Episode 79 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 79

Comment on the Morgul-knife:

• Note: Gandalf gives Frodo the information about the knife that remains in the wound after they have removed the piece in Rivendell.
• Is the breaking off of the tip part of the function of the knife, and the notch may be where it was designed to break? This delivered the magic inside of the victim.
• The appearance and shape might be like an obsidian stiletto, rather than steel, which wouldn’t break easily even when it hit bone.
• Was the knife discarded because its power was expended, and no longer useful?
• It may not be necessary for the knife to actually break, but the piece that worked towards Frodo’s heart is merely a consequence of the breaking.
• If the Witch-king had stabbed Frodo straight in the heart as he intended, rather than in the shoulder, Frodo would have become a wraith immediately, and been taken to Mordor.
• The blade seems to be a physical manifestation of black magic and the Witch-king’s will, which is why it melted in sunlight. The breaking perhaps wasn’t intended but worked as a failsafe.
• The working of the piece inside Frodo would be a continuation of the Witch-king’s will.
• When thought about as a spiritual battle, this is intended to be the death of Frodo’s will, not his body, and having the Witch-king’s will take over the body.
• This kind of wound will be effective even if the Witch-king misses his target because it is his will that is at work. The length of time involved depends on the distance to the target.
• As this is an extension of the will of the Witch-king at work, it’s possible that the Witch-king is working the splinter of the blade inside Frodo towards his heart through his will directly.
• Note: Whenever Tolkien uses the word “notch” with regards to weaponry, he is referring to damage to the weapon caused by battle. This is never used as a design feature. It’s possible that in this spiritual battle the knife has taken damage to it spiritually or it’s physical manifestation.
• Note: The runes on the hilt of the blade is kept by Aragorn and used by Elrond and Gandalf to cure Frodo in Rivendell, so it would be a mistake by the Witch-king to leave it behind. His leaving it seems more tied to the invocation of Elbereth, judging by the reaction of leaving his cloak.
• Would the Witch-king have been capable of taking the Ring from Frodo? Is he still able to act of his own will, or completely subjugated? Has Sauron forbidden him to take the Ring himself?
• The Witch-king’s ability to act against Frodo is destroyed by the invocation of Elbereth, however.
• Note: Sauron would not completely trust the Nazgûl, as this is not how evil people behave. Saruman orders the orcs not to spoil the body, as he knows that they would take the Ring just as gold treasure, even without knowing what it was. Sauron has a different relationship with the Nazgûl, who are his thralls at a spiritual level, but he would not give them free rein.
• There are multiple interpretations of the nature of the Morgul-blade between magical and physical, but the workings of the power in the blade seem clear.

Strider sings a spell:

• Most people focus on the use of the athelas to heal Frodo, but Strider first sings a spell over the hilt and then speaks to Frodo. The use of the athelas is only the third step in this process.
• Is the song that Strider sings part of the diagnosis or the treatment? It’s possible that Strider is trying to identify the knife’s magic but may also be attempting to counter the power in the hilt.
• Note: In The Silmarillion, there is a battle between Finrod and Sauron using song. This may be a similar phenomenon, as he is not singing over Frodo, but over the knife itself.
• Strider did not seem to learn anything from singing over the runes, so this isn’t diagnostic.
• The words that he speaks over Frodo could be an incantation to help Frodo, but it seems as if he is speaking to Frodo directly. He may be comforting Frodo.
• Note: Later in the Houses of Healing, Aragorn will primarily treat Merry, Éowyn, and Faramir by speaking to them, calling them back to consciousness as they wander in unconsciousness. He does the same treatment here for Frodo, followed by the use of athelas. All of them are in different physical and spiritual states, and even the differences in their personalities and their relationships to Aragorn matter, but the overall treatment is the same.
• We are not told the nature of the words Strider speaks to Frodo, and Frodo may not reveal it.
• This is a very magical or spiritual healing that Strider is doing for Frodo. The use and aroma of the athelas is important, but as Frodo’s hurt is primarily spiritual, so is the healing.
• From Strider’s words, the use of athelas seems useful on physical injuries, but it’s not clear how.

Frodo’s journey from Weathertop is planned:

• Frodo seems to have been conscious through the treatment as he is immediately aware of the effects. He associates the physical effects with the athelas.
• Note: There are many moments in the book where Frodo, as narrator, doesn’t tell us what he was thinking at the time, while he does at other times. The difference in choice is notable.
• The fact that the chill does not spread any further and retreats from his side, while his arm remains unusable, may point to his would being in the upper arm itself or outside shoulder.
• The effect of the splinter seems to have been acting very quickly, so Frodo would only have had hours or days before it overtook him, prior to this treatment.
• Frodo’s self-rebuke is an important display of his state of mind, having it cleared by the athelas, which thwarts the will of the Witch-king, but his despair may aid the Witch-king’s purposes.
• His hobbit sturdiness is still important, but we don’t know exactly how much it helped him here.
• Note: Tolkien wasn’t wounded during the Battle of the Somme, but he was evacuated with trench fever, which may have influenced his interpretation of Frodo’s later illness. However, C.S. Lewis was wounded with shrapnel, so his experience of carrying the metal in his body and the pain that caused him may have influenced Tolkien’s vision of Frodo’s wounding here.

Strider admits his mistake:

• There seems to be a shade of bitterness directed at himself in Strider’s words about coming to Weathertop. Even his words about Gandalf’s visit here shows that he is angry at himself.
• Strider seems to imply that the Ringwraiths had the hilltop under watch since the battle.
• He feels that it was a mistake to come to Weathertop, and now no point in staying there. His only comfort is that he can’t make a bigger mistake in the Wild from now on.
• Strider seems to feel that the most danger at night is at Weathertop, and not in the wilds.
• Are the Ringwraiths more powerful at Weathertop than at other places? They can certainly find the hobbits in the wilds, but the Ringwraiths seem to have established a spiritual foothold there.
• Strider might also feel that the fear that they associate with Weathertop would make them spiritually more vulnerable, while their moving is an act of resistance.
• From a purely practical standpoint, they are not in any more danger moving than staying and moving at least gets them closer to their goal of Rivendell.
• There has been a lot of trauma here on Weathertop, especially for Frodo, which will last.

The emergence of Bill the pony:

• The pony was not involved during the attack of the Ringwraiths, and may have been tied up.
• Just being able to wander and graze seems to have greatly helped, which means that Bill Ferny had intentionally starved him, keeping him from being able to feed on his own.
• The positive impact on the pony is more than physical, due to his treatment by Sam.
• Ironically, Bill is getting fatter while Frodo is getting thinner, but they are both becoming healthier as they are rounded into shape for this journey as they go.
• While Frodo is worried about becoming a wraith while under the influence of the Ring, Bill is becoming healthier spiritually by the positive influence of his new masters.
• The paragon of pony health and happiness is Fatty Lumpkin, so this is the right direction.

Strider continues to take charge:

• The use of fire to comfort Frodo seems to be more than just physical or pragmatic. Since cold is associated with both the wraiths and the wound, it seems spiritually effective, too.
• Strider’s cuts don’t go wrong, and none of the hobbits seem to doubt this now, as he takes them on a shortcut across the bend in the road.
• The hobbits doubts seem to be allayed even as Strider chides himself for his bad choices.

END OF SESSION