Episode 39 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 39

Comment on the significance on “East” and “West”, capitalized:

• Note: Tolkien is almost always systematic and consistent, rather than arbitrary, in his usage of capitalization, even if that usage is unusual.
• When directions of navigation are named, the words are lowercase.
• Proper nouns involving East and West are capitalized, as is expected.
• When a general region of the world is mentioned, rather than a direction, the words are capitalized, such as Bilbo’s journey “into the East and his return”.
• When associated with the supernatural, the names are also capitalized.
• The crucial question is interpreting the difference between pointing to an actual region, or a symbolic association with a place, like Mordor or Valinor.
• That distinction seems to be vaguer and more unclear than we might like.
• In the “winds” poem at the beginning of The Two Towers, the winds are being given proper nouns as names, to the capitalization stems from that.
• The fuzziness of that distinction may be deliberate on Tolkien’s part.

Comment on the contrast between two metaphorical halls:

• The fog over the hobbits on the hill overlooking the Barrow-downs is compared to a hall of fog, just as Woodhall is compared to a hall of trees.
• The hall of fog seems to be a negative inversion of Woodhall, with dead fog vs. living trees, and a darkness in the fog contrasted with the cheery fires in the hall of trees.
• In the Shire, the hobbits encounter the Elves, creatures not of the mortal world, travel to Woodhall, where they fall asleep.
• In the downs, they first fall asleep, find themselves in the hall of fog, then travel to where they meet the Barrow-wights, creatures not of the mortal realm.
• These mirror reflections of each other start and end the hobbits’ trip from their familiar world of the Shire and surrounding country, into the wider, unknown world.
• The Elves and the Barrow-wights are negative mirror images, as the Elves have unending life while the Barrow-wights are in a stagnant state of death.
• Both exist as creatures of legend within the Shire, existing on the outskirts of the Shire, but on opposite ends of the spectrum.
• In the experience of the encounter of Woodhall, the main point of the conversation between Frodo and Gildor is focused on borders while inside the Shire.
• Outside of the Shire, they have been consistently surrounded by fences and boundaries that they cannot cross, parodying the way that they think about the borders of the Shire.

Back into the trap:

• It’s important to remember that the primary assault of the Barrow-wights is spiritual and emotional/psychological, not physical. It will become physical, but not yet.
• At this point, the hobbits still have hope, and this stirs them to action.
• It seems conspicuous that there is no thought of Tom Bombadil currently.
• They seem to act as if they only have two options: stay where they are or leave and possibly get lost in the fog.
• There doesn’t seem to be obvious physical reasons to panic yet. So far, this is only a bit of fog.
• Retaining their hope and making for the exit is better for them spiritually than another option.
• This is not the first time that they have been ensnared by malevolent forces using phenomena that seem, on the surface, to be natural occurrences. This is should put them on their guard.
• Given their location (the Barrow-downs) and their prior experiences, it should be reasonable to assume that there is more to this fog than simple weather.
• They do not consider calling Tom and reject it; they just never think about it. Their forgetfulness of all of Tom’s advice seems significant as well. Their sleep also doesn’t seem natural.
• The Barrow-wights want to shut out the memories of light and warmth in their victims.
• The attack is already underway, even though the hobbits are doing okay so far.

Proceeding with hope, but not confidence:

• It’s important that Frodo takes the lead at this point in their journey, and it seems at first that his plan has worked.
• Is the darkness natural, or is the fog darker? The darkness appears to be unnatural.
• The hobbits’ hope has been manipulated to bring them exactly where they did not want to go.
• The standing stones are clearly a kind of threshold of the domain of the Barrow-wights.
• This is parallel to what happens in the Old Forest, being herded right into the trap.
• Frodo’s speaking up seems to be the first dialogue for quite a while, and it is a good sign.
• Much like in the Old Forest, Frodo is speaking against the despair and oppression, and he is opposed in spirit.
• Do the hobbits not follow Frodo, or expect him to wait? Have they already been taken?
• What is the darkness that seems to fall around him? This is a direct spiritual attack.
• The pony also knows that evil things are afoot, and so, this is not just in Frodo’s head alone.
• Note: There is a parallel here between the behavior of Balaam’s ass in the Book of Numbers and Frodo’s pony, in that they both try to stop their riders from going where they shouldn’t.
• As in other fairy-stories, crossings of boundaries are very important moments.
• There is a change in perspective from the group to Frodo individually, which highlights Frodo’s sense of isolation. He has been separated from the group.
• Does Frodo make a mistake in leadership? He doesn’t seem to leave the others deliberately.
• Its important that Frodo is blinded and unable to see the others. This may or may not be physically true, but it is his subjective experience.

Frodo alone with his fear:

• There is a parallel to Frodo shouting for help in the Old Forest in his fearful calls to the others.
• There is also a parallel with Bilbo and the Dwarves’ searching for each other in the dark after attempting to join the wood-elves in their rings after leaving the path in Mirkwood.
• The difference here is that they are not actually separated.
• Is the cry Frodo hears coming from the hobbits? He is facing directly towards a barrow and being led directly to its entrance in the east.
• How did a Barrow-wight know Frodo’s name? The other hobbits may have been calling for him, and Frodo was prevented from hearing it.
• Note: There are many stories of Fae creatures who call to travelers in the voices of their kin.
• The fact that he hears the voice from the east shows that they are still on the west side of the barrows. They have at least tried to follow this bit of Tom’s advice.
• All of Frodo’s senses seem to be compromised, so his choices are being undermined.
• There is also no evidence that the Ring is interacting at all in this scenario so far.
• The voice is never identified with any of the hobbits, only the direction from which it came.

A darker version of “up, down, under hill”:

• The thin voices out of the mist do not seem to be from the hobbits. These seem to be from the Barrow-wights luring Frodo in.
• Note: There is a parallel between the “clinging night” and the Unlight of Ungoliant.
• Is the cry for help from the hobbits, or is this also from the wights? It’s possible that this is actually the hobbits in that case.
• Bilbo was actually able to hear the dwarves calling for help, though he can’t find them.
• Either the wights are imitating the cries of his friends, or they are allowing him to hear their last cries for help to lure him in. This serves the wights’ purpose either way.
• This has the desired effect, as Frodo begins running toward the cries.
• The wights seem to be feeding their fears and prolonging the moment for their own enjoyment.
• Frodo is not panicking here; he is trying to find and rescue his friends and solve the problem.
• Frodo is resisting the wights, despite their attacks on his senses and fears.
• Sam was more resistant to the spell of Old Man Willow, as he was aware of the spell working.
• We don’t know what they experience was like for the other hobbits, as we focus on Frodo’s.
• Note: We have not had any dialogue from Sam since the encounter with Old Man Willow. We know that he joined in with the singing in Tom’s house, but not anything of note. This seems similar to his silence among the elves in Woodhall.

The winds change:

• Unlike in Gondor, when the wind blew away the shadows of Mordor, this change of weather and clearing of the skies is not a good thing.
• The icy, hissing wind, and descending cold are bad signs for Frodo that he’s fully in the trap.
• Frodo finds himself on the wrong side of the barrow, feeling a wind from the east.
• He has kept the wind in his left eye, but he is now facing the opposite direction.
• The uncovering of the stars seems to be more about the reveal of the barrow.

The trap is finally shut:

• The answer to Frodo’s last call seems to be a final reveal of the Barrow-wight.
• This answer suggests that it was the Barrow-wight calling to Frodo all along.
• Why is Frodo angry as well as afraid? These both seem to be the influence of the wights.
• Note: There is a pattern in Tolkien of “pale lights” being associated with evil beings.
• The fact that Frodo doesn’t scream implies that the others may not have been able to shout.
• Frodo’s not running away seems to be a sign of helplessness rather than resistance.
• It seems clear that Frodo could have been taken before, but the wight chose not to.
• The struggle that Frodo will have with the Barrow-wight will be more than physical.

END OF SESSION