Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 140
On the scornful names of countrymen:
On the scornful names of countrymen:
- How much bitterness or scorn is in Aragorn’s statement about Butterbur? Aragorn seems to speak of Butterbur with some affection, and some respect for his willingness to help Frodo.
- Strider had told Frodo that he didn’t think any ill of “old Butterbur”, which is a statement of affection, which means that he thins that Barliman has his heart in the right place.
- Since Strider calls Butterbur by his first name, this implies a certain familiarity and warmth.
- Why does Aragorn talk about Butterbur as a “fat man” and of the foes surrounding him? This is mainly for the benefit of those who would know about whom he is speaking, such as Frodo.
- Strider did call Butterbur “fat” to his face, with no thought of offending him, like a friend.
- Note: Fat jokes in Middle-earth don’t carry the same charge that they do in our world. Fat people are not ashamed of being fat, nor offended by the use of the word about them. From Bombur to Fatty Bolger to Barliman Butterbur, there is no shame, but a sign of prosperity. In Bombur’s case, the joke is the juxtaposition of a fat dwarf on a treasure hunt, which is absurd.
- The most important aspect of Butterbur’s fatness is his comfort and safety, provided by the protection of the Dúnedain. This will also be applied to Will Whitfoot’s fitness for being mayor.
- Note: When Fredegar Bolger is released from the lock-holes after the Scouring, his lack of fatness will be a sort of allegory for what has happened to the Shire over the preceding year.
- People like Boromir will not understand the reference to Butterbur, but it still serves as an illustration for the scorn of the Rangers and the results of their efforts.
- As Aragorn uses the present perfect tense in “That has been the task”, he is saying that this task has been completed as of this present moment. From now, they have a different task.
- He switches to present tense alone to describe the current state of the world and shows that the things that are happening now are setting the course for the future.
- The fact that battle is “at hand” acts as a transition between present and future tenses.
- For Boromir, Isildur’s Bane just appeared, so Aragorn declares this as the moment it is found. He is not referring to its discovery by Bilbo or Frodo’s journey to Rivendell but showing it here.
- The fact that the Sword shall be reforged is contingent on the previous statements of fact. It was possible to have reforged the sword at any time in the past, but it wasn’t yet time to do so.
- Aragorn is emphasizing that what is happening now will change the world in an age-ending way.
- His coming to Minas Tirith is the logical consequence of all these previous statements.
- This is also a shift from when Aragorn asked Boromir if he would have the house of Elendil return to Gondor. Now, Aragorn is stating this as his intention, regardless of Boromir’s answer.
- He had not asked for Boromir permission or for an invitation, but because he wants Boromir to consider the meaning of his return. This declaration here is about Boromir’s intentions.
- However, Aragorn is not making any political statements about the kingship in this promise.
- Note: For re-readers, who know how the book ends, it is easy to read into this an intention to take the kingship, but Aragorn is precisely not talking about that in his statements, however much it might be on his mind. He has talked of taking up Elendil’s mantle in terms of leadership and sacrifice in the war against Sauron, but not in terms of Elendil as High King.
- Aragorn will act as their king first, in terms of his duty to save Gondor from its peril before anyone acclaims him as their king in the political sense.
- Note: Aragorn will follow through on his promise in a dramatic way, coming as a eucatastrophe to rescue the city at its moment of greatest danger. This makes his question to Boromir pointed.
- This moment feels like one of foresight on Aragorn’s part. He doesn’t just declare his intention, but rather as a statement of fact of what will definitely happen in the future.
- Note: In terms of the kingship, Aragorn will avoid coming into the city until he is acclaimed later.
- It’s possible that Aragorn came to this conclusion while speaking, while using strong rhetoric.
- The message of Boromir’s dream seems to be final confirmation for Aragorn that the hour has come for the Sword to be reforged, including that it is delivered by the son of the Steward.
- It’s also likely that Aragorn feels that this message was also intended for him secondhandedly.
- Note: We are told later that Aragorn views the dream message as a summons for him. It is for this reason that Aragorn is so torn at Parth Galen between following Frodo into Mordor and going to Minas Tirith, as he had promised in his statement here. In the end, he chooses to do neither, but ends up fulfilling his foretelling by a different route.
- It’s possible that he began understanding that this hour was coming since Gandalf had opened up about Bilbo and the Ring and he began protecting the Shire, but the hour is now here.
- What was predicted was a public enactment of this moment, which Aragorn has now declared.
- The secondary audience for the message was not just Aragorn, but the members of the Council in general. This message is also about and for Frodo, as he is the halfling mentioned in it.
- Note: As narrator of this portion of the text, Frodo remains distant from the events and we are not privy to his thoughts. This is a deviation from Tolkien’s usual technique of narrating from the point of view of the least knowledgeable character, such as when Pippin’s point of view is used to describe the trip with Gandalf to see Denethor, including his personal perspective on it. Also, there’s no reason to think that this is not an accurate recollection of the speeches, in terms of theme and style, if not the exact recording of their words, as rhetoric was an important skill.