Episode 166 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 166

Comment on the use of “wise” and “crafty”:
  • Nerdanel, the wife of Fëanor, is described as “wise” and “crafty”, although the sense is not clear.
  • Note: Tolkien is often using the word “wise” in multiple senses, sometimes simultaneously. It is sometimes used in the intellectual modern sense but is also used in the older sense of being skilled in craft and engineering, such as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s description of Merlin.
  • Nerdanel is considered wise in both senses, as she is personally wise, but also the daughter of one of the greatest smiths among the Noldor, becoming one herself.
  • Though Nerdanel may be considered unwise for her choice of Fëanor as a husband, she is not responsible for his actions, and is wise enough to not follow him into exile, unlike many others.
  • Much like the use of the word “fair”, which has a general meaning of “beauty” and also “blonde”, Tolkien is doing wordplay with both their modern and archaic sense simultaneously.
  • Note: Nerdanel matches a pattern of female characters being wiser than their male partners, which is a consequence of Tolkien’s conscious choice to enhance his female characters later on.
Comment on the mysterious “they”:
  • Those who take Gandalf and escort him to his prison are not identified, though this shows that Gandalf had been maneuvered by Saruman into a situation where he could not fight back.
  • Saruman expected a fight with Gandalf, but he never intended for it to be an equal contest, and set it up to give himself every advantage, especially if Gandalf actually does possess the Ring.
  • The use of plural pronouns afterwards shows the shift from a personal struggle between the two wizards and one with Saruman as another Power in the world in conflict with the Council.
  • Note: This displays a difference between traditional fairy tales, where people act primarily as individuals, and feigned history, where we see the interactions of whole societies and the logistics and politics involved. This begins to appear in the later chapters of The Hobbit, starting in Lake-town, and continues through The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion was also later retconned to include more of this sense of feigned history, where before it had been pure myth.
  • This also shows a difference between the spontaneous act of passion in the murder of Déagol by Sméagol, and this premeditated betrayal and the potential murder of Gandalf
  • Saruman has many reasons not to kill Gandalf, but he must be prepared for any eventuality.
  • Though Saruman doesn’t own the Ring, he is behaving in ways consistent with a Ring-induced monologue, though it is driven solely by his own desire for power and control through the Ring.
  • Saruman is never in close proximity to the Ring at any time, so this is completely his own intent. Likewise, there would be no need for temptation by the Ring if he were to try to claim it.
  • Is Saruman dominated by Sauron at this time? It’s possible, though he seems to be self-fallen.
  • Note: The palantir was not created by Tolkien until it was thrown from Orthanc later, so when Tolkien had reached this point in the manuscript, it was clear that Saruman may have been influenced by Sauron, but was already fallen in his own mind, as there was no mechanism for it. Also, Tolkien is very interested in the fall of good people into evil, and how that happens, and how those patterns repeat in many characters from Melkor on down to Gollum. Also, the whole plot involving a fallen wizard predates Saruman in the Witch-king but was developed later after the invention of Galadriel. Saruman was created in order to show a fallen wizard.
Frodo’s third interruption of the Council:
  • Frodo is referring to the dream that he had in the house of Tom Bombadil, following his first dream of the tower and the Sea, which ended with the sound of galloping hooves.
  • Gandalf does react to this, but then passes over this sign of foresight to continue the story.
  • He also points out that Frodo was not having foresight, since if it occurred after he left the Shire, then it was after these events, since Gandalf had escaped from Orthanc by then.
  • Why does Frodo receive this vision after the fact, and by what means? Why don’t the Council make more of this seeming divine revelation to a hobbit, which he’s kept to himself until now?
  • While Boromir’s prophetic dream was the subject of much discussion and was taken by the Council as a call to action, while they don’t seem interested in the meaning of Frodo’s dream.
  • Frodo has not had any chance to share this with Gandalf prior to the Council, nor wanted to.
  • No one at the Council seems to doubt the veracity of their visions but are not interested in its source. In Boromir’s case, they were only interested in its applicability to their discussions.
  • Frodo himself only understands the importance of the vision about Gandalf in hindsight, as he couldn’t see the details at the time at the time in order to identity him.
  • Why did the dream come late at all? It seems to be a reassuring dream to Frodo, showing why Gandalf is late but now approaching, which Frodo misinterprets as a warning about the Riders.
  • The last part of the galloping seems to be showing current events, while the prologue is earlier.
  • Why is this dream brought up, and not the other dream of the Tower? This is relevant now.
  • There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that the Ring is creating any of these dreams, as visions don’t seem to be something that the Ring grants, though it may distort any visions he receives.
  • Gandalf could not have been actively involved in Frodo’s vision of him, or he would not have been surprised by it. Though Gandalf is associated with dreams, this may be an intervention.
In an evil plight:
  • Gandalf seems to shift in mood as he moves from his misfortune to Saruman’s weakness.
  • Note: It is nine days between Gandalf’s escape and Frodo’s dream. This accounts for Gandalf’s trip to Meduseld and his capture of Shadowfax, and his trip to and through the Shire.
  • While Gandalf says he has “seldom been in such need”, he has seen this happen before at the top of the trees surrounded by goblins and wolves, which is paralleled here in bigger scale.
  • In both cases, he is rescued by one of the Great Eagles, but the story has grown and changed. This is also repeated at both the Battle of Five Armies and the Battle at the Black Gate.
  • While Gandalf is referring to Saruman, Sauron is also vulnerable to a weak thread in his web, being the Ring, and how he assumes that all his enemies think the same way he does.
  • The metaphor of the spider and the web also refers to Saruman’s preplanned trap for Gandalf.
  • Note: The spider metaphor will come up again later when he refers to Sauron being willing to accept a sting in order to trap a fly, when planning the marching of the armies of the West. Likewise, though Tolkien didn’t dislike spiders himself, he always shows them in a negative light, either as literal beings, beginning with Ungoliant, or as metaphors for the actions of the great villains of his stories. Even comparisons with spidery things are usually negative.
END OF SESSION
 

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