ForthDauntless3
Member
Upon listening to last week's discussion of Frodo's dream in Bombadil's house, something occurred to me that I'd never noticed before. This dream has a time signifier! We're told that Frodo sees a "young Moon". This doesn't mean much to us—Tolkien doesn't tell us the current phase of the Moon—but it would certainly mean something to Frodo.
This idea of time sequencing also led me to what I think is going to be a controversial interpretation of Frodo's dream. I suspect that Frodo's possession of the Ring combined with his long familiarity with Gandalf and his fear for what has happened to the wizard has allowed Frodo to reach out and briefly touch Gandalf's mind, possibly aided by Gandalf's own mind reaching out and searching for Frodo.
Here's what leads me to this conclusion:
1) I absolutely agree with your interpretation that the sound of rushing wind and hoof beats is Shadowfax. I've been reading it that way since I became familiar enough with the text to remember that this dream came to Frodo after the events that he saw.
2) Given that Gandalf has already escaped and is on his way north, he will almost certainly be dwelling on the events of his escape, fearing for the damage that Saruman's treachery might do and hoping against hope that he might reach Frodo before the Nazgul do.
3) This interpretation also allows us to understand why Frodo wakes up fearing Black Riders. It's because Gandalf fears Black Riders! Gandalf's fear has bled over into Frodo through the dream.
This interpretation seems to make sense given the facts we have, but it makes me very uncomfortable because it also suggests that Frodo's connection to the Ring is much stronger than we otherwise have reason to suspect. In fact, Galadriel later tells Frodo that he has not trained his mind to the domination of others, implying that he would be incapable of touching Gandalf's thoughts like this.
So, does this interpretation make sense? What have I missed?
This idea of time sequencing also led me to what I think is going to be a controversial interpretation of Frodo's dream. I suspect that Frodo's possession of the Ring combined with his long familiarity with Gandalf and his fear for what has happened to the wizard has allowed Frodo to reach out and briefly touch Gandalf's mind, possibly aided by Gandalf's own mind reaching out and searching for Frodo.
Here's what leads me to this conclusion:
1) I absolutely agree with your interpretation that the sound of rushing wind and hoof beats is Shadowfax. I've been reading it that way since I became familiar enough with the text to remember that this dream came to Frodo after the events that he saw.
2) Given that Gandalf has already escaped and is on his way north, he will almost certainly be dwelling on the events of his escape, fearing for the damage that Saruman's treachery might do and hoping against hope that he might reach Frodo before the Nazgul do.
3) This interpretation also allows us to understand why Frodo wakes up fearing Black Riders. It's because Gandalf fears Black Riders! Gandalf's fear has bled over into Frodo through the dream.
This interpretation seems to make sense given the facts we have, but it makes me very uncomfortable because it also suggests that Frodo's connection to the Ring is much stronger than we otherwise have reason to suspect. In fact, Galadriel later tells Frodo that he has not trained his mind to the domination of others, implying that he would be incapable of touching Gandalf's thoughts like this.
So, does this interpretation make sense? What have I missed?