Episode 61 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 61

Comment on Merry’s attraction to the Black Rider:

• Merry points out the lack of a horse, but positively identifies the figure as a Black Rider.
• He seems to use the feeling of dread as the identifying factor, based on the others’ reports.
• Merry lack of experience and the resulting curiosity doesn’t seem to explain his attraction. He speaks of it as something external to himself.
• The indistinctness of the voices is largely due to the distance between Merry and the men.
• Is Merry experiencing some kind of enchantment? Not in the literal sense, as this term is usually applied to an artistic creation that takes on reality for the observer.
• There is a comparison to be made between the effects of the Elves and the Black Riders at some points, especially of the Elves of Mirkwood.

Comment on Merry’s sensitivity to the Black Riders:

• Merry may have been sensitized to the power of the Black Riders by his experience in the barrow. He was given the memory of the Prince of Cardolan who was killed by the Witch-king.
• Frodo also seems to have an increased sensitivity to the Black Riders, which is due to the Ring.
• Merry might exhibit the effects of the Nazgûl without the influence of the Ring, but this also might be influenced by his experiences in the barrow.
• Note: Merry’s restlessness in the house of Tom Bombadil is different from Frodo’s. Frodo’s attempt to leave the house after putting on the Ring seems to come from the Ring exclusively.
• There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that whatever the effect the Black Rider has on Merry is unconscious. It doesn’t seem to be aware of Merry until he is caught eavesdropping.
• Tom Bombadil’s healing advice of having the hobbits run naked on the grass does seem to remove the evil influence of the barrow but would not leave Merry unchanged by it.

Comment on Merry’s Dúnedain sword:

• Is the blade drawing its owner toward the Nazgûl? This would run counter to the way enchanted objects behave in Tolkien’s writings.
• Even if an object is destined to fulfill a purpose, it will fulfill that purpose without actively exerting force to compel a human owner to do certain actions.
• Even when Anglachel speaks to Túrin, it is to endorse Túrin’s request, not doing something.
• Fate is not a mechanical process in Tolkien’s writing; it is a much more metaphysical concept.
• The spells that are woven on the dagger are to injure the enemies of the Dúnedain, not to force it to fulfill some particular destiny.
• The idea of Merry’s fate being fulfilled works better in retrospect than as destiny. Fate in Tolkien’s writings allows one to make decisions and to escape doom through actions.
• Note: Tolkien follows traditional Christian doctrine in his intertwining of fate and free will.

Merry is diagnosed with the Black Breath:

• When Merry speaks of being in deep water, he is doing so unconsciously, as he doesn’t remember saying it afterwards.
• Note: Merry had the water dream in the house of Tom Bombadil. Does this point to something with the Brandybucks and a lingering hydrophobia?
• Merry’s speaking of deep water seems to be metaphorical for the dream, and as a way to describe the effect the Black Breath had on him, not as an actual experience.
• There have been several secondhand accounts of conversations with the Black Riders, but none of them have resulted in the effects of the Black Breath. Merry is the first.
• This would point to the idea that the Black Breath is a conscious action of the Riders, and not a passive aura that surrounds them.
• Once the Ringwraith became aware of Merry’s skulking, it chose to do this to Merry on purpose.
• The effects of the Black Breath seem to have something to do with visions and/or dreams.
• The Nazgûl seem to personify a disjunction between the body and spirit, as they are fully caught in that trap themselves, and they seem to spread that effect upon others.
• The Nazgûl seem to primarily effect a person’s spirit more than their bodies. They rarely, if ever, interact with their victims physically.
• The name “Black Breath” seems to be metaphorical, and this is not a physical substance that one would inhale. It rather is a term to describe the way they express this power.
• Note: When Faramir is affected by the Black Breath, all of the Nazgûl are winged and not at all close to him. Therefore, this shows that it is a power over the will that can be done as a distance, and not a physical effect. The Nazgûl are also seen to have this effect on large groups, such as the defenders of Gondor, so what happens to Merry and Faramir are both a focused version on an individual. This is an act of contemptuous abuse, or a targeted attack.
• Note: The effect is possibly related to bringing the victim’s spirit into the wraith’s world. Aragorn’s attempts to heal Faramir also point to this, as he must search to find Faramir. It would be very consistent with evil creatures in Tolkien to force others to suffer what they have suffered themselves, and to make others more like they are.

The threat of attack on the inn:

• Note: Many assume that it is the Ringwraiths who attack The Prancing Pony and destroy the beds, when it is actually Bill Ferny and the other human compatriots of the Riders. This misconception has been solidified by that depiction in the various adaptations, especially the Peter Jackson films. The scene is effective, but inaccurate to the text.
• Strider is clear with Merry that the Nazgûl will not attack the inn themselves, as this is not how they operate. Their power is in terror and using fear to get others to take actions for them.
• He also points out that they will have many more chances to attack the party before Rivendell.
• Note: In retrospect, having seen the Witch-king attack Frodo directly with his Morgul blade, it is easy to expect that the same is happening inside the inn. We will also see them directly attack in Crickhollow, so we may expect to see the same in Bree.
• Note: Does Strider know about the Black Breath from personal experience? We’re not given any direct facts, but based on his reactions, we can assume that this is based on experience to extent. He also seems to have treated others for it before doing so in Minas Tirith.
• Note: The Nazgûl as they appear in The Return of the King are different from the way they are here. This is partly due to their distance from Mordor and Sauron, and partly due to the extra power invested in them by Sauron after their return to Mordor. Now, they are struggling with the power of comfort and hospitality and cheer that is in the Shire and Bree and can be resisted. Therefore, it’s more effective for them to use Ferny and the others.
• There doesn’t seem to any evidence that anyone of the people in Bree, including those serving them, understand who and what the Black Riders are. They assume that they are just men.
• The evidence of their power of fear is evident even in their encounters with the characters with whom they interact, such as the Gaffer, Farmer Maggot, and Harry Goatleaf.

Hobbit decoys:

• It seems as though the idea for the fake hobbits in the beds comes from Strider, as he was the one who went with Nob to retrieve the luggage from the hobbits’ rooms.
• The reason for this is to fool anyone looking into the rooms that there are hobbits in the beds, which implies that those people breaking in who can see, unlike the Ringwraiths.
• Strider also needs to see what threat they are facing, and what the attackers would do if their plans were to be enacted. He wants to confirm his suspicions about their intentions.
• This may be in part to impress on the hobbits the threat, and he shows them the results.
• The main plan is to remove the hobbits from the vulnerability of their rooms and to keep them all in one place where he can protect them, which he will achieve.
• If the attackers’ identities are exposed, they will be in danger from both the Bree-folk and the Black Riders. This is shown by their reaction to being seen with Merry by Nob.
• Bill Ferny already has an ill name in the community, so he will not be treated kindly after this.
• Butterbur and his staff are also patrolling the inn, so Ferny and the others cannot fully search the inn for fear of discovery. Strider will also be a threat to Ferny.

Tucked in for the night:

• Merry’s laughter at Frodo’s story about the song is a generous response to Frodo’s foolishness, especially considering Merry’s experience with the Black Breath and their current danger.
• This shows the Hobbit characteristic of resilience, which will serve them well in the future.
• Strider’s expression of hope is actually an acknowledgement of the dark times, in hoping that they will all survive the threat of Mordor. He also wishes to temper the hobbit lightness.
• Note: There is a spoiler in the Man in the Moon song, in that the fact that we still remember some of those verses show that some of the folk of Bree survived to pass it on.
• “The Sickle” mentioned is the Big Dipper in our world. This is known as the Sickle of the Valar, created by Varda to remind Morgoth of his future doom and to bring hope to Middle-earth.
• Note: This idea is echoed in Sam’s vision of the star in Mordor, and the hope it brings them.
• In the midst of their flimsy security from the servants of the Enemy and their thugs, Frodo sees the reminder of the Valar that evil will fail, and this shows that the Valar are still involved.
• Strider also puts himself between the hobbits and the threat outside by sitting against the door.

END OF SESSION