Episode 45 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 45

Comment on the authorship of the Barrow-downs chapter:

• Frodo is thought of as the “best hobbit in the Shire”, but he doesn’t know this at the time.
• It is made clear to us that this is a received document that has been edited and narrated by a modern person, though the bulk of it was completed by Frodo.
• We are also made aware of the multiple levels of authorship between Frodo’s manuscript and it’s coming into the hands of the narrator/editor.
• The Lord of the Rings is not a direct translation of Frodo’s manuscript, but one that was translated and added to by Findegil in Gondor, among others.
• How do we determine on the provenance of a given portion of the text? Because the text has been edited and changed by multiple sources, we cannot do a style analysis for authorship.
• One thing that is clear in the text is that it is written after the fact of the events it describes.
• Frodo would have had lots of opportunities to have follow-up conversations with others after the events to fill in gaps in the story he did not know at the time.
• There are many examples of moments in the text that take us out of the present moment.
• It’s possible that some of the more complimentary passages about Frodo were added by Sam, as Frodo might not have done that himself, but we cannot be certain.
• The only passages of which provenance we can be sure are the anachronistic references from the modern narrator, like references to express trains, speaking to the modern audience.
• The passage about the “thinking fox” presents a conundrum, as it’s unclear who would have had knowledge of it, certainly not the modern narrator.
• The passages which describe someone’s interior experiences might be directly attributed to that person, like Frodo and Sam’s experiences in Lórien and Mordor.
• Sam says that Frodo nearly finished the book, but we don’t know where he stopped.
• Descriptions of Sam’s heroism may have not come from Sam but were written by Frodo.

An unexpected picnic with Tom:

• We are asked to recall the lunch break the day before which led to their disaster and capture and reminded that they are at least partially to blame for their complacency.
• This time they are with Tom Bombadil, even though they are eating their meal in a carefree way just outside the barrow itself, where they were nearly killed the night before.
• Tom has not use for the treasures himself, but he makes sure that only kindly creatures will find them, which implies the potential for other wights to take them otherwise.
• If this is not a direct spell by Tom, it is a counter-spell against the wights.
• The wights do seem to be attracted by sparkly treasures and hoard them like dragons.
• Note: Dragon-sickness is a circular spell. Dragons confer the spell on the treasure they brood over, and if you come into contact you also become dragonish but becoming jealous and possessive can attract dragons or turn you into a dragon in Norse mythology.
• Tom’s spell seems to be intended to break this cycle of possessiveness and dragonishness.
• It seems likely that treasures that inspire greed and corruption would attract dark spirits.
• The treasure that goes into the barrow does no one any good, though this was part of the burial ritual, while dragons collect their treasure through theft. The wights did not collect the treasure.
• The burial of the treasure in the barrow by the people of Arnor, and thereby making it useless to everyone else, seems to echo the attitude in the burials of Númenor and Gondor.
• The placement of the treasure under the sun also prevents any dark creature from using it.

A pretty toy for Goldberry:

• It seems significant that the broach Tom chooses has blue stones in it to bring to Goldberry, which is the color most associated with Tom himself.
• The comparisons with flowers and butterflies seem to be associated with Goldberry.
• Many people find the reference to the previously owned the broach very tantalizing.
• Tom may be referring to the transitory nature of mortals, but he seems to be referring to the fact that he and Goldberry knew the owner of the broach personally.
• Was this woman from Cardolan? Probably, or possibly even from the people before that, but she seems to have had some status and may have spent time with Tom and Goldberry.
• There is a parallel to Merry’s experience of the passed memory in an artifact of the past, though in the former there is a pleasant, if wistful feeling, whereas Merry’s invoked horror.
• Tom may be hinting that there are more useful ways to remember someone than burying their treasures with them never to be seen again.
• Was the woman connected to the man of Merry’s memory? Probably, but we don’t know how.
• It’s important that he refers to the broach as a toy, as he might consider most objects important to mortals as toys, not as valuables. We’ve even seen him do this with the One Ring.

Knives as swords for Shire-folk:

• Tom makes the treasure’s connection with Arnor, and with Cardolan specifically, explicit.
• It seems important that Tom does not give the hobbits their own choice of the treasure, but rather chooses for them the daggers. This may be to keep the hobbits from choosing unwisely.
• Tom may be foresighted in seeing their future uses, but it seems more to be about the general usefulness of bearing arms while traveling abroad in dangerous times.
• Tom would be fully aware on the virtue laid on these blades in fighting the agents of the Enemy, especially the Nazgûl and the Witch-king specifically.
• It’s interesting that the hobbits did not think before about having to fight, which shows their sheltered and naïve existence in the Shire. They saw their adventure as escaping.
• There is a dichotomy of the practicality of the blades and not of the treasures.

One last enchantment:

• The vision of the men is like the ones Tom gave in his house, so it’s clear this comes from him.
• Is the man with the star on his brow Elendil or Aragorn? Is this of the past, present, or future?
• In a sense, this is about Aragorn, but Tom’s talk has gone backwards in time before. Therefore, Aragorn and Elendil are being shown as equivalents.
• Does Tom know Aragorn? Aragorn clearly knows Tom, as he recognizes him when he spies on the hobbits with Tom on the Road and speaks of him in a familiar way.
• Aragorn would certainly know OF Tom from Gandalf or the sons of Elrond, or Elrond himself.
• Tom seems to be showing some foresight about their meeting of Aragorn by informing them now about the concept of the Rangers and the remnants of the Dúnedain.

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[Tony Meade]

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One more merry journey with Tom:

• It’s remarkable that the gold does not sparkle in sunlight but shines upwards like a flame. This suggests that there is something else happening besides reflected sunshine.
• The comparison with a flame recalls the image of the funeral pyre, but it’s only purified, not consumed. The flame would also make it visible to kindly creatures to claim the treasure.
• The statement suggesting that Tom’s nonsense is its own ancient language is its own answer.
• Perhaps the suggestion is that this is the root of the original language of the Ainur.
• Note: The nonsense words are English nonsense words, but this is a translation from the original Westron, not a transcription. It gives us the sense of the words spoken, not the exact words.
• Is Tom’s speech influenced by the folk and life around him, or is he influencing their speech?
• This shows how far the hobbits have come in their view of Tom, having seen Tom as weird as silly at first, but now having more understanding his importance and power and nature.
• Tom strikes an interesting balance between his carefree nature and his knowledge of the world. Tom knows full well the tragedy and suffering of the world but is not brought down by it.
• Tom seems to have complete confidence and contentment in his self-imposed limits.

A mysterious boundary:

• The dyke that outlines the boundary seems to be between Arthedain and Cardolan, which would represent the Arnorian civil wars and the accompanying tragedies.
• The line of trees was not what Frodo thought, but turns out to be more significant.
• Is this also the boundary of the Barrow-wights’ influence? This seems so, by Tom’s actions.
• Note: There isn’t any evidence that Tom chose a side in the civil war, though this is different from Treebeard’s neutrality. Treebeard was loyal to the trees, while Tom is not attached.
• The construction of the dyke implies that this was built by the men of Arthedain to keep Cardolan out, and Tom along with them. This is shown by the visibility of the wall.
• It seems that the Great Road runs between Arthedain and Cardolan, on the side of Arthedain.

The adventure resumes in earnest:

• The journey into the forest was to avoid the Black Riders, but this has been a side journey into another world. Now they return to the original journey.
• We are reminded of Pippin’s wise words, “Shortcuts make long delays”. This has been demonstrated by their delay in the forest, as Frodo admits.
• The hobbits look toward the west, which was associated with safety in the Barrow-downs, but now represents the danger of the Black Riders.
• Note: The hobbits would have still taken at least two days to cross the forest even if the trip had gone according to plan. The delays come from the day at Tom’s house and their capture.

Tom stops at his own boundaries:

• Tom’s definition of mastery comes up again as he does not claim it over the Black Riders. This seems to be showing the limitations of his knowledge of things outside his domain.
• It’s possible that Tom knows something of the movements of the Black Riders and uses this to reassure the hobbits, though he’s guessing. He may also be aware that Aragorn is listening.
• Tom may also be showing his own prescience, though he qualifies his knowledge

One final piece of advice and a poem:

• Tom even gives perfectly factual and mundane directions in his poetic meter.
• He gives them a very optimistic prediction that they will be able to leave on their way in the next morning after staying in Bree.
• The kind of advice he gives is vary typical of Tom, advising merriment as a kind of resistance against the power of the Shadow.
• His admonishment about meeting “fortune” is about providence or fate, not money.
• It’s important that Tom won’t pass the borders, not that he can’t. He does this freely.
• Is Goldberry tied to the land, like the spirits of the land, i.e. the spirit of Caradhras, and that is the reason that Tom won’t leave his borders?
• In the end, Tom’s thoughts always return to Goldberry, and so does he.

END OF SESSION