Episode 115 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 115

Comment on the Dwarves’ progress:
  • The general trend in Tolkien’s Middle-earth follows the medieval model of constant decline from heights of the past, but the Dwarves’ improvements in building and mining contradict this.
  • Glóin emphasizes that not only have the dwarves declined in skill in metalwork, but that they have lost the knowledge to ever achieve those skills again, except in building and mining.
  • He seems to be specifically speaking about Erebor, not to all the Dwarves, including in Moria.
  • There is a parallel with the restoration of the kingship in Gondor, there is a temporary restoration of the past and a short-term improvement in Gondor, but not in the wider world.
  • The Hobbit is also a “return of the king” story with the restoration of kingdom of Erebor, though this is only true in the second half of the story, while the first half focuses on the treasure hunt.
  • While the general trend remains in decline, this anomaly of improvement stands out as a real achievement and are both important and have lasting effects.
  • Generally speaking, the stories of the Dwarves in Middle-earth remain largely untold, and the ones that we receive are often not fully explored.
Comment on Bilbo’s true gains:
  • The story of The Hobbit only gets its final conclusion in the meeting between him and Frodo in the Hall of Fire, as he now realizes truly all the things that his adventures have brought about.
  • Bilbo has displayed a combination of cluelessness and cunning in his rationalizations about his consideration of going back to the Shire and retrieving the Ring, but he is past that now.
  • It’s possible that Bilbo is no longer going to be surprised by any of the revelations about the Ring in the Council, as he will have worked much of it out on his own after these insights.
  • In his work as a scholar, it’s possible that he has learned a bit of the lore of the Rings of Power, such as the Ring Verse, and maybe came to a shrewd guess about his Ring after hearing Glóin.
  • Bilbo has had for a long time an idea of how to end his book, which is the classic fairy tale ending, but now he understands more, and he will have to abandon that ending.
  • That fairy tale ending is out of touch with reality, and Bilbo understands that real stories never end that clearly, and Sam, who learned about stories from Bilbo, will see that real stories go on.
  • This new ending is not a tragedy for Bilbo, but more of a gaining of wisdom as his part in it ends.
  • Note: At this point in the drafting of the story, Tolkien thought that Rivendell was halfway through the book, with the other half being the quest to Mordor. This would happen many times during the writing, but there was not a sense of despair for the lack of an ending began to set in. Many elements in Book Two did not exist, nor the larger “return of the king” subplot. In the bigger picture, he had this experience with the extension of the Silmarillion stories from the First Age only, to include the Second Age stories of Númenor, and then the Third Age stories.
News from the Shire:
  • The passing of the shadow is from Frodo’s point of view, not Bilbo’s, as he was affected by it.
  • Note: It’s possible that Frodo was assisted by Sam or Bilbo to remember the shadow later on.
  • Frodo is now mired in the rationalizations of cluelessness and cleverness that Bilbo had done, and he doesn’t seem to have learned anything from this interaction like Bilbo did.
  • The sudden return of the light and music was only from Frodo’s point of view, having been taken away by the shadow. There was no change in the room for anyone else.
  • The use of the passive voice puts a distance between Frodo’s experience and the reality of what is happening in room.
  • It is perhaps the fact that Bilbo has uniquely given up the Ring that gives him a new perspective when he is tempted by the Ring once again. He can see what is really going on from the outside.
  • Note: Though Isildur planned to give up the Ring, according to Unfinished Tales, he never actually does it before the disaster at the Gladden Fields, and Gandalf says that it is one thing to play with the idea of giving up the Ring and another thing to actually do it. Therefore, Bilbo still remains unique in his giving up the Ring voluntarily, even with help from Gandalf. Even Gollum never gets the same insights because he did not give up the Ring willingly.
  • Is Bilbo’s interest in the news of the Shire genuine, or is he using the change of subject to dispel the shadow? He might genuinely be homesick, but he may also understand the Shire’s power.
  • Bilbo does seem to be done in general with the Shire, but he might have specific interests.
  • Frodo had offered to leave the Shire with Bilbo, but Bilbo understood that Frodo retained an attachment to the Shire that he no longer had, as he tells Gandalf.
  • Bilbo doesn’t seem to harbor antipathy toward the Shire, and he still retains his Baggins side. After having indulged the Baggins side for 60 years, he has chosen to indulge the Took side now.
  • Bilbo may crave smaller doings after spending many years in Rivendell among the high and lofty.
  • The relief and joy that Bilbo feels when leaving Bag End was connected in his mind with being out on the Road and being Tookish, but he didn’t realize that it had anything to do with the Ring.
  • Bilbo might also have been waiting many years to find out the reaction to his jokes at the Party and with his parting gifts. He may want to see if any of his long planning paid off.
  • In the story of The Hobbit, the Took side won out, then got tired, only to be integrated with the Baggins side later. A similar thing may have happened here.
  • Though the doings of the Shire may seem inconsequential in the big picture, he characterizes them as “real news”, because they have personal importance for him.
  • Bilbo’s only been gone for seventeen years, so the Shire hasn’t changed much, though the slow pace of change in the Shire might seem faster than any changes in Rivendell, which is timeless.
  • Much of this news would be family gossip, such as about the Sackville-Bagginses, such as Otho’s death and Lotho and Lobelia’s takeover of Bag End.
(continued below)
 

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(continued)

The position of Sam in the Hall of Fire:
  • Sam seems to be acting in the role of chaperone to Frodo, to make sure that nothing bad happens with the Ring. So, what was he doing when Frodo takes out the Ring?
  • Since this is told from Frodo’s point of view, we don’t know for sure what Sam was doing, though we can imagine Sam reacting or saying something that Frodo didn’t notice.
  • The shadow narrows Frodo’s focus to only him and Bilbo and the Ring, and not Sam.
  • Everything that happens does so very quickly and takes place at a spiritual level, so there might not be anything visible to notice. Bilbo can only see what is going on in Frodo’s face.
  • Sam would not be guaranteed to be particularly vigilant right now in the Hall of Fire, surrounded by High Elves and their singing and music and poetry. This is the fulfillment of a lifetime dream.
  • Bilbo might even have leaned in and made his request quietly so that Sam wouldn’t hear it.
  • Also, Sam has been told that he is a guest of honor tonight, so he might not feel as “on duty”.
  • Sam contributed enthusiastically to the Shire conversation, so he seems to think that all is well.
  • Sam would also think it impolite to listen in on a private conversation and may not think it proper to intervene even if he did see Frodo do something with the Ring, because of his station.
The risk of the meeting:
  • The only way to prevent any interaction between Bilbo and the Ring would be to never allow Frodo and Bilbo to interact, so this was always going to be an issue.
  • Since Elrond seems to be in on the surprise, it seems that he and Gandalf that any meeting between Frodo and Bilbo would involve some interaction with the Ring.
  • Therefore, having the meeting happen in the Hall of Fire is the best possible place. It is a crowded room full of powerful folk and merriment and elvish enchantment to counter the Ring.
  • Elrond and Gandalf also seem to still be just nearby watching over this interaction. They seem to have staged the interaction to allow everything to happen in a controlled manner.
  • Note: This scene happening privately in Bilbo’s room would seem to be a bad idea with the Ring.
  • They would also have the fact that Bilbo gave up the Ring, and he and Frodo’s relationship, to mitigate the risk of their meeting.
  • Their only other option would be to lie Bilbo and Frodo that the other was in Rivendell or in some other dishonest way contrive to keep the two apart.
  • Since all the events in Rivendell so far have been used to reintegrate Frodo and complete his healing process, it seems like a good risk to bet on the happiness meeting Bilbo would bring him.
  • Note: Would the High Elves be able to see one of them if they put on the Ring? The Calaquendi might be capable, especially Glorfindel, because of their special qualities. However, in The Hobbit, Bilbo was invisible to the Elves of Mirkwood, though those are Moriquendi. The wielders of the Three Rings were aware of Sauron’s power and influence when he wore the One Ring, but Sauron was not in front of them and would not have been invisible anyway.
The arrival of the Dúnedan:
  • Elladan and Elrohir’s tidings seem to be in deliberate contrast with Bilbo’s idea of “real news”.
  • Bilbo’s ambiguous statement about Arwen being at the feast seems to be a bit of hobbitry at Strider’s expense, since his and Arwen’s relationship seems to be an open secret.
  • Bilbo knew that Arwen was at the feast because of the procession from the table to the hall.
  • The thrust of Bilbo’s hobbitry may be that he is normally always at Arwen’s side in Rivendell.
  • Bilbo sounds like an impatient older person who wants the younger people to get on with love.
  • Strider doesn’t take Bilbo’s bait and shifts the tone away from the hobbitry, though it’s unclear why. It may be the nature of the news that the sons of Elrond brought, plus his kingly graveness.
  • Note: Aragorn doesn’t seem to be very good at hobbitry, and this will be consistent throughout the story, including when he tries it with Merry in the Houses of Healing, who doesn’t get the joke. The closest that he gets are with the stone trolls. He feels affection for the hobbits, but he doesn’t relate to them on that level, generally. Gandalf and Elrond are much better at hobbitry. This is grave moment for Aragorn, and he might not feel a desire for teasing banter right now.
  • Note: A lot of the lines that Strider says were originally delivered by Trotter the hobbit, but change context with the change in character, as is typical for Tolkien. Many lines that were written as funny for Trotter don’t come off the same way for Strider.
  • Note: The word “grim” in Tolkien’s writing is almost always correlated with kings and kingliness.
  • Note: It’s important to remember that the original readers would know very little about Númenor at this point in reading The Fellowship of the Ring. We have gotten hints about Aragorn’s heritage, and a little of the history of the exiles, but not the full story at all.
END OF SESSION
 

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