Episode 90 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 90

Glorfindel leads them in haste:

• Glorfindel truly drives the hobbit at a difficult pace and doesn’t let up, all out of urgency. This is driven by fear for Frodo’s safety, but also Frodo’s ability to resist the Ringwraiths’ will.
• There is a haziness around the details of their journey, which points to this being Frodo’s point of view, and this is matched by his own haziness of perceptions as he gets worse.
• What are Glorfindel and Strider speaking about in the elf-tongue? Is he reporting on the Nazgûl?
• What is Glorfindel listening for, and what is he hearing that is causing anxiety? Is this a general anxiety, or does he specifically sense something of the wraiths’ approach?
• It’s possible that they are speaking about Frodo’s health, and they do it in Elvish in order to keep their discussion private from the hobbits, as they don’t want them to despair, especially Sam.
• Note: Frodo would be able to understand them a little bit, so that particular piece may be Sam’s. Frodo may also be too far gone to be able to remember or process the foreign language.
• Why doesn’t Glorfindel lay hands on Frodo again? This seems to point to the limit of his ability.
• Note: Tolkien’s war experience shows in his accurate description of a forced night march.
• Frodo’s near welcoming of the coming of night represents a turn for the worse. He had already been able to see part of the wraith world, but his desire for it is one step further.
• Note: Gandalf’s admonishment of Frodo to avoid traveling at night now makes more sense, as we can see how much better the wraiths can see at night versus during the day.
• Glorfindel would be able to see the fading of Frodo as it’s happening, as Gandalf perceives later.
• Even though Glorfindel has Frodo on Asfaloth to send him off whenever necessary, but he doesn’t want to give that command until he knows exactly where the Ringwraiths are.
• What does it mean when Frodo sees the world as less empty at night? His inability to see the living world around him highlights what is being taken from his sight in daylight.
• Frodo seems to take less interest in the others in the party as they fade from his sight.
• Note: There is a parallel between Frodo’s experience here and when he is in Mordor, and unable to remember any of the good things from the Shire. There is also a parallel to Húrin’s experience of seeing the world through Morgoth’s eyes, twisted by the Dark Lord’s point of view. This occlusion of sight is a big part of Sauron’s powers of shadow and deception.
• The experience of the hobbits is like depression, as their attention turns inward and personal.

The Ford heaves into view:

• Glorfindel’s reference to what his heart tells him is reminiscent of many other occasions that this happens throughout the story, especially of Gandalf, and his forebodings and insights.
• Does this make it more or less likely that he can actively sense the approach of the Ringwraiths?
• Usually, when that phrase is used, it is more about intuition than their actual senses. If he could perceive them consciously, he would phrase that as a sensory experience rather than a feeling.
• Of course, this may be a mixture of both, and he had begun with his senses telling him that they are near, and then his heart tells him that they have picked up the trail.
• He may be using this phrase to make things simple for the hobbits without long explanations.
• What is the other danger that might be waiting by the Ford? The rest of the Ringwraiths, or something else? He seems to be talking about the Ringwraiths in both cases, but elliptically.
• Is Glorfindel being indirect like Gildor so as not to invoke the Nazgûl? It seems similar.
• Why is the ford called the Ford of Rivendell, and not the Ford of Bruinen? This has more to do with Elrond and Rivendell’s relationship with the ford, and even his power over it.
• Even after crossing the Ford, one still has to find Rivendell, but this border is important.

The approach to the Ford described:

• Note: Many modern readers are impatient of Tolkien’s detailed landscape descriptions, and can skip them over, but they are very important for setting the scene and the stage for the action.
• The shadow the pine trees is perfectly natural, but it seems ominous to the hobbits.
• The moist red stone walls of the road cutting echo what sounds like their own feet, but it will turn out to reveal someone following them, much like it will later in Moria.
• Note: A “cutting” in a road, especially in early-20th century England, usually referred to the cut made into a hill to smooth the grade for a railway or a road. The roof is open, but the sides are closed. It’s called a cutting because it is manmade, and not a natural feature. This would point to this having been done through labor and would need upkeep. Both Men and Dwarves would be able to make this cutting in the Road, and it would serve both of them to do so.
• The word “moist” points to the original valley having been carved by water erosion.
• Would the Dwarves want to go to Rivendell? They certainly get credit for it, though it’s not clear that the Road actually goes through to Rivendell, or just nearby it on the way to the mountains.
• The Elves wouldn’t want the artificial road to go all the way through to their secret valley.
• The word “tunnel” is used somewhat metaphorically, as the deep cutting isn’t covered by stone, and the “gate of light” is definitely a descriptive term. Trees may be growing overhead, too.
• The feeling of closeness and the sight of the darkness combine in the comparison to a tunnel.
• The mile or more ahead of them is a long way for the tired hobbits, and it might take them as much as half an hour to cross that distance walking.
• The fact that the approach to the ford is in open land and full of daylight favors the party, especially Frodo if he needs to flee on horseback.
• The deep cutting would have been a good place for an ambush but having come through that ahead of the Black Riders would seem to justify Glorfindel’s hard pace.
• Passing out of the metaphorical tunnel and into the light would seem like the final obstacle.
• It’s possible that the ambush doesn’t come in the cutting because they want to separate Frodo from the rest of the party and avoid confrontations with his protectors.
• The fact that the light is still bright outdoors points to the time not being that close to sunset.
• The sight of the mountains up ahead seems important because of the novelty for the hobbits who have never seen them before. These were once only legends, but now they’re before them.
• They have been speaking about the Ford as their goal to reach safety ever since leaving Weathertop, but the mountains hint at the greater world beyond this short-term goal.
• There is no sense of threat in the mountains, but more one of majesty and awe for the hobbits.
• The hobbits might begin to associate the mountains with the allies they are trying to reach.

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[Tony Meade]

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The Riders appear:

• The pines which were associated with darkness and shadow before, and now it is as if the shadows themselves come after them in pursuit.
• The party make it halfway across the flat, so they have made it a half-mile before they see the first Black Rider, and therefore they had a good head start.
• Glorfindel allows the horse the lead the way as he takes up rear guard with Strider.
• The rushing sound is not the hoofbeats, as those are only described just before the Black Rider appears. It is just a wind, but that wind may be more than just a normal wind.
• Frodo cannot be too far ahead of the party because he is still within Glorfindel’s shouting distance. Asfaloth seems to have been leading at the front and the hobbits have kept up.
• If the hobbits are at a full run, the fastest Asfaloth could be going is a slow canter or trot. Had Asfaloth been at a gallop, Frodo would probably not have been able to rein him in.
• Even at a canter, this would be a leap forward, and it would require a lot of effort for the hobbits to keep pace, especially tired as they are. The downhill grade would help them, though.

Frodo’s first confrontation:

• Why does the Witch-king swaying in his saddle as he appears out of the trees? It may be a result of momentum, but it seems like a side to side movement already associated with their sniffing.
• What would he be sniffing for? The wound? He definitely seems to be getting his bearings, sensing in an alien way, as they cannot see Frodo and the others well in the bright sunlight.
• The other four that appear certainly complete the five that attacked on Weathertop.
• It is notable that it is exactly when Glorfindel to ride on that he reins in the horse. The command to ride is directed at Frodo, which he disobeys. Is he reluctant to obey Glorfindel?
• Frodo is the one that turns around, not his horse, and it is only Frodo that is looking back.
• He only seems to be aware of the Black Riders and nothing else, and with Glorfindel between them and the Ringbearer, the Witch-king seems to begin sending out commands to stop.
• This seems to be a desire to overcome Frodo’s will and get him to come to them, rather than trying to ride down the Elf-lord and the companions to get to Frodo.
• Asfaloth slows to a walk, not a stop, which seems to be the result of mixed commands he is getting from Glorfindel to run on and from Frodo, via the Witch-king to stop.
• The use of the word “statues” for the Riders emphasizes that they are the only solid things he can see. There is an echo of the mist shrouded stones around the Barrow-wights.
• The use of “statues” has been used before, as in Crickhollow, to highlight their stillness. This seems to be part of their intimidation tactics and spiritual warfare.
• This time, the use of “heart” points to Frodo’s intuition informing him of what is really going on.
• His response is fear and hatred, but this fear is different from when he was afraid of being caught. Now he is afraid of being controlled from within and hates the Witch-king for trying it.
• Frodo has already rebuked himself for his weakness when he succumbed to the impulse to put on the Ring at Weathertop, even though he was aware that it was coming from his enemy.
• Frodo is physically weaker here than he was at Weathertop, but he still resists in a similar way by drawing his sword. The red flash seems to mirror Frodo’s hatred just before he draws it.
• The red flash of his sword had been seen before when he was wearing the Ring, but now he can see it with his naked eye as he is slipping into the wraith world without the Ring.
• While Frodo is physically weaker, he is stronger in resolve and experience, and he is aware of what is happening to him, unlike on Weathertop.

END OF SESSION