Recent content by Merrydey

Tom doesn't take sides. He also takes no responsibility. He is master because nothing has power over him, but he chooses not to have power over anything (except maybe the grass and plants around his house, but I imagine he asks their cooperation, not demands it). Or perhaps Goldberry is the...

If you live in a cold enough climate, you do indeed pull up your water lily bulbs and store them over the winter to set out again in the spring. I've always thought of Goldberry's washing day and spring cleaning as the official change of seasons. It may not be the actual equinox, but perhaps the...

You are right. Just sometime during 3018 they were those ages.

In class 21 or 22, it came up about when Frodo came to live at Bag End. His parents died when he was 12, but Bilbo didn't invite him to live at Bag End until much later. In chapter one, it says Bilbo asked Frodo to live with him (and made Frodo his heir) on Bilbo's 99th birthday, so Frodo would...

There was a lot of discussion about the relative ages of the four hobbits, so I used the genealogical tables and did some math. In 3018, the year Frodo left the Shire with the Ring, he was 50. Sam was 38. Merry was 36. And Pippin was 28, not quite "of age".

So what we're saying is that Sam listened to and reported on The Shadow of the Past.

Anybody who has gone hiking knows the wonderfulness of a hot bath or shower when you get in. I never take a hot shower without repeating the 3rd verse to myself, and I've been doing it for more than 40 years.

You are so right about Frodo and Sam as officer and batman. Although I admit my experience is limited to British novels and a stint enlisted in the US Army.

I don't think there's public education in the Shire. I expect that literate families educate their own. Others learn by apprenticeship (like Sam's family). I agree that Sam has a remarkable intellect. I suggest that he is treated closer to equal by Frodo, Pippin, and Merry because they are on a...

My problem with non relateable characters is usually that I just don't like them. Some are ok and necessary to a good story. But if there are no characters in a story that I can like, then it's not an enjoyable read and I'll go read something else. I'm talking about pleasure reading here...

It occurred to me that Bilbo's mother is one of three daughters of the Old Took. Frodo's grandmother was another. The Tooks own a lot of land. It would be likely that the Old Took left some of that land to his daughters (perhaps as dowries) and it would continue to produce income. This was...