Diplomacy and Heirlooms: The Crafty Navigating of Elrond

manofgont

New Member
I fluctuate between being caught up with the episodes and falling behind by 1 or 2. I do listen asynchronously, since I live in Belgium, so it would be quite late (or early) to listen live. This is my first time posting. I realize this is now a couple shows back, but just had some thoughts about how Elrond structured the telling of the history of the ring and why he cut off Bilbo's story right before its conclusion.
While this passage only describes the summary of events shared by Bilbo concerning how he came to possess the ring, it does raise two very important questions:
What purpose does Elrond have for ordering the telling of the history of the ring as he does?
Why does Elrond abruptly cut off Bilbo’s story right before Bilbo describes his passing of the ring to Frodo?
Boromir had just asked two very important questions about the ring: “How does the Wise know that this ring is his? And how has it passed down the years until it is brought hither by so strange a messenger?” (pg. 249)
The history of the ring really has eight broad eras: its creation by Sauron, its removal by Isildur, the loss of the ring, its finding by Deagol, its theft by Smeagol, its finding by Bilbo, its passing to Frodo, and its destruction. Elrond chooses to focus first on the role of Isildur then fast forward all the way to its finding by Bilbo, followed by the passing to Frodo, then backtracks to its loss and the role of Gollum. The tale starts where it should chronologically start for the purposes of the Council, with Isildur cutting it off the hand of Sauron with the shards of Narsil. He then claims it as his own, deeming it a weregild, or payment for the deaths of his father and brother. While this may not actually be how a weregild works, the result is the same; Isildur, one of the “victors” of the war against Sauron, claims the ring as a spoil of war. More shall be learned of what Isildur pronounced in regard to the ring, but that is much later. Elrond then goes on to tell of how Isildur was slain during an ambush and how the ring was lost in the river near the Gladden Fields.
Bilbo is next with his installment of the passing of the ring, which connects the ring to the present events in Middle Earth, but the story of the time between Isildur and Bilbo, during which time Gollum acquired the ring, has been skipped for the moment. After Bilbo is the current situation, where Frodo now has the ring and was counselled to bring it to Rivendell. Finally, Gandalf is called upon to fill in the gaps with all he has discovered (with a little help from Aragorn).
The first three installments were all eye witness accounts of events that involved the ring, while Gandalf has to offer history and hearsay. He does offer something that Bilbo and Frodo could not directly provide with their narratives- an endorsement by the greatest ring loremaster of Middle Earth, Saruman, who helps to verify this ring to be truly the One Ring.
Elrond is using his skill as a storyteller to unfold the tale of the ring. He begins with the ring itself, seized in battle, but then lost. Next he presents a ring of power, purportedly the ring of Sauron, but with only a whisper of evidence to support this assertion. Finally, like the waning few minutes of a Perry Mason or Matlock episode, he reveals the evidence that irrefutably supports the claim. By using this scheme and focusing on the veracity of the claim that this ring is truly the One Ring, and by detailing its history down through the centuries, Elrond expertly navigates around the letter of Boromir’s first question, and shows that true and and only owner of the ring is Sauron.
Elrond not only shows his prowess as a loremaster, but displays shrewd diplomacy as well, which goes to the matter of the second question: Why does Elrond abbreviate Bilbo’s tale and avoid the details of Frodo’s acquisition of the ring?
Bilbo shares with the Council how he stumbled upon the ring while wandering lost deep in the heart of the Misty Mountains, and how he encountered the one who had most recently lost the ring. It is necessary for Gollum to be introduced here, so that his part in the saga can be later revealed by Gandalf. It will be told how Gollum acquired the ring near the Gladden Fields and how it drastically extended his life and corrupted his soul. His introduction here also serves as a foil for Bilbo, as Bilbo met Gollum’s malice and evil with pity, thus avoiding fatal violence in this transfer of ownership of the ring. It is also significant that in all the years Gollum had the ring, he ‘chanced’ to lose it at this time, when Sauron was regaining his strength in Middle Earth, and it so happened that one such as Bilbo would be there to find it.
While the extension of the lives of both Gollum and Bilbo due to their possessing of the ring and its power to render the wearer invisible are worthy exhibits of evidence of the power of the ring, the main point for Bilbo’s tale is to provide context and the lead up to the big reveal by Gandalf.
It is when Bilbo is preparing to move into the portion of his tale that details the passing of the ring to Frodo, and share all the glorious events of his birthday party and his vanishing from the Shire, that Elrond interrupts and hands the tale to Frodo, noting that the ring merely passed to him from Bilbo. It may seem strange for Elrond to create this omission of an outstanding event, namely Bilbo being the only creature in Middle Earth to surrender the ring of Sauron of his own free will. However, this detail does not necessarily add to answering Boromir’s second question, especially since all credence has not been given to the claim that it is the One Ring, but more importantly it avoids any messy entanglements due to Boromir’s first question.
Boromir asks the question: “How do the Wise know that it is his?” (pg. 249) Since it is known that ring was the one forged by Sauron by the reader, it is typically assured that the ‘his’ in Boromir’s question is referring to Sauron, but he makes no reference to Sauron, only Isildur: “Isildur’s Bane is found...Isildur perished ere this age...How do the Wise know that it this ring is his?” (pg. 249) Boromir refers to Isildur as any true and devoted son of Gondor would, with nostalgia and a sense of awe; this is the tone of the ‘his’ in the question. Previously when Boromir did mention Sauron it was with disdain and at a distance: “I have heard of the Great Ring of him that we do not name…” (pg. 243) His tone is impersonal and matter of fact, not filled with reverence and honor as it is when he refers to Isildur, nor when he defines Isildur as the new owner of the ring: “...that this ring is his” [.] (pg. 249) By crediting Isildur with ownership of the Great Ring, he is, either inadvertently or purposefully establishing Gondor as the true claimant of the ring and thereby falling currently under the care of the Stewards. This despite the fact that the actual heir of Isildur denied that it belonged to anyone: “‘Then it belongs to you, and not to me at all?’ cried Frodo… ‘It does not belong to either of us,’ said Aragorn; ‘but it has been ordained that you should hold it for a while.” (pg 247).
Bilbo, who obviously could omit nothing from a tale, is prevented from divulging how he decided to give up the ring, this to prevent any arguments of claims of ownership by any party, especially Gondor. For while it is true, Bilbo gave up the ring willingly and his own volition, it was not necessarily his original intention.
Gandalf had made numerous inquiries about the ring to Bilbo, specifically about where and how he acquired it. Then, prior to the birthday party, Gandalf evidently convinces Bilbo to give the ring to Frodo with all the rest of the property he was bequeathing to his nephew:
Bilbo: I am leaving everything to him, of course…
Gandalf: Everything? The ring as well? You agreed to that, you remember?
Bilbo: Well, er, yes, I suppose so. (pg. 33)
From a legal standpoint, the last person with a defensible claim to the ring was Isildur, or possibly Deagol. Isildur won the ring in battle- an acceptable method to acquire goods and treasure. He never gave up the ring to anyone else, rather it was lost when he was killed in an ambush. Deagol happened to find the ring, but was promptly murdered by Smeagol or Gollum for it- not an acceptable means of acquiring treasures. Then Bilbo just happened to find the ring and ‘won’ it through slightly less than respectable means. Frodo, therefore, really has no justifiable claim on the ring, since it never legally changed hands prior to his acquisition of it. In truth, or rather in the realm of property rights, it must then belong to Gondor. It is no wonder why Elrond skipped over the passing of the ring from Bilbo to Frodo, as the involvement of Gandalf could be brought into question as could the whole line of possession, especially once Gandalf reveals the words of Isildur regarding the fate of the ring. It is not clear what would have happened if the claim of ownership for Gondor would have been proffered, but undoubtedly it would have been disastrous.
Elrond deftly avoids ceding ownership of the ring to anyone but Sauron, yet still answers Boromir’s questions to the letter- both for the veracity of the claim that it did pass from Isildur to Gollum to Bilbo and now to Frodo. Elrond also cushions Gandalf’s involvement by placing him last in the telling of the tale, giving him the role of a third party participant whose duty is to fill in the gaps and provide the irrefutable evidence that this ring is truly the Great Ring of Sauron.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (2005). The Lord of the Rings / 50th Anniversary, the complete classic in one volume. London: Harper Collins Publishers.
 
I see how you come to interpret the 'his' as Isildur, but I don't think there is sufficient evidence to state that this is the only valid interpretation, as we get no clear indicators of his tone of voice. I humbly submit that you are hearing it a particular way in your mind and using that to support your interpretation as being correct.

The conclusions you draw from your interpretation are interesting.
 
I see how you come to interpret the 'his' as Isildur, but I don't think there is sufficient evidence to state that this is the only valid interpretation, as we get no clear indicators of his tone of voice. I humbly submit that you are hearing it a particular way in your mind and using that to support your interpretation as being correct.

The conclusions you draw from your interpretation are interesting.

Many things in the real world have more than one 'valid interpretation'. Noticing the ambiguity of the possessive pronoun in that comment is an excellent point, and an astonishly clever way to begin weaving the theme of Boromir's attraction to the Ring into the story. It's one of those things that is so subtle you have to wonder if Tolkien could have consciously thought of it or if it was just a product of the authentic writing process with the author completely absorbed by the characters, letting them produce the narrative.
 
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Excellent points by all,

I believe you are all on to something here. I think JRRT often writes TLOTR so there is more than one valid interpretation of the text. (Often more than two.) By this I mean not only that his words can be interpreted in several ways, but also that all those interpretations can be 'valid' simultaneously. I think this is deliberate (at least in many cases), and it is one of JRRT's masteries of language that make TLOTR such a great work.

I have seen several discussions in this forum, and, of course, during the class on why Elrond (and Gandalf) take care not to go into the story of how Bilbo left the Ring for Frodo. I have not yet seen one of the more probable explanations. They want Frodo to believe that the Ring can be given up! He is, they hope, going to take it to Mt. Doom and cast it down into the fires. They would prefer that he is confident that this can be done. Not given to the doubt ('if Bilbo could barely give it up nor throw it into his hearth fire, will I be able to give it up and throw it into Mt. Doom?')

I can imagine Gandalf saying to Elrond, "Oft doubt has been the downfall of great and heroic deeds."
 
Huh. It never occurred to me to wonder exactly how much of the Gandalf the Grey Uncloaked story Frodo knows. He very well might only know it in the broadest of strokes, if he is even aware there was any conflict at all.
 
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