Episode 217 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 217

The end of the beginning:

• This opening line of this paragraph could be an opening line for a chapter or whole novel, as it sets the scene for what follows, and breaks with what has come immediately before.
• The poem then marked the end of the whole interlude in Rivendell, and the start of the quest.
• Frodo has reflected on his past life, including his gratitude towards Bilbo, and has spent this time in preparation, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, for this day going forward.
• Note: It could be said Bilbo already has estel, and possibly amdir, too, but that Frodo doesn’t yet, though this develops for both him and Sam in different ways over the course of the journey.
• Frodo has been feeling very intense emotions, but at this point, he seems to be more passive.
• Note: From this point forward, we will not get many glimpses into Frodo’s private thoughts. The narrator will switch to a more objective perspective from the various characters points of view and will also intrude into view much less. It’s only at the end that we learn that Frodo is the primary storyteller, which colors the reading of the text in retrospect, but that’s not present yet.
• Note: It’s important to remember that Tolkien expanded and refined his definitions and ideas in the years following the publication of The Lord of the Rings. It’s not inappropriate to apply those in reverse to the text, but we start with the text on its own, as Tolkien did both things himself.

A cold grey day near the end of December:

• This seems like a bad day to set out, considering the weather, but seems to have been firmly set.
• The use of “seething” gives a sense of a brooding, oppressive feeling in the hills and woods nearby. As well as being metaphorical, there is an onomatopoetic quality in the word’s sound.
• Giving the natural elements active verbs adds a sense that the Company is being swept along in ominously, though this doesn’t speed them on but feels like things are closing in around them.
• The pines are the same ones that Frodo wanted to visit earlier when things were more cheerful.
• This is the near the darkest time of the year, being around the winter solstice with the least daylight. However, this would be at the turning of the tide when the days start becoming longer.
• Note: Though this takes place on what we would call Christmas Day, there is no merriment here.

The many eyes of the servants of Sauron:

• They are also setting out at dusk on one of the longest nights of the year, though they have embraced the shadows and darkness as an ally in hiding them from the eyes of the Enemy.
• Why does Elrond counsel this, since the servants of the Enemy prefer the night, and both Gandalf and Aragorn had advised Frodo not to do so on his way out of the Shire earlier?
• Elrond is not concerned with the Black Riders or other dark creatures, nor with the power of the Enemy himself, but with detection by ordinary physical spies like birds, beasts, and people.
• How does Sauron recruit and communicate with his spies in faraway lands, like in Eriador?
• There is a hint of understatement in the use of “discomfiture”, which hints more at the Riders’ humiliation rather than their physical defeat, but Sauron’s wrath will not be towards them.
• This does, however, remind them that the Black Riders were not destroyed, and are still to be accounted for in their journey, even if they are temporarily removed from the picture for now.
• Elrond’s use of archaic sentence structure is contrasts with otherwise simple vocabulary choice.
• He seems to be implying that Sauron will be sending more spies, but that they may not have arrived yet. However, there have already been suspicions of spies abroad, as Gandalf hinted.
• If Sauron had not heard from the Riders already, he likely would have heard from these spies.
• This could still be a slow process, but with two months having passed, Elrond has no doubt that the news has already reached Sauron, as Gandalf hinted that it could have even at the Council.
• Does Sauron have a way of directly observing from afar? Possibly, though he still sends spies.
• Elrond’s experience with Sauron from earlier times leads him to predict this behavior now.
• Note: This seems to be a foreshadowing of the crebain that will come into the story later.

A Ranger of the wilderness:

• While describing their gear, the narrator sets expectations by reminding us that this is not a war band, but rather is a group on a mission of stealth and secrecy, and so is less grand than usual.
• Note: The epic poetry literary device of describing warriors in their full panoply is invoked here, but while we might expect that, it is undercut by their less than grand descriptions in reality.
• Aragorn in particular, as the claimant to the throne, is downplayed in appearance and stature.
• The term “rusty” applied to green and brown implies a dirty overlay or damage to his clothing.
• As before, the word “Ranger” is being used in the derogatory sense of a vagabond and has not been used since Frodo said it about Aragorn when he didn’t believe the truth of his identity.
• Note: The use of the word “Ranger” will evolve over the course of the book, so that the Rangers of Ithilien will have a different connotation for Frodo and Sam when they encounter them later.
• Likewise, the name “Strider” seems to be slightly insulting, so that Bilbo seems put off by it, just as “Longshanks” is used as a derogatory term by Bill Ferny, highlighting his dubious wanderings.
• While Aragorn cultivated his unsavory reputation in Bree as a mask, he has now embraced those names and trappings, and has begun to alter their meaning as affectionate, as the hobbits use it.
• The hobbits seem to understand that derogatory nature of those names given to Aragorn, and in Bree, they might have been inclined to agree with them, but now they use them as hobbitry.
• They would also be sensitive to the difference between hobbitry and cruelty, so even after they learn Aragorn’s real name from Gandalf’s letter, they continue calling him Strider in affection.
• Having learned Aragorn’s importance in the Council, that would be the opportune time for the hobbits to code-switch, but they don’t, though the narrator does switch to calling him Aragorn.
• Note: Aragorn’s new definition of Ranger in embracing it as job title has influenced the connotation for that role in RPG’s following The Lord of the Rings, so that is easy to read backwards into his characterization from the beginning, but this is not the case at the beginning.
• The use of “only” implies that not only has Aragorn put back on the scruffy appearance that he had in Bree, but he also has no armor or any other signs of status that he didn’t carry before.
• Note: Aragorn is enacting the archetype of the king as lost, foundling, or dressed as a pauper.
• By cloaking himself in this, he emphasizes his mission to defeat Sauron over claiming the throne, but by going to Minas Tirith, Boromir will identify him as both the heir and answer to prophecy.
• Note: While it’s likely that this original plan might not have gone that well, this was the original intent for them to go to Gondor together and to aid Denethor as the heir of Isildur. Boromir would have then been forced to choose between honoring tradition or his family line. Aragorn’s history with Denethor as Thorongil, of which Boromir is ignorant, would also be important.

END OF SESSION