The Gandalf-Pippin comedy double act

[Darren Grey]

Apologies if this is now a little outdated, but I thought it was worth bringing up how in this chapter we now have what I believe to be the second in what is to be a trend of Gandalf-Pippin comedy duo segments. This is the specific pairing of Pippin saying/doing something stupid and Gandalf interjecting in a gruff manner, which will of course peak with the famous "Fool of a Took!" line in Moria. It's only in this close reading that I've noticed this as a general trend though.

First we had Pippin declaring Frodo to be "Lord of the Ring" and being rebuked by Gandalf, and more recently we had Pippin's declaration of being "someone of intelligence" undermined by the real person of intelligence. There are a number of other such interactions to come, with Gandalf getting more bristly each time.

I bring it up as a Pippin-Gandalf double act, since I don't think we see Gandalf interacting with any of the other hobbits in this way? He has a little repartee with Legolas in the same vein, and there's his challenging of Sam at the start, but Pippin is the only character he repeatedly calls out for foolishness. Pippin meanwhile doesn't seem to rile others up in the same way.

 

[JJ48]

From Pippin's reactions (or lack thereof), I get the impression that he's doing it intentionally; and I also get the feeling that Gandalf is mostly replying in kind. I think it's a form of hobbitry between the two, and I can't help but notice that Pippin is a Took, and that appears to be the hobbit family Gandalf gets along with the best (even his association with Bilbo and Frodo comes through the Old Took rather than from the Baggins side).

 

[Anthony Lawther]

Pippin is also the youngest and presumably the least mature member of the group, while Gandalf is arguably the oldest (without relying on Silmarillion information that makes him unarguably the oldest.) Pippin is still in his tweens while all of the others are 'of age' amongst their respective cultures.

I think this also provides a bit of a youth (teenager to young adult in modern human parlance) to grandparent age dynamic that would otherwise be missing.

 

[thellama73]

In The Ring Goes South, Gandalf is editorialized as "unexpectedly" supporting Pippin. On rereading that chapter, that line made me laugh out loud. Apart from adverbs being the funniest part of speech, I think this lends credence to the "Comedy Duo" thesis, and I too find the pair's relationship increasingly hilarious every time I read the books.