Episode 34 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 34

Comment on Frodo’s connection with Gandalf:

• Frodo’s relationship with Gandalf gives them a mental connection, which may be enhanced by his possession of the Ring.
• Telepathic connections seem to be a thing in Tolkien’s world, which may explain the “current events” dreams that also occur.
• Gandalf may be dwelling on the events that Frodo has seen, which may explain why Frodo is seeing events that have happened recently, not just concurrently.
• All of those who communicate in a telepathic way seem to also be ringbearers.
• Gandalf is associated with dreams as Olórin in Valinor. His name means “dreamer”.
• It’s important the dream is from a third person point of view, not Gandalf’s.
• Gandalf is also later surprised by Frodo’s mention of the dream, which shows that he may be unaware of the connection between the two of them.
• Frodo’s question of Galadriel later, and his interaction over distance with Gandalf the White, implies that he has this connection, but has just not trained to use it to dominate others.
• That connection seems to be more conscious with Gandalf the White, but more unconscious with Gandalf the Grey.

Comment on Tom’s joke about food:

• Grass and rainwater are horse food, which is why Tom makes that joke, having just fed them.
• Therefore, this was proposed as the alternative breakfast to the hobbits.
• Tom’s first actions as host is towards the ponies, not the hobbits directly.
• Tom and Goldberry see the ponies as equal guests to the hobbits in their house.
• Tom’s values are like those of Beorn in The Hobbit.
• It’s possible that Tom has taken the time to feed the ponies with something even better than grass and rainwater.
• He may have made the same joking choice to the ponies, offering them grass and rainwater if they come late to breakfast.
• How does Tom keep his grass cut? Possibly animals, like other ponies or sheep, or he may simply command it not to grow.
• The grass is described as “shaven”, so a blade may be involved. It may be as short as the fairway or even the green on a golf course.

Tom’s tales take a turn:

• In the first set of tales, Tom’s brought the hobbits into other creatures’ points of view.
• Now, Tom turns into the life of the stream, bringing them into the life of water itself.
• He shows his understanding all the elements of the land, including the inanimate ones.
• Using the stories, Tom highlights the ultimate futility of all the wars and hoarding of treasure.
• It is unclear which kingdoms and wars Tom is referring to in his stories.
• At this point, we don’t know about Arnor or any of the other specific wars or kingdoms that may or may not be referenced. That doesn’t seem to be important, as it is the imagery that matters.
• We know that the Barrow-downs are important in the old civil wars of Arnor, but we know that the barrows were there long before the fall of Númenor.
• It is easy for us as fans to apply our knowledge of the lore to these scenes, but it seems to be important that it’s unclear.
• The sun is not young at the time of Arnor, nor are swords new, so this likely is far before the time of Arnor. This may be referring to Elves, or the time of the Bree-men.
• Tom may be simultaneously referring to Arnor in showing the repeating patterns of history.
• As scholars, we want definitive lore answers, but Tom is more interested in the big picture story.
• Tom seems more interested in the wider view of the land in general, which he also does here.
• This is a view of human kingdoms from the point of view of deep time.
• Note: This view is echoed in Tolkien’s poem, “The Hoard”.

Tom’s memory of the Barrow-wights:

• A real significant change from the cycles of human kingdoms is signaled by the description of the arrival of the shadow and the creation of the Barrow-wights.
• The Barrow-wights continue the commentary on the futility of the hoarded wealth, with the corpses wearing that treasure.
• However, the entry of the Barrow-wights is shown to be an unnatural aberration of history, and it is the first point that can be pinpointed to specific time.
• Of all the time that has passed in the Barrow-downs, it is this that Tom highlights as different.
• The remains of the human constructions are explicitly compared to human remains, like teeth.
• The use of the word “rings” stands out in the description, when juxtaposed with the rings on the hands of the Barrow-wights, and the concept of the Rings in general.
• Note: Tolkien was originally going to make the Ringwraiths some of the Barrow-wights, so some of that connection and description survives into the final text.
• Was Tolkien thinking of Stonehenge and other stone circles when he was describing the ruins? That is possible.
• Tolkien seems to be saying that all the rings, from the gold rings to the stone rings, are all vain.
• The mention of the creation of the Barrow-wights points directly to the moment when the Witch-king began the expansion of Angmar.
• Is the animation of the dead corpses related to Sauron’s identity as The Necromancer?
• It is unclear how the term “necromancy” is related to Sauron, as necromancy is literally connected to divination using dead spirits.
• The first time Sauron is referred to as The Necromancer is in “The Lay of Leithian”, which makes a connection between Sauron and spirits, such as using spirits to create werewolves.
• In the early drafts, Sauron was still called The Necromancer much more often.
• Note: Tolkien was writing “The Lay of Leithian” while he was also writing The Hobbit, and he is recycling that Necromancer concept into the latter work.
• The idea of Sauron’s connection to the dead helps to make him not only scary but macabre.
• This is uncomfortable lore, just like the lore given before about the life of the forest.
• Tom does not have a rose-tinted view of any of the elements in his lands and does not shy away from looking at the dark side of those things.
• Tom’s deep perceptivity is in sharp contrast to his capering, carefree image otherwise.

(continued below)

 

[Tony Meade]

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The hobbits remember the darkness:

• The hobbits are inspired to reflect on the thoughts of trees, but the lore about Men causes them to reflect on themselves and the darkness they already know.
• They also remember that they must go through the Barrow-downs, and this lore is immediately applicable to their near future.
• This is parallel to Beorn’s stories to the dwarves of Mirkwood in The Hobbit, which make them uncomfortable at the thought of having to see it in person soon.
• Hobbits already consider the Big People dodgy, and they may not take these stories to heart about them personally.

Tom takes the hobbits back to the beginning:

• Tom’s new tales take the hobbits all the way back to the First Age, before the War of Wrath, and then even further.
• The description invokes Tom as if he were physically moving through time, and they feel detached from his story as it is outside their experience.
• They are given an image of Tom singing in the ancient starlight.
• The use of the word “enchanted” is once again important in Tolkien’s writing; he preferred it to “magic”, as enchantment is specifically about the use of words to weave a spell.
• Tom seems to project the images into the minds of his listeners in a similar way as the elves are known to do, but in Tom’s case the images continue even after he stops singing.
• The hobbits notice the effect of the enchantment from a distance, and they can experience the world before the Sun and Moon and over the course of deep time.
• The arrival of the darkness seems to invoke the end of the world, but this is the beginning of the world in fact.
• This is the world that greeted the Elves when they awoke at Cuiviénen.
• This is a final step in his bringing the hobbits into his world, invoking the Eä, Arda, and the Valar.
• Most importantly, this is Tom’s own perspective and experience.
• There is a possible reference to Varda’s stars, after the creation of which the Elves awoke.
• If Tom remembers the stars prior the awakening of the Firstborn, then he is clearly not one of the Children of Ilúvatar.

Frodo asks his question again:

• The context of Frodo’s repeat of his question is that he has had a glimpse of Tom’s perspective.
• Frodo’s asking is prompted this time by wonder, rather than the curiosity of the first time.
• Why is Frodo afraid of the silence he experiences in Tom’s vision?
• The silence may be too big for a small hobbit. This is the type of fear called “awe”.
• Note: Awe is the type of fear referred to by C.S. Lewis in reference to Aslan as “not a tame lion” and is referred to in the Old Testament when Moses is seeing the power of God. Both Tolkien and Lewis were fans of “The Wind in the Willow”, and awe is referenced there as well.
• The silence that inspires Frodo to speak is the silence of the heavens, and that brings Frodo a kind of wonder. The silence is not empty, but rather full of everything.
• This is Frodo’s first direct encounter with the Powers, which he knows more about than most Hobbits, but not experienced personally.
• Frodo may also be afraid to be left in this vision, as Tom goes to sleep after creating it.

Tom gives his answer:

• Note: Tolkien is fond of using the word “gloom”, and almost always alliterates it with words like “glint” or “gleam”.
• In this passage, the Bombadil meter is much less strong than previously, but it is still present.
• The significance of this is that Tom is merely talking, and not enchanting.
• This is the moment where Tom gives his clearest information about himself.
• Note: The importance of the title “Eldest” between Tom and Treebeard is overstated, as Tom is clearly older than everything in Arda. The importance of the use of “Eldest” is in the context. Celeborn’s reference to Treebeard as “Eldest” is in about his place among the Ents.
• The reason that Tom calls himself “Eldest” is because he is expanding the comparison between himself and the hobbits. We already know that he is older from his stories.
• Tom has demonstrated that he predates the forest and its diminishing, and then that he predates the rivers and all the inhabitants, including the Elves. Each of these are temporal checkpoints in his lifespan, but these are not listed in chronological order.
• The Dark Lord referred to by Tom is clearly Melkor/Morgoth, as this matches the description in The Silmarillion of his arrival on Arda in his wrath.
• All this points to Tom having descended to Arda with the other Ainur along with the Valar.
• Frodo seems to be essentially asking “Are you a god?”, like in his experience meeting Goldberry.
• Tom’s answer is to give a philosophical statement, in which he invokes questions of identity.
• Tom wants to show Frodo that the answer is a deeper one than Frodo knows he’s asking.
• In contrast to the first asking, Frodo does not apologize as before, and he now refers to Tom as “Master”, which refers to Goldberry’s original answer.
• It’s likely that Frodo’s whispered this question, as he’s surrounded by the silence of Tom’s vision.
• This does not seem to be an evasion, and while he acknowledges that he is on a different level from them, he also seeks to connect to Frodo at his own level.
• It seems to be important to Tolkien that the question be asked, as he has his primary protagonist ask it twice, but equally important that he doesn’t get a straight answer.

END OF SESSION