I4detail
Member
Hey. So throwback to a few episodes back (I am running about a month behind on podcast listening; sorry. That means I'm like, three paragraphs behind you). Thinking about why Bilbo told Frodo not to let anyone else know that he had given him the coat of Mithril. There were a bunch of ideas that were presented, and I think they're all good ones. But people are complex and do things for complex reasons, so this is not to say "those are wrong" merely, "here's another element to it, in addition to the other ideas."
Bilbo was embarrassed.
What's he doing with the Mithril coat, that should be in Michel Delving? He's planning on going on more adventures, obviously. He's already gone on a few. But I think he's still planning another grand caper. We see it in the council, where he says he'll take the ring to Mordor.
In his mind, his adventuring days aren't done.
Or rather, weren't done. But we've had a couple major shifts in who Bilbo is the last two years or so (our time, not story time). We have had the realization at the Council that he is not to be the ring bearer. We have had his interaction with Frodo where he asks to see the ring, and he realizes what the ring has done to Frodo, and how Frodo sees him, and realizes he is no longer the owner of the ring. And it's given him a new outlook on life. Maybe he is starting to accept his role as documenter. Story teller, not story maker. Author, not hero.
And I think he has had a vision of himself from what he perceives to be Gandalf's perspective, and sees a silly old hobbit. He doesn't want Gandalf to know that he harboured these dreams of going on more big adventures, that he brought along his sword and mail in the hopes of getting out and seeing the world again.
In a word, his Baggins side has come to the fore, and is appalled at the Took in him, and doesn't want anyone—most certainly not Gandalf—knowing what a silly old Hobbit he is.
He's not, and nobody, I think, would view him that way, but he is scared they will, and is mortified at the thought of Gandalf giving him that Gandalf look. So he asks Frodo not to tell anyone, for this reason. And if it is discovered, he can pretend it was one big jape.
And, you know, wandering about unknown lands with the worth of a small nation openly on your back is also a bad idea
Bilbo was embarrassed.
What's he doing with the Mithril coat, that should be in Michel Delving? He's planning on going on more adventures, obviously. He's already gone on a few. But I think he's still planning another grand caper. We see it in the council, where he says he'll take the ring to Mordor.
In his mind, his adventuring days aren't done.
Or rather, weren't done. But we've had a couple major shifts in who Bilbo is the last two years or so (our time, not story time). We have had the realization at the Council that he is not to be the ring bearer. We have had his interaction with Frodo where he asks to see the ring, and he realizes what the ring has done to Frodo, and how Frodo sees him, and realizes he is no longer the owner of the ring. And it's given him a new outlook on life. Maybe he is starting to accept his role as documenter. Story teller, not story maker. Author, not hero.
And I think he has had a vision of himself from what he perceives to be Gandalf's perspective, and sees a silly old hobbit. He doesn't want Gandalf to know that he harboured these dreams of going on more big adventures, that he brought along his sword and mail in the hopes of getting out and seeing the world again.
In a word, his Baggins side has come to the fore, and is appalled at the Took in him, and doesn't want anyone—most certainly not Gandalf—knowing what a silly old Hobbit he is.
He's not, and nobody, I think, would view him that way, but he is scared they will, and is mortified at the thought of Gandalf giving him that Gandalf look. So he asks Frodo not to tell anyone, for this reason. And if it is discovered, he can pretend it was one big jape.
And, you know, wandering about unknown lands with the worth of a small nation openly on your back is also a bad idea