Episode 56 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 56

Comment on a parallel between MacDuff from Macbeth and Strider/Aragorn:

• There are many connections between Macbeth and The Lord of the Rings.
• The most famous is the attack of Birnham Wood, which is a trick in the play, that Tolkien makes literal in the march of the Ents on Isengard.
• There is also a connection between Éowyn’s fulfillment of prophecy as a woman paralleled with the “none born of woman” prophecy of MacDuff.
• There is also a parallel in Malcolm pretending to have many character flaws in order to try to catch MacDuff out, seeing if he is a spy, and to see if revenge is his primary motive.
• Strider is not testing Frodo’s character in the same way, but he is pretending to be a rascal to test their reactions and ability to handle danger before revealing his true identity.
• Strider is prompting Frodo to ask questions that, by being answering, will allay his suspicions.
• Strider would have heard from Gandalf about Frodo’s character and intelligence, so he needs to ensure that this evaluation was correct in light of Frodo’s mistakes in the common room.
• He would probably have concerns about the effect of the Ring, having been briefed by Gandalf.
• Note: It’s impossible to prove that Macbeth or any other work is a direct source, but parallels between different works allow us to look at both works in a new way.
• Other Shakespeare works may be paralleled with The Lord of the Rings, such as Henry V’s going among his soldiers in disguise connected with Aragorn’s entering Minas Tirith as a healer.

Barliman’s story about the letter:

• This conversation between Butterbur and Gandalf was back in June, around midsummer, so more than three months have passed since then.
• What can we learn of Gandalf’s state of mind from this conversation and the letter itself?
• Gandalf emphasizing that Frodo is his friend and is appealing to Butterbur as also a friend for help, for their friendship’s sake.
• The quotation is in italics because it is reported speech by Butterbur from Gandalf. This is probably a paraphrase on Butterbur’s part, as it is in his style and not Gandalf’s tone.
• Gandalf lets Butterbur in on Frodo’s alias to avoid confusion, and expects him to come with Sam.
• Gandalf does not know that Merry and Pippin will come, so their conspiracy was successful in concealing itself from Gandalf. Gandalf is shrewd, but not omniscient.
• Gandalf had told Frodo that he was hoping to be back before Frodo’s departure after his trip, which turns out to be to Isengard, not knowing what awaited him there.
• No mention of the Ring or any other reasons for his travel are mentioned, however.
• Gandalf may be sparing Butterbur any threat of interrogation by not telling him things that can be extracted from him. The Ring is also not Butterbur’s concern, and only appeals to friendship.
• Strider and Gandalf seem to trust Butterbur to have his heart in the right place, not his mind.

New reports of the Black Riders:

• Barliman Butterbur shows a similar resistance to the hobbits like Gaffer Gamgee and Farmer Maggot in his rebuke of the Black Riders and sending them off.
• This is reminiscent of Fëanor shutting the door in the face of Melkor in The Silmarillion.
• The Black Rider do still have an effect, as shown by Nob, as well as the various animals in Bree.
• Strider has already reported that Harry Goatleaf has already been cowed by the Riders.
• The Prancing Pony is something of a fortress based on conviviality and homeliness.
• Their power is not as strong in the Shire or in Bree as it would be in Minas Morgul or Mordor.
• Far away from the shadow of Sauron, the inhabitants can resist their power for fear and intimidation. Sauron sends his shadows forward in the East for this reason.
• In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, we see the Nazgûl put people to flight out of terror.
• The effect of the Riders on their animals is unnerving to the Bree-folk, as they have shown themselves to fear anything uncanny or unexplained. It is like an approaching storm.

A confrontation between Strider and Butterbur:

• Butterbur does not see Strider as uncanny in the same way as the Riders, but he does place Strider in the same category as the Riders in terms of trouble. They’re associated in his mind.
• Butterbur assumes that Strider is up to no good, especially in light of his rudeness at trying to see the hobbits before they’d had a chance to eat. This would be seen as importune.
• He may be afraid that Strider sees the hobbits as easy marks, especially if he suspects that Strider is a highwayman or a rogue. This is especially true as the hobbits are from the Shire.
• Gandalf has clearly not given any endorsement of Strider to Butterbur, which he could have done. This may be because of an agreement to maintain Strider’s cover.
• The fact that Strider even knows that hobbits from the Shire have arrived, when there’s no good way for him to know that is also suspicious. This looks sketchy to Butterbur.
• Strider goes out of his way to surprise Butterbur in order to tease him for not noticing him and carrying on about him without even knowing he was there.
• Talking about himself in the third person allows Strider to tease Butterbur further.
• Strider does not dispute Butterbur’s assessment of him, as he has cultivated that reputation.
• Strider has actually had to risk his cover in order to avert a disaster, and having failed, the disaster has happened just as he’d feared.
• What does Butterbur mean by Strider “always popping up”? Does Strider often appear unexpectedly and startle Butterbur? This seems be something Butterbur has seen before.
• Butterbur may be referring to Strider entering and leaving town unexpectedly, but that doesn’t explain his lack of surprise at having Strider appear out of a corner.
• Perhaps Strider’s arrival is usually associated with trouble, so they see him like Gandalf is seen in Rohan, as a “Stormcrow”.
• Butterbur does not seem to fear Strider, in that he thinks Strider might be violent towards him. Rather, he thinks of him as annoying, and possibly disreputable.

Taking up with a Ranger:

• The fact that Strider is the only Ranger option implies that there are not many in Bree.
• Frodo’s first act is to take Butterbur into his confidence and ask him to comment on his choice to trust Strider. This is prompted by his story about Gandalf, as well as Butterbur’s reputation.
• Butterbur’s advice is unequivocally bad about Strider based on the reputation of the Rangers. His opinion is about Rangers as a group, not Strider personally.
• When Butterbur has said anything about Strider personally, it’s not necessarily bad, and often praises him and his abilities. He doesn’t have to do that but admits them out of fairness.
• The fact that Frodo is entertaining the idea of taking up with Strider leads Butterbur to question Frodo’s judgement and competence.
• At this point Butterbur still has the letter. He may be withholding it until he knows more.
• Note: The narrator uses the honorific “Mister” and keeps using it in interesting ways.

Strider calls out Butterbur’s unfitness to help:

• How serious is Strider’s insult of Butterbur? How angry? How does it reflect on Strider/Aragorn?
• Note: Tolkien does not shy away from fat jokes usually, as ideas of body-shaming were different.
• This statement could be banter, similar to the way the hobbits insult each other as a sign of affection. The fact that he attaches “fat” to “innkeeper” makes it less personal.
• Strider pushing the fact that Butterbur is an innkeeper emphasizes that he is not qualified to provide the kind of help that the hobbits need on their journey. A Ranger can provide that.
• Butterbur’s fatness is a sign of success as an innkeeper, but also a lack of physical fitness.
• Strider is making a joke of it, because the image of Butterbur’s leading the hobbits is funny.
• Butterbur had made a fat joke at his own expense when first meeting the hobbits.
• The target audience of Strider’s speech is really Frodo, in order to make the comparison.
• Strider is annoyed with Butterbur, because Gandalf’s instructions have not been followed.
• Butterbur bears a certain degree of responsibility for allowing Frodo and his friends to go into the common-room, where something bad was bound to happen in public.
• Strider emphasizes the threat to the hobbits, and their homelessness, in order to convince Butterbur to allow him to help. He is frustrated with Butterbur’s obstructionism.
• Strider takes a playful tone but is definitely serious in his point about their choices.
• Butterbur clearly doesn’t believe Strider or acknowledge the real danger involved/
• Note: The use of the term “black men” refers to their clothing, rather than the hair or other features. They are certainly Men, and all they can see is their black clothing. If they were referring to the color of their hair, they would probably use the term “dark”.
• Butterbur is shocked at the idea of leaving Bree, and even when offering Gandalf any help he could, this obviously was not on the table.
• Butterbur is in an awkward position, and while he acknowledges his promise to Gandalf and that the hobbits need help, but he knows he can’t provide what he promised.
• Butterbur seems not to fully have understood the hobbits’ plight prior to Strider explaining it.
• He responds by probing for more information, as his ideas of what was going on seemed like something in his domain; they would simply need shelter and food. Now, he knows different.
• Butterbur would find the idea of hobbits being hunted by uncanny creatures as queer.

END OF SESSION