Episode 263 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 263

Dark dots in the distance:
  • The general sense of alliteration, including terminal alliteration, continues through this passage.
  • There is also a sense of poetic rhythm to the statements of the characters, such as Gandalf.
  • Note: The Rob Inglis recording of this passage does not lay stress to make it poetic, as intended.
  • The grouping of repeating consonants followed by a single repetition is consistent with Anglo-Saxon alliterative poetry, in which Tolkien’s expertise lay, and he attempted to recreate himself.
Not even on the knees of Caradhras:
  • The personification of Caradhras by talking about his knees imply the mountain as his body.
  • Gandalf seems to be pointing towards a difference in the power of Caradhras between the night and day, and it appears that there may be a breaking of the power of the mountain in daylight.
  • While they are also being practical by insisting on making their escape during daylight hours, the implication is that the danger would be greater at night, and not just for practical reasons.
  • There was a similar correlation between day and night seen before in the Barrow-downs, and Goldberry mentioned “nightly noises” as a perceived threat from which the hobbits are sage.
  • However, this doesn’t seem to apply equally to Old Man Willow, who was very active in daylight.
The long and painful march downhill:
  • There is an emphasis on Frodo’s personal physical experiences, including mistaking the birds in the distance for the black specks of dizziness and exhaustion from not sleeping the night before.
  • The entire Company has gone without warmth or food this entire time, which affects the mood.
  • His mental state exacerbates this, anticipating more suffering as they descend the mountain.
  • While the birds had been a grave threat before, Frodo is more concerned with his internal state.
  • However, he doesn’t seem to be influenced by spiritual forces, such as the Ring or the mountain.
  • Aragorn’s warning about the birds recalls their earlier threat without him needing to repeat, though after their ordeal on the mountain, the perspective of the Company has changed.
  • While Gandalf had been primarily concerned with discovery before the attempt on the mountain, he probably now believes that his lighting the fire has revealed them already.
  • Therefore, Gandalf is less concerned with them being found by the Enemy as their escape.
  • The mechanism of the reporting by either the birds or the mountain is unknown, but Gandalf seems to assume that it has already happened, and that to get away from both is urgent.
  • There seems to be no consideration for a stealthier route down the mountain, instead making haste off the mountain before nightfall, and to ignore the birds, whatever they are doing.
  • Note: Tolkien seems to be using a broader sense of the word “evil” to mean simply bad or unfortunate, rather than the narrowly moral usage that is more common in modern times.
  • Gandalf is not interested in whether the birds are spies of the Enemy, simply a nuisance, or nothing to do with them, nor is he discounting the idea that they may have been sent by an ally.
  • Gandalf may also be using Caradhras as a means to turn the Company toward his original route.
  • Now that the Pass of Caradhras is closed to them, and he believes himself to be exposed, the hidden path that he refrained from speaking of before appears to the only available option.
  • At this point, detection is less important than them being caught, which is more immediate.
Caradhras had defeated them:
  • Just as the journey began, the cold east wind is making their journey miserable, but now it contains more mockery and cruelty as it is coming from the mountain towards their backs.
  • The mercy of the ease of going downhill is tempered by the sense of defeat in the cold wind.
  • There has been an implication that this cold wind was somehow associated with Sauron.
  • This is as in the Old Forest before, when the hobbits were thwarted in their intended path by Old Man Willow, and simply had to go along the path laid for them by their enemy’s plans.
  • The entire premise of the Quest has been that they cannot count on their plans working out as intended, and this seems proven true now that the first leg of their journey has ended in defeat.
  • While Aragorn had believed the Redhorn Gate to be the easier route, but was proved wrong in the end, though Gandalf does not remind him of this, even though he thought differently.
  • Gandalf is not relying on amdir or practical considerations, and therefore he has believed that the other path he has suggested is the intended path for them regardless of pragmatism.
  • It seems Gandalf was not restraining himself because he didn’t know Frodo was listening.
  • This is another example of Gandalf and Elrond’s insistence on relying on estel over amdir, and it’s possible that up until now, Aragorn had not fully understood what this actually meant.
  • Aragorn may have thought that he could rely on both understandings of hope but may now be coming to understand that those can often be in opposition, and that this quest requires estel.
  • Note: Later at Parth Galen, Aragorn will be presented with another choice between paths to follow, and he will not use practical concerns to make his choice but uses his estel instead. Also, once he has passed through Moria, which he had opposed before, this may help to give him the estel he needs to go through the Paths of the Dead, knowing that he must trust his own heart.
  • The night on Caradhras has proven fateful for the Company in ways that they cannot predict.
  • Note: While the Aragorn presented in the films is doubtful of his abilities in very different ways, Aragorn in the book does possess doubts and grows over the course of the story, and is noticed and commented upon by other characters, especially the hobbits, who remember Strider.
  • The lack of comment on this discussion about the descent of the mountain by the hobbits lets us know that they are probably not sure what to think and have to merely go along with the rest.
  • Note: By not being explicit in their discussions, Gandalf and Aragorn create mystery as to what is to come next, which puts the readers in the same position, as Tolkien wants increase the apprehension and awe at the implications for us to experience along with the hobbits.
END OF SESSION
 

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