Episode 58 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 58

Comment on Strider’s insult of Butterbur:

• The first impression of Strider’s expression is to think that he is calling Butterbur stupid.
• We know from Gandalf’s words later in Rivendell that he doesn’t think that about Butterbur.
• Strider doesn’t seem to call him stupid; he is commenting on Butterbur’s forgetfulness.
• Strider is using hyperbole to remind Butterbur that he has failed to carry out Gandalf’s instructions and can’t help in the way that the hobbits really need.
• None of the allies here have done particularly well in Bree. The hobbits have been careless and Butterbur forgetful, but even Strider had failed to find a better way to contact the hobbits.
• Strider and Butterbur are not exactly friends, but it does seem as if Strider is trying to banter.

Comment on Strider’s Ranger kin:

• Is Strider’s pain at the mention of the Nazgûl a reflection that the Black Riders have recently killed or overran several of his kin further south?
• News could have reached him by now, based on the dates in Appendix B. It’s been a few days to a week since it happened, and we know that he has received word about the Black Riders.

Comment on the difference between Gandalf and Strider in Bree:

• Strider prefers to be secretive, while Gandalf is more brash and in the open.
• Strider has never even given a pseudonym, and he allows others to name him Strider.
• Gandalf knows that the Bree-folk don’t trust wizards and magic-doers, and yet he is very open about his role. Butterbur will even vouch for him in spite of this.
• Strider often lurks in corners, while Gandalf will walk into Butterbur’s room without walking.

Gandalf’s first postscript:

• Note: In Gandalf’s letter, he only gives instructions about the Prancing Pony in case Frodo went through Bree, though it was almost certain that they would pass through. He seems to be assuming that Frodo would be better at being stealthy and might avoid populated centers.
• Gandalf is showing in his first postscript that he knows about the Ringwraiths and that they are stronger at night and will be drawn to the Ring if Frodo uses it.
• Frodo might be embarrassed to read this, knowing the two times he has put on the Ring.
• Gandalf pointedly does not explain why this is so important, though he emphasizes its importance with the exclamation points. This is similar to what Gildor did.
• Gandalf is not concerned about the Ringwraiths yet, as he believes that they are still a long way off, but he is playing it safe by warning Frodo about how to avoid them now.
• He also gives Frodo instructions to not travel by night, which Frodo has already done. However, this would be counterintuitive, as traveling by night would increase his stealth normally.
• Gandalf might be worried that the letter could be intercepted, so he is evasive in talking about sensitive information, such as the Ring.
• He wants to avoid alarming Frodo about the Ringwraiths, so he avoids mentioning them, too.
• Note: The number of postscripts added shows the haste with which the letter was written.

Aragorn is revealed in verse:

• Note: The description that Gandalf gives in the body of the letter of Strider is similar in its lack of specificity as his spoken description of Frodo to Butterbur.
• Gandalf is not in too much haste to write out the entire verse about Aragorn, but he is in too much haste to explain it in writing.
• The eventual function of this poem is to act as a confirmation when Strider quotes it later, but Gandalf has not put any instructions along with the poem to ask Strider about it.
• The poem is divided into two sentences, each covering four lines and ending with a period.
• Each of couplet is divided by a comma, and the first two lines of the quatrain by a semicolon.
• This is not hobbit meter (iambic) nor Bombadil’s (trochaic). This is written in triplets (anapest).
• Note: Anapest is rare in Tolkien’s poetry, but it is common in Dr. Seuss’, written in tetrameter.
• Lines three and four are concerned with winter imagery. It gives a sense of waiting to return.
• The first two lines are concerned with things being different from what they appear.
• Note: Tolkien takes the famous line from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and creates a new meaning by reversing the placement of gold and glitter. In Shakespeare, the message is about not being fooled by beautiful appearances, while Tolkien’s message is to look underneath unattractive appearances for something greater and nobler.
• The theme of appearances vs inner nature is continued in the second pair of lines.
• The second quatrain is concerned with the future, rather than the past or present, and is a promise of a reversal of the status quo of the first quatrain.
• The second quatrain also shifts to the passive voice, which removes the doer of the action.
• The return of the fire and the light are both promised to be sudden events, not gradual.
• Only the last line is in active voice, naming “the crownless” as both the doer of all these verbs and associates him with the four aphorisms in the first quatrain.
• The reawakening of the fire prefigures the renewed of the blade that was broken. This fire also evokes the light of the sword, which will be called The Flame of the West (Andúril).
• The idea of the crownless becoming king is a restoration, not a usurpation of an existing king.
• Note: The kings of Gondor had crowns, though the kings of Arnor were primarily associated with the Sceptre of Annúminas. In Appendix A, this poem is referenced to explain that when Bilbo spoke of a crown, he was referencing Gondor.
• Note: Bilbo is not doing prophecy, nor is he quoting a prophecy given to him by Aragorn. However, he is making bold to say this as fact, while Aragorn only talks of it as a hope. The only prophecy among the Dúnedain of Arnor is that the sword would be reforged when the Ring was found. Bilbo fulfilled the latter part of that prophecy, so he makes predictions about the former.
• Is the poem about Aragorn personally or about the line of Isildur in general? It can be applied either way but making it about Aragorn personally is bolder and more immediate.
• Note: Bilbo will say later that he wrote it for Aragorn, and Aragorn takes it as being about him.
• Note: The fact that Bilbo has written this poem, but not in hobbit meter, is important. This is a non-hobbit subject, and Bilbo has made sure to make the form of it different as a result.
• Gandalf also includes the poem because its injunction about looking underneath outer appearances is highly applicable to the situation.
• Gandalf may intend this as a kind of password, but his lack of any instructions shows his haste.

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[Tony Meade]

(continued)

Gandalf’s third postscript:

• Note: A “lumber room” is a storage room or attic in British English, often for extra wood products, and it is a proverb that the board that you need is always at the bottom. There would have been many lumber rooms at Bag End, for instance, for all the mathoms collected there.
• Gandalf very rightly anticipates that Butterbur’s forgetting and has put this last postscript as an explanation if Frodo were to receive the letter later than he meant.
• Even in light of his knowledge of Butterbur’s forgetfulness, Gandalf has to choose him to send the letter because he doesn’t have any other better options at the time.
• Since traffic with the Shire is rare nowadays, there wouldn’t be any Shire-hobbits around to send back with the letter.
• Gandalf partly chooses not to take the time to go to the Shire because he was told by Radagast that Saruman’s message was late in getting to him. He feels he has no time.

Strider and Gandalf’s letter:

• Strider admits that his looks are against him in being accepted without proofs, but his own behavior has also been set against him. He has not acted like someone seeking friendship.
• Strider shows a vulnerability that he has not shown before in revealing his own isolation.
• Note: Does Sauron understand that the Rangers are the remnants of the Dúnedain of the North? We don’t know how much information he has about doings in the North, but we do know that Sauron does not know that there is an heir of Isildur alive, as this is only revealed to him later. We also don’t know when he thought the line was made extinct, by the Witch-king or later on.
• Strider argues that if he had told them about his friendship prior to the letter, they would have no more reason to believe that than anything else. Only the letter proves it.
• What kind of trap did Aragorn believe that the Enemy might set for him using the hobbits? Does he believe that this might be a fake Frodo, or the four are double-agents?
• Aragorn may have had traps set for him earlier, but he seems to apply it to this situation.
• It’s possible that he may suspect that innocent hobbits might be sent to Bree as decoys, or that some hobbits were paid to do this by the Black Riders.
• Though Sauron doesn’t know about Aragorn specifically, they do know that the Rangers exist and will resist them, and the traps they set might be for anyone who opposes them.
• They may target Aragorn as the leader of the Rangers, even if they don’t know his heritage.
• His suspicion of a trap might only have been up until Frodo used the Ring, which makes him know that he is the real Frodo Baggins. After that, he only wants to be sure of Frodo’s character.
• Strider may also have been sizing them up as to their readiness for the journey ahead.
• Is Strider concerned that Frodo has gone over to the dark side by using the Ring? Is he concerned that Frodo is under the power of the Ring and not acting under his own will?
• There is a possibility that if Frodo had fallen to the power of the Ring and he was trying to reveal it to the Black Riders, Strider may be forced to take the Ring, or transport him like Gollum.
• Strider is being diplomatic in saying that he couldn’t trust them to handle carrying the Ring.
• At this moment, Aragorn is dropping the Strider cover and speaking directly to Frodo as himself. By admitting that there is a cost to his cover, he opens himself up to trust.
• There’s a hint of bitterness and loneliness in his admission and admits that he’s made sacrifices for this cover.

The younger hobbits’ resolve:

• Strider smacks down Pippin’s attempt at banter by reminding him of his lack of experience.
• It’s reminiscent of Pippin’s comments about Frodo’s shortcut regarding hedges and ditches, thinking that it was uncivilized not to use the road exclusively. This a very Hobbit perspective.
• Pippin’s ideas of hardship are still relative to the Shire and the inconveniences in tamed lands.
• Strider does not allow Pippin to lighten the mood and feels the need to remind them all that they are not on a hobbit walking party and not traveling on holiday.
• Pippin probably feels a little crushed by this, and this may be Strider’s intent to disillusion him.
• Note: This is related to the “home by Christmas” promise that the troops were given in the first summer of WWI, only to have the war last for four long years. It evokes the innocent young British lad going off to war not knowing what to expect, unlike the experienced veteran.
• It is in Pippin’s interest for them all to understand that this journey is life and death stakes.
• Strider is also subtly challenging Pippin to prove his mettle, in the manner of a drill sergeant.
• The Strider persona is starting to take more of a back seat as his real identity as Aragorn has started to emerge, and Aragorn refers to the persona in the third person.

Sam’s challenge:

• Sam’s objection is sensible again, as it was Frodo who first mentioned Gandalf, not Strider.
• Sam believes that Strider could have picked up on all these signals like a good con artist, but he is also being stubborn and over the top. They had already come to an understanding.
• Sam has a stubborn unwillingness to risk any harm to Frodo, no matter how unreasonable.
• He has taken the instructions from Gandalf to make sure of the real Strider to heart.
• Sam comes from a culture without social mobility, so he may assume that people don’t really change much over time. He will later apply this to Gollum.
• He is also unwilling to be daunted in the same way as Pippin and gives no ground.
• Sam probably doesn’t want a fake Strider to confess, and only to go away.
• Sam has trust issues in general and doesn’t take to strangers, and Strider is not only someone who looks roguish, but is also a Man, which is foreign to the experience of Hobbits of the Shire.

END OF SESSION