"...beginning with 'old Barliman' here"

amysrevenge

Well-Known Member
This quote makes me question the earlier assertion that, while friendly, the Big and Small folk mostly keep separate.

If this assertion was really true as presented, I could imagine "even 'old Barliman' here has a tale or two". But beginning with old Barliman? That's not very separate.
 
While your observation seems likely, it is well possible that Barliman's leading the list is due to his being the innkeeper and thus a central figure in the social structure of Bree. He has the broadest contact with the Breeland-Hobbits when compared to other people, because he has the broadest contact with any considerable group of people living in or coming through Bree.
 
Hi.
Tolkien writes: "...were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways,...". I think Tolkien might be meaning that the groups are not busybodies, and are not trying to "dominate" each other. Not that they are practicing segregation.
 
Maybe so. Our main interpretation on the day was more or less that the two folk of Bree live separate lives, practically never interacting. I think the evidence that has followed has called that interpretation into question.

So I guess I misspoke with "as presented", I should have said "as we interpreted it".
 
Hi.
Tolkien writes: "...were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways,...". I think Tolkien might be meaning that the groups are not busybodies, and are not trying to "dominate" each other. Not that they are practicing segregation.

This was my take. I think both groups probably have distinct cultures, but that doesn't mean they can't interact. I think even the fact that the Prancing Pony caters to both Men and Hobbits shows this. If the groups were really as independent as interpreted, wouldn't the Small Folk just set up their own inn?

I think most telling is the end of the sentence you began to quote, "...but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-folk." Bree is not a town of Men with some Hobbits in it, nor a town of Hobbits with some Men. Bree is a town of both, with neither overpowering the other.
 
My own assumption was that the two races interact freely in social, political, and economic matters: shopping at the same farmer's markets; attending the same zoning meetings; and, of course, drinking at the same pub. But I also inferred "minding their own affairs in their own ways" to mean that they maintain their own distinct subcultures in more private matters. I imagined there might be separate hobbit and human farmers' associations, for instance - which probably collaborate on matters of mutual interest, but remain distinct and handle a lot of their business on their own. And I suspect there wouldn't be a tailor or a barbershop which serves both hobbit and human clientèle in the same way as the Prancing Pony. I expected they would probably worship at different mosques/synagogues/churches/temples/shrines, and probably also have mostly segregated ceremonies for births (and birth days), Bar Mitzvahs, marriages, and funerals. Not strict demarcations, mind you - I wouldn't think a human at a hobbit wedding or funeral (or vice versa) would be a shocking, unthinkable occurrence, but I imagined it would be cause for more than a little gossip (not mean-spirited gossip, but something along the lines of, "Well, that's not something you see every day, is it?").

You're right that it was probably too hasty of me to run with these assumptions, and Mike's counter-proposal makes sense in light of the facts. I still my own interpretation is plausible, and still leaves room for prominent figures like the town innkeeper having knowledge of the townsfolk which transcends the species divide.
 
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