Episode 59 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 59

Comment Gandalf’s lack of security:

• The letter had both Frodo’s address and Aragorn’s identity information, which could have been lost on the way, and even Gandalf had questioned Butterbur’s ability to carry it out.
• There is still an issue of literacy, both among the Nazgûl and anyone else who might find the letter. The Ringwraiths cannot see as normal people do.
• The timing of the letter is important, as when Gandalf writes the letter on Midyear’s Day, the Ringwraiths are months away from finding the Shire, as long as Frodo gets it in time.
• The rumors are only that they are coming, not that they are there. They crossed the Anduin at midsummer. Had they already been in Eriador, Gandalf would not have gone to Isengard.
• At this point, Frodo’s address is common knowledge in the Shire. He has not sold Bag End yet.
• Had a messenger left when Butterbur was told to send the letter, they would have arrived at Bag End within a week to two weeks.
• Aragorn’s identity would still be safe, as he was not in Bree at the time that he wrote this.
• Butterbur did prove trustworthy in not revealing any of the secrets, just not in sending it.

Comment on Aragorn’s caution:

• Aragorn had last met Gandalf around May 1st, when Gandalf left Frodo after hearing news
• Aragorn had only been told to expect only Frodo and Sam, but any message from Gildor would have contained the information of two companions and Frodo having been named Elf-friend.
• He may have been confused by seeing four hobbits emerge from the Downs with Tom Bombadil, and then only three in the common-room.
• Aragorn may trust Gandalf’s judgement about Frodo, and he may be able to recognize Frodo as an elf-friend, but he may not know what to make of the other hobbits in the party.
• He doesn’t know if these other hobbits are in on the quest, or just tagging along to Bree.
• He might also be confused by their behavior, such as Merry leaving and going off on his own.
• Would Aragorn know anything about the Tooks and Brandybucks to consider them trustworthy? Gandalf maybe told him about the families, but he would have no reason to trust them blindly.
• He’d have no idea that Merry and Pippin are the heirs to the heads of their families, and they have not introduced themselves as such. If he did know, he wouldn’t know what to make of it.

Aragorn answers Sam’s doubts:

• There is a parallel between Strider “uncloaking” himself as Aragorn here with Gandalf doing a very similar thing in Bag End with Bilbo. In both cases, they utter a threat as well.
• In Gandalf’s case, he was putting forth his will in order to assist Bilbo to give up the Ring.
• Aragorn is asserting command here and laying his hand on the hilt of his sword completes the commanding posture. In doing so, he is throwing off the Bree-land persona of Strider.
• With Gandalf, the reveal was about unleashing his restrained power, while Aragorn is revealing his true form, and while that form is dangerous, it is not necessarily threatening to them.
• Note: There is a distinction between being a king and being kingly. Others make one a king; one makes themselves kingly. Aragorn is showing his kingliness here.
• The hobbits are being forced to see Aragorn’s connection to the poem fully here.
• Aragorn is not issuing any direct threats, but by pointing out his dangerousness without action, he paradoxically highlights his own trustworthiness. It’s only indirectly reassuring.
• Note: This is the opposite of what Boromir will do later, where he will try to convince everyone that he is no threat to Frodo while secretly plotting to take the Ring.
• In a way, Aragorn is reminding them that they are still not taking everything seriously enough.
• Note: Sam’s comment about him stealing Strider’s clothes is reaching, as that would not fool anyone in Bree who knows Strider. This is the idea of someone who has heard stories but has no experience. Aragorn is pointing out that things don’t really work like that in reality.
• Aragorn turns the situation around by going the extra mile, giving his true name and swearing an oath of service. He has dropped the third person and using the first person while saying it.
• Note: In his first act after being recognized king, he fulfills this oath by leading out the Army of the West to draw the armies of Mordor away from Frodo. He has not given this oath up.
• Note: There is a misconception that all oaths in Tolkien’s works are intrinsically bad, comparing them to the Oath of Fëanor. Fëanor’s oath was inherently wicked, being sworn against the Valar directly, and against all morality or laws. Other oaths are more ambivalent, such as the oath of Finrod Felagund, which causes his death, but is in service to a friend and ally. Making a promise and keeping it is of course a good thing, such as all oaths of fealty and alliance. The important point about oaths is that they are binding, and one will be held to the oaths they take.
• Having his hand on the hilt of Narsil, which is an heirloom sword, this sounds like oathtaking.
• Note: Oaths may be invested with the power of Eru himself, as the Valar do not have the power to hold the spirits of Men in the world, such as the Oathbreakers in the mountains.

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[Tony Meade]

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Looking foul, but feeling fair:

• Aragorn’s humor and willingness to poke fun at himself is disarming for the hobbits.
• Frodo also speaks with humility, admitting that he doesn’t really know that much about spies.
• Frodo had already suspected that there was more to Strider than he was showing, and his spontaneously revealing his knowledge of the verse about him, confirms it for Frodo.
• Gandalf had not explained the verse; he seems to have relied on Providence.

On carrying a broken sword:

• Why does Aragorn walk around with a precious heirloom from the First Age while wandering the Wild? And why would be carry the broken Narsil instead of a practical primary weapon?
• Note: Peter Jackson seems to agree with this objection, and not only has the shards housed safely in Rivendell but gives Aragorn a practical sword of which he makes much use.
• From his point of view, he is the more precious heirloom of the house of Elendil, and he does not live in fear trying to preserve himself. Taking risks is part of his role in the world.
• Carrying the sword as a badge of office is in line with carrying his identity along with him.
• Does Aragorn carry another primary weapon? We only see him in combat once before Rivendell, with torches at Weathertop, as these are the only useful weapon against the Ringwraiths.
• Note: There is a parallel with Thorin Oakenshield who sets out unarmed and has to fight the trolls with improvised burning sticks from their fire. In his case, it is more haphazard.
• He may be carrying a bow for hunting, but his full panoply of gear is never described.
• Note: There are multiple ways to justify this from a practical standpoint, but the significance seems to be more symbolic and mythic than practical. This is what guides Aragorn’s choice.
• Even if Aragorn is carrying unnamed primary weapons, he would still need to fight the Ringwraiths using burning torches. And the swords would have been destroyed anyway.
• In his role as a Ranger, his primary goal is stealth, not combat, and coming fully armed into Bree may have drawn unwanted attention. The sword is in a hilt, and no one knows it’s broken.
• Note: Tolkien may have chosen the mythic impact of the moment over the practical sense. There is a precedent in medieval literature of knights going forth with no sword or other weapon for various mythic reasons. There is also the example of Beowulf fighting Grendel with no weapons because Grendel was unarmed. Aragorn himself speaks to the orcs within bowshot during his parley at Helm’s Deep.

Sam’s staggerment:

• Sam is shocked into silence by Aragorn’s reveal, as he was thinking of convoluted plot twists in spy stories, but Strider has now shown himself to be a hero character in the old legends.
• By showing himself to be the subject of a poem written by Gandalf himself and showing the sword named in the poem, Aragorn has shown Sam that he is now part of those stories.
• Sam may still be conflicted between this and his own hobbit sense, but he chooses to keep his silence and his own counsel for now, much like with the Elves and Tom Bombadil.
• Sam would have heard of the broken sword, as he has memorized the story of Gil-Galad and Elendil and the Last Alliance, so he may be shocked by realizing that it is the same sword.

Strider proposes a plan:

• Strider, speaking in the third person again, is referring to his cover as being who will be known to lead them out of Bree. This is to protect his identity and reminds the hobbits of that.
• He believes that he can lead them out unhindered, but not unnoticed, thanks to Frodo.
• Note: By taking the hobbits to Weathertop, Aragorn will lead the hobbits into danger, as he realizes after they get there. This is a mistake on Aragorn’s part, as he isn’t infallible. Normally, this would make sense, but in these circumstances, he is wrong. Perhaps he has not been in this situation before, being hunted by the likes of the Ringwraiths.
• Note: This will parallel his decision to go to the top of Amon Hen during the events at Parth Galen, where his desire to know more overrides his practical decision making, and this partly guides his decision to use the Palantir later. He will also question his own decision making many times in the course of the story.
• Is there a better destination than Weathertop? Sticking to the forest and unknown paths might have kept them more out of sight.
• Aragorn is used to having Rangers and other more experienced travelers as companions, not relatively helpless hobbits, so this may be the easier path that they can handle.
• Both the desire to see more and to meet Gandalf are somewhat feeble reasons, as he will admit.

END OF SESSION