Ardent Crayon
Member
Going over the timeline I see there were about two months between the time Gandalf told Frodo about the Ring and when he left the Shire for the news in the south. We know that Gandalf was not immediately concerned for Frodo’s life, and as yet had no idea that the Nine were approaching, but he was generally worried about the secrecy of the Ring and Frodo’s movements, and thought the journey to Rivendell treacherous enough that he would probably need to escort Frodo there. Even if Gandalf had no reason to believe that he would not accompany Frodo, surely he might have anticipated that they might be separated at some point along the way. So why didn’t Gandalf do more to prepare Frodo (and perhaps Sam) for the upcoming adventure? Of course there wasn’t enough time for a full Ranger training program but they could have studied maps of the road, reviewed safe lodgings along the way, discussed trustworthy contacts etc. Instead we see that Frodo has little or no knowledge beyond common hobbit lore and the facts of Bilbo’s story. He doesn’t know the true dangers of the Old Forest or the Barrow Downs, or of the presence of Tom Bombadil. He doesn’t know about Aragorn, or how to contact any of the Rangers. He doesn’t know that Weathertop is a key landmark and possible rallying point along the road. He doesn’t know to look for hidden runes that Gandalf and the Rangers use. He doesn’t even know about medicinal herbs like athelas.
Obviously from a storytelling perspective it’s more interesting if Frodo doesn’t know this stuff and has to learn it, along with the reader, through his adventuring. But still, it seems like Tolkien could have given us some explanation for why Gandalf never bothered to clue him into some fairly basic and potentially very useful info.
Obviously from a storytelling perspective it’s more interesting if Frodo doesn’t know this stuff and has to learn it, along with the reader, through his adventuring. But still, it seems like Tolkien could have given us some explanation for why Gandalf never bothered to clue him into some fairly basic and potentially very useful info.