Episode 49 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 49

Comment on the limits of Tom Bombadil’s knowledge:

• Tom turns out to be incorrect about the lack of pursuit of the hobbits on the night they travel to Bree. They are pursued, though they are unaware of it at the time. Tom only hopes they will be.
• He admits to the limits of his knowledge about anything east of Bree and does not speak with any confidence about their safety. He does not know the movements of the Black Riders.
• Note: As far as we can tell, the Black Riders never enter Tom’s territory, though this was not true in the earlier drafts. Tom’s isolation increased over the course of the writing. Also, in earlier drafts, Tom was able to send off the Riders. This was preserved at the Fords of Bruinen, when it is mentioned that Frodo did not have the power of Bombadil to command the Riders.

The house of Barliman Butterbur:

• The lack of Tom Bombadil’s rhythm in the prose marks the return to the normal world.
• Butterbur has his own kind of rhythm in his simple sentences. Butterbur seems to speak incessantly, but each thought is short, and directed to multiple people at once.
• Note: There would not be a menu at an inn like the Pony; they would simply serve you whatever had been prepared for that day.
• Frodo and his companions have some money with them to pay for the accommodations.
• There is a definite note of coziness and familiarity in the description of the parlor and the meal.
• Note: There is no information given by Tolkien about the monetary systems of the Shire or anywhere else in Middle-earth. We don’t know the value or provenance of the silver pennies.
• The hobbits seem to be pulled back and forth between comfort and discomfort, the familiar and the strange, and the cozy and the scary. There is a bias toward the negative, however.
• The hospitality of the Pony is comparable to Bombadil's, though not as magical, but more familiar.

The hobbits are invited to join the company:

• There is certainly a group of regulars that are always there at The Prancing Pony, and it is to join them that the hobbits are invited.
• The decision to join the company turns out to be foolish given their trying to escape in secret.
• Their acceptance of the invitation shows their remaining lack of experience. Though they have learned and grown from their prior experiences, but they still act with naivete.
• They may be thinking too much about Bilbo’s stories, and remembering his experiences of rest in Rivendell. They are not adventurers yet, and still have not learned to be on their guard.
• Their recovery from the morning’s experience in the barrow does show their hobbit fortitude.
• It’s possible that they think that keeping to themselves might draw unnecessary attention to them due to their secrecy.
• Nobody in this exchange takes the others’ advice, and all of them make big mistakes. Merry does not seem to be making a better choice than the other three, either.
• The reminder that it is safer indoors seems to directly reference the Black Rides, not the general danger of city crime in a strange town.
• This series of mistakes shows that the hobbits really did need Gandalf’s guidance on this trip.
• Since leaving Bag End, each of their choices has led them to danger that they did not expect, but it did lead them to the guidance of Gildor, Farmer Maggot, and Bombadil that they needed.
• Note: These workings of “luck” are similar, but not exactly like those in The Hobbit. There is a strong hint of the workings of Providence. They were not chosen for this journey because of their wisdom or experience.
• How else might the hobbits have met Strider if not for the actions in the common-room?
• Frodo is guided by Strider’s actions in light of his failures to guide him to trust the Ranger.

The first impression of the common-room:

• Note: The physical description of the Prancing Pony’s common-room is very similar to the construction in the film version. However, the mood is completely different, in that the book version is very friendly and welcoming, while in the film it is primarily threatening.
• The familiarity of the room is offset by the strangeness of the people present, such as the dwarves and men, especially those from outside Bree. They’re reminded that this isn’t the Shire.
• That Butterbur introduces them hobbits to the regulars shows that they are a tight-knit group of people, but this doesn’t leave out the fact that there are many strangers among them.
• There is a difference in the hobbits’ treatment by the Bree-folk and the strangers from the south. The southerners’ curiosity is understandable, but it’s interesting that it is mentioned.
• Have the southerners heard rumors of the Black Riders, or something about hobbits?
• It’s likely that these refugees have never seen a hobbit before coming to Bree and would not find the Shire-hobbits stranger than the Bree-hobbits as a group.

On Hobbit surnames, in and out of the Shire:

• The “natural” names are all about digging into the earth, including Brockhouse, which is a reference to a badger hole. This reflects the hobbits’ living in holes in the ground.
• The use of “natural” in reference to the hobbit names point to a bias toward the Shire-hobbits in the narration, as this is written from their point of view.
• These would only be “natural” as opposed to the other names with regards to hobbit culture. None of the hobbits that we have met have any of these surnames.
• The hobbits often use botanical names for girls’ first names, but not surnames.
• This may be to emphasize the connection with the name of Underhill.
• It’s possible that the reason we have not heard these surnames is that we have primarily only been introduced to the Shire-hobbit aristocrats and gentry. These names sound more common.
• Baggins is not very aristocratic sounding, but Bilbo’s father married into the money of the Tooks.
• Note: Gamgee is a real surname in England that Tolkien used. The name is a brand name for cotton wool; that Sam marries into the Cotton family is an inside joke. Tolkien did receive a letter from a real Sam Gamgee, to which he enthusiastically responded in Letter #184.

An academic cover story:

• It’s interesting to think about how Frodo would have deflected in-depth questions about his family tree, as genealogy is a preoccupation of hobbit culture.
• The fact that geography and history are not much talked about in Bree points to a lower level of education in Bree versus in the Shire.
• Even in the Shire, illiteracy was common, so it’s surprising that Bree-hobbits are also generally less learned than the Shire-hobbits.
• Are there any books in Bree? Would book ownership be common, including family trees, as in the Shire? The Bree-hobbits may not participate in this part of hobbit culture.
• There’d be recordkeeping in Bree to run businesses; Barliman values his reputation for literacy.
• Note: Just as illiteracy was common in the European Middle Ages, it was also common to keep records, and the clergy were highly literate. There would also usually be someone around who could read, and therefore who could read to others the written books and stories.
• The Bree-hobbits don’t shun Frodo for writing a book and are enthusiastic and willing to help.
• It’s also interesting that Butterbur is pointed to for information on hobbits. This shows that there is no absolute division between the two peoples, and Butterbur’s social importance.
• That they expect Frodo to write the book at once shows that they don’t understand writing.
• Where did Butterbur learn to read? Likely his father, the previous innkeeper, but what else he would be reading to practice is less clear, aside from his bookkeeping.
• Even among literate people in Bree, if this is primality mercantile, the idea of writing a book, or even reading for pleasure, may still be strange.
• Butterbur also has staff and social connections to get messages through to the Shire. This is why Gandalf gives his letter to Butterbur, as there is no post office. Messengers need not be literate.
• It's probable that Butterbur would have later seen a copy of the Red Book.

END OF SESSION