and such.
Although, one could argue it was intentional, to mirror other legendary narratives like Beowulf, the Bible, or other Scandinavian myths that sometimes juxtapose names and dates.
Good question! Any other thoughts?