Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 258
For running light over snow, an Elf:
For running light over snow, an Elf:
- While Legolas seems to be mocking Boromir, it seems as though Boromir would not hear him.
- The phenomenon of Legolas running over the snow is largely unexplained and unprecedented.
- Note: While the films preserved this idea by having Legolas walk lightly on the snow, the effect was to show the strangeness of it set against the struggle in the storm that the rest of the Fellowship were experiencing. This is one of the few occasions in which Tolkien overlooks the hard worldbuilding and allows this kind of magical ability to go without any rationalization.
- The fact that Legolas only wears shoes, and not boots, implies that this applies to all materials.
- While this is clearly a wonder to the eyes of the hobbits, to the point that while Frodo had noticed that Legolas wore no boots, he didn’t know what that meant until this moment.
- It’s possible that as an Elf, Legolas is more resistant to the extremes of heat and cold, and this is reflected in Frodo’s referring to him as “the Elf” rather than by his name when describing it.
- There is no sense that Legolas has applied his will to do something out of the ordinary for him, nor is there an implication that this innate ability is specific to Legolas personally but is to Elves.
- By comparing this the act of swimming by an otter, this implies that this a natural ability, while the act of ploughing is a learned skill in which a ploughman engages, which may also be true.
- Both of those are also compared the acts of Boromir and Aragorn, implying they are bad at both.
- The use of “plough” has a double meaning because Boromir is both the ploughman and plough.
- Note: The connection might be made between this and the description of Lúthien as having feet “light as linden leaves”, but in that case it is a metaphorical comparison regarding her dancing.
- Bringing up grass and leaf is important as they are more commonly associated with Wood-elves.
- The archaic meaning of the word “swim” is the opposite of “sink” and that may be at play here.
- Whether this is an example of a magical or natural difference between Elves and Men is unclear.
- Note: The impression we are given is that this is not considered “elf-magic” as defined by the hobbits, such as what Sam talks about later in Lórien. Tolkien seems to imply that while this is against normal physical laws, the Elves may be able to suspend or circumvent those at times, and while it may be normal for Elves, attention is brought to it to show its wonder for mortals.
- The comparison to running over firm sand shows that there are imprints made, though shallow.
- This is another example of the “strangeness” of Legolas, such as his hearing stones speak, though that is more understandable considering the presence of spirits in the landscape.
- In contrast, running over snow is an alteration to the physical world, rather than a communing.
- Note: This book is the first of Tolkien’s stories in which he is offering true secondary belief through consistent world-building, unlike the mythology of The Silmarillion, or the fairy-tale world of The Hobbit, neither of which ask or encourage the asking of these kinds of questions.
- The overall effect is to show that Elves are fundamentally different kinds of beings from the others in Middle-earth, and that the experience of traveling with one of them is wondrous.
- This phenomenon stands out from other Elf wonders in that it is a physical alteration outside of the norm, rather than a work of art or spiritual understanding, which is what is usual for them.
- Note: This may simply be a unique anomaly in which Tolkien keeps something inconsistent with the physical world simply because it was something that appealed to him or his kids personally.