Episode 125 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 125

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.
Ready for the great council:
  • 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.
A peaceful valley and grave faces:
  • 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.
(continued below)
 

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(continued)

A man from the South:
  • The number coming from Elrond’s household is unknown, and unnamed, aside from Erestor.
  • We are also old that Elrond introduced the ones that Frodo had not met, so we can assume that Frodo knew the rest already.
  • There’s a pattern in which a character stands in for the whole group, such as Gildor in the Shire.
  • Note: In Norse sagas, as an example of older writings, it is common to stop the story long enough to list all the characters in detail, even if they are not named again. Tolkien avoids this medieval trope, but the consequence is that we focus more on the named individuals as stand-ins for the peoples and lands which they represent. This is done deliberately and directly here.
  • Of all of the councilors who Frodo doesn’t know, it is Boromir who the narrator focuses upon, even though Legolas and Gimli are more connected to Bilbo’s stories.
  • Though Legolas and Gimli are identified with regard to their connections to their lords and families, we are not told anything about Boromir’s origins or identity.
  • Did Boromir ask Elrond to keep his identity secret? Though Boromir wouldn’t trust foreigners, it would go against his character to be incognito. He is probably not pleased by this introduction.
  • Note: Boromir would’ve been a toddler at the time of Aragorn’s time in Gondor as Thorongil.
  • Note: The use of “fair” to describe Boromir’s face refers to his face, not his coloring, as that is also described as dark.
  • There is reminiscence of the introduction of Strider in The Prancing Pony, in that he is sitting alone and travel-worn, though Boromir looks more high status, and his look stern, versus keen.
  • Note: Why is Boromir’s haircut important? We aren’t told the length of any other characters’ hair length or coloring, as is usual with Tolkien, especially for the hobbits. Only particularly notable characteristics are normally emphasized, like Gandalf’s eyebrows. While giving intimate descriptions of landscapes, he rarely gives close descriptions of characters at all.
  • The emphasis on Boromir’s hair is that he is well-groomed, as opposed to everyone else. Though Boromir has been in the wilds for months, this shows that he started out richly attired and kept.
  • Note: It’s possible that he could have been refreshed in Rohan, but nowhere else along the way.
  • The overall impression is that he is high status, but Elrond’s words contradict this impression.
  • The horn on his knees is laid as though it is of great importance, as is the description of it.
  • Note: Only a few in the house would understand the importance of the Horn of Gondor as a badge of his office, such as Aragorn and Gandalf, but Boromir still displays it for all to see.
  • Elrond’s description seems to deliberately downplay Boromir’s significance to the Council.
  • Why does Elrond do this? Is he conveying a message to Boromir? Is this a test of character?
  • Elrond has only just met Boromir, so he may want to see what kind of person Boromir is. He may also be doing this for strategic reasons within the Council, including the presence of Aragorn.
  • Boromir may have never met an elf or dwarf before this, but it is the hobbits he focuses on now.
  • The fact that the introduction is made to Gandalf is interesting, as Gandalf surely knows Boromir, even more than anyone else in the room. Elrond seems to be explaining himself.
  • Though spoken to Gandalf, it is directed at Boromir, in order to communicate the hierarchy of the Council, with himself as the chair and Gandalf as the chief councilor, second only to him.
  • Note: From what we will learn about Boromir, this status of Gandalf would not be obvious. Though he knows that as a Wizard, Gandalf is important, he wouldn’t have been treated that way in Minas Tirith by Denethor, though perhaps by Faramir. Elrond shows honor to Gandalf.
  • In formal introductions, the lower status person is presented to the higher status person, and this would be communicating something to Boromir that he would not assume otherwise.
  • Elrond may be doing a kindness to Boromir in giving him these cues in order to allow him to participate in the Council in an honorable and diplomatic way, without mistakes or offenses.
  • This show of hierarchy may also be for the benefit of the other councilors, who might not necessarily take Gandalf as seriously as Elrond or Aragorn or the rest of the White Council.
  • Note: As readers, it is easy to take the importance of Gandalf for granted, based on what we are told about him, as do the others among the Wise who understand his true nature and role. But to the rest of Middle-earth, he might seem neither serious nor important, as Gandalf generally keeps a low profile. His humility makes his revealed importance a surprise to some. Compared to Saruman and even Radagast, he doesn’t have their fame or fixed associated place.
  • There may be an assumption among the councilors that Glorfindel would be considered the second to Elrond in his house, but this establishment of the hierarchy contradicts that.
  • Note: In Lothlorien, they seem to have a better understanding of Gandalf’s qualities and role, as they show in the way that they will mourn him after his fall in Moria, but not his true nature. Aragorn will have to express this to the others in the Last Debate, as the other leaders of the West also don’t understand Gandalf’s importance to the cause of defeating Sauron.
  • Note: Gandalf may be surprised that it is Boromir and not Faramir attending the Council.
END OF SESSION
 

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