Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 125
Comment on Bilbo’s empathy:
Comment on Bilbo’s empathy:
- There is a parallel between Bilbo’s turning away from the Ring and his turning away from the Arkenstone, both driven by seeing the suffering both have caused and will cause.
- Bilbo shows himself capable of justifying his desire and possession of these treasures when he takes them, but when he sees others’ suffering, he breaks free and makes selfless choices.
- He has largely ignored the warnings of the Wise but instead makes these decisions on his own.
- Note: The concept of “pity” carries a negative connotation in modern society, but in its purest form it is the capacity to acknowledging the suffering of others without experiencing it oneself. This comes from a desire for egalitarianism, and a resentment of anyone being seen as in a better position than another.
- In the case of Gollum, Bilbo not only shows mercy, but also pity, according to Gandalf. Gollum fully deserved to be killed by Bilbo in self-defense, but Bilbo chose not to at his own peril.
- Through his pity for even those who will not be pleased with him, Bilbo is able to throw off the dragon-sickness in order to try to save their lives.
- In each case of his pity winning out over his desire, his actions cost him a great sacrifice, and there are no known cases in which his pity doesn’t win out over his desire in the end.
- Note: Frodo spends nearly all of his effort during the Scouring preventing as much killing as he can. This may indicate that Bilbo might have acted in a similar way, had he been there.
- Bilbo’s attempt to sacrifice the Arkenstone in order to prevent the battle earns the respect of Thranduil, and it is due to this, and Bilbo’s generosity and honesty, that he is named Elf-friend.
- The valley of Rivendell itself is important in setting up the scene of the Council. The previous night has been setting up Frodo response to the legendary status of Rivendell’s inhabitants.
- This is Frodo’s first sight of the mountains in a clear state of mind. When he saw them as approaching them, he was under the influence of the Morgul wound.
- Frodo’s desire to go up and hike in the mountains after recovering shows his resilience.
- The elements of the imagery Frodo can see in Rivendell are all familiar from the Shire, such as the dew on the spider-webs and mist, which was also described as he left Crickhollow.
- The major unfamiliar elements are the mountains to the east with their snowcapped peaks.
- Sam sniffing the air is presumably because, like Bilbo, he noticed that it “smells like Elves”.
- Gandalf’s comment that they cannot make any plans yet implies that there is a possibility that they may need to take immediate action, and that Frodo cannot act like he’s on holiday.
- Gandalf first uses the name of the “Council of Elrond”, while Bilbo called it the “great council”.
- Note: While Sam is forgotten by the characters, the reader is reminded so as not to forget him.
- Elrond both calls and chairs the Council, but the naming of it after him is a kind of pun. All the attendants have come for the “counsel” of Elrond, and therefore they are called to a “council”.
- Why does Sam come along behind? Sam has already been tasked with spying on Frodo before, and though he’s acting as a servant, Gandalf has pointedly not included Sam in the invitation.
- While servants are used to being unnoticed, Sam has also vowed not to leave Frodo’s side.
- Did Gandalf know that Sam would follow? Almost certainly, as Sam is not sneaking behind them, and Elrond is surely aware of Sam’s arrival at the Council. They seem to just tacitly allow it.
- Note: Elrond’s comment about Sam not being invited later looks like hobbitry in this context.
- As they come in, everyone looks at the hobbits, who are clearly the focus of attention. Therefore, they would all notice Sam coming in with Frodo and Bilbo.
- There is a conjunction between the location of the Council and the place of reunion the night before. Rivendell is seemingly large, so this seems to be either deliberate or symbolic.
- There is a sense in which the peace on the land is something that has been overlaid, not an inherent trait. This shows that there is something in Rivendell that drives away dark things.
- This is the manifestation of Elrond’s power, and this is expressed in the definitive statement that dark things don’t come into that valley, without exception.
- The dark things that cannot come into the valley also seem to include Frodo’s dark thoughts.
- Note: We will see differences in the effects that Galadriel and her ring have on Lothlorien.
- The grave faces show that even though dark things are barred, they still exist outside the valley.
- Elrond understands that they will better be able to discuss the troubling things in the world in a place where they can be at peace and secure from those things while discussing them.
- Note: This safety from evil will become important later when Gandalf uses the Black Speech.