Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 106
Comment on the house of Elrond:
Comment on the house of Elrond:
- There seems to be a distinction made between living in the house of Elrond and living Rivendell.
- Those who dwell in the house of Elrond would only be a select few, including family and those with special ties, like Glorfindel and Aragorn. The other inhabitants of Rivendell live elsewhere.
- Tolkien’s paintings of Rivendell seem to portray it as one large building in the valley, however.
- Rivendell is one of the few primary centers for the last of the High Elves to live in Middle-earth.
- Glorfindel’s introduction may be an understatement, not revealing his special status or details.
- Would Frodo have heard of Glorfindel through songs or stories from Bilbo? It’s possible that Frodo and Sam have heard stories, as even Bilbo knew stories about Gondolin in The Hobbit.
- Glorfindel’s presence would elevate Rivendell’s status, as well as Elrond’s, and vice versa.
- As Sam has typically kept reverently quiet when High Elves appear in the story, he may be remembering those stories that he’s heard about them.
- Bilbo would certainly have told them stories about the Glamdring and Orcrist, which were companion blades of Sting, as they all came from Gondolin.
- Having Glorfindel living in Elrond’s house retroactively recontextualizes Elrond’s inspection of the swords in The Hobbit, as he would have a lord of the Gondolindrim there among them.
- Note: Glorfindel was possibly the last recycled name before deciding that he was the same Glorfindel from “The Fall of Gondolin”. This only happened in the last years of Tolkien’s life.
- While the shadows of the mountains over the valley a natural occurrence, when taken in context with Gandalf’s words about encroaching darkness, it takes on an ominous tone.
- Night is literally falling, and while Elves like nightfall, Gandalf is aware of the bigger picture.
- The short sentence, “The air was warm” stands out among the long sentences describing the landscape. He seems to want to highlight the warmth as part of the lingering summer there.
- Winter is falling everywhere else, as it is late in autumn, but in Rivendell, it is still summer.
- Note: In the second edition of The Hobbit, Elrond is described as being as “kind as summer”.
- This helps give the impression of the power of preservation at work here in Rivendell.
- As this is from Frodo’s point of view, the coldness that he experienced as part of his wounding seems to be contrasted against the warmth of the valley, which stands against that power.
- Note: Elves do feel cold, but they are much more resistant to it, though not invulnerable.
- While Gandalf directly responds to Pippin’s remark, he also offers a gloss of the global situation in the form of an allegory, using shadows and darkness to describe what is happening outside.
- Why does Pippin use the word “noble cousin” to describe Frodo? While they are literally cousins, Frodo is not nobility in the terms of social rank, and hobbits don’t have real nobility.
- The Bagginses are an important Shire family. After Bilbo’s departure, Frodo became the de facto head of the Baggins family by owning Bag End, so when he sold it, that was significant for them.
- Note: The Sackville-Bagginses would have taken over this status by owning Bag End, with Frodo abdicating that position. This becomes important later during the Scouring.
- Pippin seems to be teasing Frodo, but it’s not clear in what way. It may be the new clothes that the Elves gave him, making him look particularly splendid, and Pippin is giving a mock fanfare.
- It’s not clear that the other hobbits were also given new clothes, though it seems unlikely.
- As the son of the Thain of the Shire, he may be playing on the idea of their social ranks reversed.
- Frodo has grown in stature, so Pippin is speaking truth in jest. Also, the last time the other hobbits saw Frodo, he was near death, so his unexpected recovery makes a big difference.
- Pippin may also be responding to the elevated nature of Rivendell and speaking in that tone. People in Rivendell may speak and greet each other more formally than the hobbits are used to.
- Note: Any formality among the Elves is offset by their teasing towards Bilbo in The Hobbit.
- Pippin seems to be thinking that Frodo has emerged victorious after his long struggle.
- For Merry and Pippin, the quest has been to reach Rivendell with the Ring, and that’s now done.
- They’ve all nearly been destroyed multiple times and had many experiences that few if any hobbits have done before, so they may think that this adventure is now over.
- Note: As readers, we are more aware of the nature of the Ring than the other hobbits, so Pippin’s statement appears to us as ironic, as the Ring is starting to exert power over Frodo.
- Pippin knows that the Ring is Sauron’s ring and that he is looking for it, and about its ability to make someone invisible, but he doesn’t seem to know anything about its real powers.
- Merry and Pippin see the Ring as Sauron’s object of desire, but not the true danger to its bearer.
- Most people seem to view the Rings of Power as tools or weapons, not as magical objects.
- Sam could have revealed this to Merry and Pippin, but he probably wouldn’t. He had “dried up” after being caught, so he doesn’t seem to have shared Gandalf and Frodo’s conversation.
- Sam may not even have clear understanding of what he overheard about the Ring from Gandalf.
- We are told that Frodo and Gandalf had a shorter conversation about the Ring the night before, which Gandalf stopped until daylight, and it seems that Sam overheard that conversation, too.
- Sam would have reported that first conversation to Merry and Pippin, in which he learned that the Ring was dangerous and belonged to the Enemy.
- Note: Sam had left the Green Dragon in time to spy on Frodo and Gandalf, which he had been thinking about. It was not yet fully dark, and Gandalf arrived after dark and stopped early.
- After he was caught and learned more about the Ring, he may have withheld that information from Merry and Pippin as long as he was without Frodo’s permission to reveal it.
- Pippin seems to be casting Frodo’s escape from the Enemy as a triumph over the Ring itself, too.
- Frodo and Gandalf know the significance of claiming the Ring, and how it attaches you to it. Pippin must either likely not understand this, or is being rash and thoughtless, which is unlikely.
- Pippin is rash sometimes, but not in this way, and though hobbits tease each other a lot, to joke with Frodo about something as serious as claiming the Ring would seem out of bounds.
- Note: Pippin will spend the entire early part of the story, and even further, demonstrating how much he doesn’t understand, so this probably falls into that category. He even doesn’t understand Aragorn’s role as future king until Gondor. Swearing himself to service to Denethor is a significant turning point for Pippin.
- Hobbitry is not malicious, and Pippin is certainly praising Frodo for accomplishing the quest.
- In the sense Pippin means it, the Ring becomes like a trophy that the Enemy couldn’t attain.
- It would not be unreasonable for the hobbits to think of the Ring as Frodo’s property, having inherited it from Bilbo in the same way he inherited Bag End.
- Pippin is making a joke that he may only realizes is in bad taste after it is pointed out to him.
- Note: Pippin will be outraged when Frodo is insulted and belittled after being the Ring-bearer.
- From where Pippin was standing, Frodo stood up to all Nine Ringwraiths and defied them.
- Note: Bilbo had found the Ring and kept it in defiance of an enemy, Gollum, who wanted it back. Frodo has done the same thing in defying Sauron, so he may think that Frodo as earned it, too.