Fin
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I just finished listening to session 103 and have a couple questions about the talk of why Frodo does not know that Bilbo is in Rivendell. There was a lot of discussion about why Frodo never was told or, received a letter from Bilbo telling him where he ended up staying. There were some that thought it was just a simple case of not generally letting it known were Bilbo was. I believe this to be the most compelling reason. The less people know about something, the better chance there is for that secret to remain a secret. There was also a bit of talk about why Frodo never had a letter from Bilbo, and possibly that Gandalf and or Elrond were perhaps screening his letters looking for any reference to his ring. I was surprised that no one mentioned that in fact Frodo did talk about at least one letter he received from his Uncle. In Chapter 2 of The Fellowship, A shadow of the Past. Gandalf says in reference to Bilbo and The Ring,
"He said that it was "growing on his mind", and he was always worrying about it; but he did not suspect that the ring itself was to blame". "Though he had found out that the thing needed looking after; it did not always to seem of the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in a odd way ,and might suddenly slip off a finger where it had been tight"
"Yes he warned me of that in his last letter," said Frodo, "so I have always kept it on it's chain".
(I found it interesting that "the ring" was not written "The Ring" but this was before the reveal of just what Bilbo's ring was),
So, it is plain that Frodo did, at least at one time, have contact with Bilbo after he left The Shire. We of course can not know when the letter Frodo is referring to was written, so it would be hard to really judge if Bilbo was already settled down in Rivendell. But it does show that at one point there was communication between the two, and that Bilbo talked about The Ring, and that it still was on his mind. Also that there was more then just one letter, since Frodo says "in his last letter", so there was more before that.
This of course still proves nothing about why Frodo was never told where Bilbo was living, even though Gandalf and Strider plainly knew, as did Gildor. I can totally agree that it was just a simple case of, lets not spoil the surprise, and that those that did know, really can't be sure if Bilbo is still alive, except for Gandalf, who knows about The Ring at this point and knows about its effects. But I would like to know your thoughts about Bilbo's letters to Frodo, and when they may have been written and when they stopped? Was there ever any other reference to Letters from Uncle Bilbo in any of the writings, published or unpublished?
Thanks!
"He said that it was "growing on his mind", and he was always worrying about it; but he did not suspect that the ring itself was to blame". "Though he had found out that the thing needed looking after; it did not always to seem of the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in a odd way ,and might suddenly slip off a finger where it had been tight"
"Yes he warned me of that in his last letter," said Frodo, "so I have always kept it on it's chain".
(I found it interesting that "the ring" was not written "The Ring" but this was before the reveal of just what Bilbo's ring was),
So, it is plain that Frodo did, at least at one time, have contact with Bilbo after he left The Shire. We of course can not know when the letter Frodo is referring to was written, so it would be hard to really judge if Bilbo was already settled down in Rivendell. But it does show that at one point there was communication between the two, and that Bilbo talked about The Ring, and that it still was on his mind. Also that there was more then just one letter, since Frodo says "in his last letter", so there was more before that.
This of course still proves nothing about why Frodo was never told where Bilbo was living, even though Gandalf and Strider plainly knew, as did Gildor. I can totally agree that it was just a simple case of, lets not spoil the surprise, and that those that did know, really can't be sure if Bilbo is still alive, except for Gandalf, who knows about The Ring at this point and knows about its effects. But I would like to know your thoughts about Bilbo's letters to Frodo, and when they may have been written and when they stopped? Was there ever any other reference to Letters from Uncle Bilbo in any of the writings, published or unpublished?
Thanks!
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