The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 8 // Fog on the Barrow-Downs

Apologies for the delay everyone. I knew it was gonna be kinda crazy this week/I got a little overly ambitious for what I could fit in & I should've had this written up in advance. :p Currently my plan is to post on Tuesdays & Fridays. Does anyone want that speed bumped up to three chapters a week? Not this week, obviously xD, but moving into November? *EDIT: unless I get a bunch of you who think it'd be best, we'll stick with the two chapters a week. Also, with tomorrow (Saturday) being what it is, I can't get the next chapter up this week *face palm*, but I'm planning to reply to comments and get #9 up on Monday of this next week. Not planned, but it should actually work out well cause then we can do the two Bree chapters in the same week and end Book 1 on Friday of the next week, all nice and even like. Thanks for bearing with me as we get started (in future I'll try to give you more advance notice of any changes) and have a lovely weekend!* <3

~

So, even with everything else that happens later, this has gotta be the creepiest (and possibly unusual, though not entirely unhistorical) chapter of the entire trilogy. It does feel very Old English to me (or rather, ancient Brit) so that's interesting. And I will say after reading the earlier Bombadil poems last week it does seem to fit a bit more with the entire overarching Middle Earth world this time around (before it was always kind of like 'whhaaaat? and..... just whyyyyy exactly?'), but yes, still kinda a weird episode.

It does give Frodo his first major chance to prove his loyalty to his friends and develop his courageous muscle. So there is that.

Oh, one thing I did notice this time was that during prior reads I think I've focused even more on the shreds and tatters and heavy fog/the creepiness vibe, but all of that is sandwiched between Goldberry bidding them farewell in the beginning, with her golden hair about her, and then coming out of the barrow into glittering sunshine and blue sky. I'm not saying it's a deep metaphorical anything. Just an interesting feeling I got reading.

Quotes:

• "...either in his dreams or out of them, he could not tell which, Frodo heard a sweet singing running in his mind: a song that seemed to come like a pale light behind a grey rain-curtain, and growing stronger to turn the veil all to glass and silver, until at last it was rolled back, and a far green country opened before him under a swift sunrise. The vision melted into waking; and there was Tom whistling like a tree-full of birds; and the sun was already slanting down the hill and through the open window. Outside everything was green and pale gold."
  
• "The night was railing against the morning of which it was bereaved, and the cold was cursing the warmth for which it hungered."
  
• "Few now remember them," Tom murmured, "yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless." (tingles ;))
  
• "They looked back and saw the top of the old mound on the hill, and from it the sunlight on the gold went up like a yellow flame."
  

 

For thought:

• A test of courage or loyalty is hardly a test if the temptation to escape it isn't there too, rearing its ugly head. Do you think Frodo's initial thought of putting on the Ring and escaping the barrow alone was highly reasonable/easy to identify with given the disorienting circumstances?
  
• If this was your first time reading, was this chapter what you expected?
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 7 // In the House of Tom Bombadil

I've realized I love this chapter. So much.

For a long time Goldberry and Bombadil seemed like such a mismatched couple to me, but now I think it's all just beautiful. <3 His jolliness and her grace, and how they perfectly weave together such gorgeous soul-filling hospitality -- not through pointing to themselves but, with mysterious tantalizing joy, laying out food and warmth and lights and then inviting everyone to eat, and eat again.

Tolkien said he put Bombadil in because he wanted an adventure along the way. (Personally, I think part of the reason, too may have been that he just loved Bombadil and delighted in getting to spend more time with him, pure and simple. ;)) Bombadil as a character long predates the entirety of Lord of the Rings. I hadn't read either of the earlier poems about him till this week (I've linked them below if you want to check them out), but they're lighthearted and nonsensical and unexpected. They also mention Goldberry (of course), badgers, Old Man Willow, and Barrow-wights. All written years earlier. So there ye go. :)

I've heard Bombadil being described as a figure of hope, which I think could have a lot of validity, but (and this might be from reading too much Chesterton XD), I think also he could be showing us the face of true innocence -- certainly an innocence that's free from the fallenness intrinsically tied with the lust for absolute power. And thus he's the antithesis of Sauron. (Note: I'm not the first one to come up with this idea, but I've wracked my brains and honestly can't remember where I first read it. :/)

In at least one instance Tolkien referenced Bombadil as being a guardian spirit/somewhat symbolic of Old England, and in creation language he definitely has god-like qualities: needing no explanation -- he was there when the stars filled the sky and before even dwarves and elves walked the earth. And in many ways he seems to operate in Time, but also outside of Time itself. 

This is a bit of a spin-off, but this G.K.C. quote has definitely been coming to mind again and again as I've been thinking on what real innocence looks like:

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” G.K. Chesterton

Circling back to the beginning, does anyone else get as disoriented as the hobbits when Tom, the Master, and Goldberry (clearly akin to a queen) -- together the Lord and Lady -- wait on their guests with their own hands: bringing food and water, preparing deep soft beds; off scene, washing clothes and gardening? Both obviously bearing a deep power and authority -- worthy of honor -- yet serving with their own hands. It's so intensely beautiful.

Quotes:

• "Before long, washed and refreshed, the hobbits were seated at the table, two on each side, while at either end sat Goldberry and the Master. It was a long and merry meal. Though the hobbits ate, as only famished hobbits can eat, there was no lack. The drink in their drinking-bowls seemed to be clear cold water, yet it went to their hearts like wine and set free their voices. The guests were suddenly aware that they were singing merrily, as if it was easier and more natural than talking."
  
• "He opened his eyes and looked at them with a sudden glint of blue..."
• "He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless..."
• "After they had eaten, Goldberry sang many songs for them, songs that began merrily in the hills and fell softly down into silence; and in the silences they saw in their minds pools and waters wider than any they had known, and looking into them they saw the sky below them and the stars like jewels in the depths."
  

 

For thought:

• Have you read either of the Bombadil poems (i.e. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil or Bombadil Goes Boating)?
• As y'all know, there are zillions of Tolkien pages and threads and deep rabbit holes on the internet, but I highly recommend you skim through the Wikipedia page here on Bombadil. It's very interesting, a quick read, and pulls everything together really clearly and succinctly. At one point, Tolkien wrote that he did not think Tom was improved by philosophizing, saying at another time (one of my favorite quotes), "even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)." Do you agree?
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 6 // The Old Forest

Annnnnd..... *drumroll* we now officially set out on the great adventure! (With, granted, several detour-ish chapters here of Hobbit like adventures & misadventures.) There's all sorts of debate out there on whether these and the next two chapters are necessary, but I think we should trust to Tolkien's meticulous editing process and purely from a plot standpoint (at least in the books) they do transition us smoothly from the carefree life of the Shire to the big dark scary world outside.

And remember that help-found-at-unexpected-times theme I mentioned recently? Well, here it is again. Right when things are at their worst, an un-looked for stranger appears and proves himself a friend.

Ok, so. I know not everyone feels this way and it's very definitely not everyone's cuppa tea ;), but personally I love this chapter. It's actually one of my favorites. Yes, not much happens, but if I could be sure Tom Bombadil was close at hand, I'd love to spend a day dabbling along the Withywindle, feeling the magic all round me and running out my fingertips.

Yes, the Forest shows us a good creation that's fallen and twisted, but there's still intense beauty there, living remnants of glory. And I know Bombadil isn't a direct allegory (Tolkien explicitly stated he wasn't), but he does have certain godlike qualities -- for one, he speaks with authority and when he commands, it is done.

All the powers of the Ring notwithstanding, I feel like this section approaches the closest to Deep Magic -- the sort of wonder we see all round us in the very fabric of creation, the kind that's mind-boggling when we catch even the edges of it.

They left all of this out of the movies, and I can see why (+there's more room for discussing it in the next chapter), but big picture wise, it does show there's a deeper magic at work -- beyond the fashioned and manipulated kind bound up in the Ring, heavy-handed in its very nature. 

So yeah, we'll talk more about it as we go along. For today I just wanna soak in that mystery.

Quotes:

• "...Frodo, without any clear idea of why he did so, or what he hoped for, ran along the path crying help! help! help! ...He felt desperate: lost and witless. Suddenly he stopped. There was an answer, or so he thought; but it seemed to come from behind him... He turned round and listened, and soon there could be no doubt: someone was singing a song; a deep glad voice was singing carelessly and happily, but it was singing nonsense..."
• "Frodo and Sam stood as if enchanted. ...There was another burst of song, and then suddenly, hopping and dancing along the path, there appeared above the reeds an old battered hat with a tall crown and a long blue feather stuck in the band. With another hop and a bound there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People, though he made noise enough for one, stumping along with great yellow boots on his thick legs, and charging through grass and rushes like a cow going down to drink. He had a blue coat and a long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter. In his hands he carried on a large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies."
  

 

For thought:

• Can you think of any comparisons/contrasts between this and Bilbo and the dwarves' adventures in Mirkwood?
• Also, make sure to listen to THIS, and let me know what you think! (If y'all like it I've got more up my sleeve as we go along. ;))
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 5 // A Conspiracy Unmasked

I love this chapter: especially the title (tisn't it delicious??) and the beginning, and the middle. 

It's nice getting a little glimpse of the Bucklands and I love Merry and Pippin's nonchalance (world wide travelers that they already are by hobbit standards, hee xD), and then dear Sam heading into new country, crossing the Brandywine. Such a big moment! (Btw, I'm thinking there will be rather a lot of dear Sam-ing -- and Merry-ing and Pippin-ing -- over the course of this entire thing so consider yourselves warned. Not that I'm concerned y'all will mind.)

I love Merry's capable planning and efficiency. I also like how much he gets to talk in here -- especially as, obviously, we haven't been able to get to know him much at all yet. So yeah, that's lovely. Also, who else loves the idea of a cottage with a stone flagged bathroom and tubs enough for everyone and a steaming copper water pot at the end of a long trek?

And... in A Shortcut to Mushrooms we met an unexpected friend and now we have old friends proving they can successfully pull off an entire cloak and dagger operation on an oblivious, unsuspecting Frodo. Their real friendship just makes me smile all over and get all warm and cozy inside.  

Quotes:

• I want to write out the entire conspiracy revelation section, but shall settle for this line from Merry that fairly well sums it up: "My dear old hobbit, you don't allow for the inquisitiveness of friends." 
• And again (clearly I'm starting to identify with Merry, which is actually rather 'noice), "It all depends on what you want," put in Merry. "You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin -- to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours -- closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid -- but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds."
  

 

For thought:

• What do you think of the friendship description above?
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 4 // A Short Cut to Mushrooms

This chapter starts out all airy and light, with dappled sunshine, before we slither down the rough hillside and set off into our first bit of wild country (well, y'know, a mini-taste, brambles and briars and all that still nestled in familiar territory). Then the rain shower comes up and we're walking in the woods, and there's the horrible, haunting, frightening moment with the mysterious cries echoing back and forth overhead. The Black Riders are definitely hot on the trail.

Two things jumped out at me that will develop a great deal more as we go along: 1) Sam's wholehearted loyalty to his master and 2) the theme of friendship and help found in unexpected places. I'm really looking forward to following those threads as we continue.

Speaking of which, Farmer Maggot's just THE BEST, isn't he?? A magnificent specimen of a hobbit who keeps dogs. :-) He guards his own little kingdom, with his whole retinue of a family and other farm hands depending on his shrewd, responsible, sturdy stout-heartedness. And his wife gives away baskets of mushrooms as a hospitality gift.

Finally (and this'll come up more), but in different ways Gandalf and Gildor both counseled Frodo not to go alone and to take those who were willing. And it got me thinking on how, in life, we choose our friends, but in another very very real sense, our companions are chosen for us. So that's something to ponder.

Quotes:

• "I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back. It isn't to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains, that I want -- I don't rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me."
  
• "You slept late, you mean,' said Pippin. 'I was up long before; and we are only waiting for you to finish eating and thinking." (this one just made me smile)

 

For thought:

• Do you leave room in your day just for thinking?
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 3 // Three is Company

Happy Saturday everyone! Whew, this has been a full week, but I still wanted to get our next chapter up.

~

This chapter has a very wistful, autumnal, lingering feel to me -- a lingering while standing on the very brink of change. So yeah, autumnal.

And we get to meet elves! On elves... I don't know exactly what my feelings are. (With the exception of Legolas, whom we won't talk about cause we haven't been properly introduced yet *shush* ;)), I don't tend to think of them in the close friends category. But you can't not like them. I guess like or dislike doesn't really seem to apply. They always seem more like remote, angelic beings that would be more awe-inspiring to meet than anything else. Though on the flip side, though I LOVE hints and shadows and complexities and rich layers of meaning in a good story, in person I would probably get downright irritated with Gildor. Far more than Frodo did. I like knowing what's what, and learning how to wait patiently to find stuff out, or for a given time to ripen, is really really horribly hard in real life. xD

Back to the chapter... we also meet The Black Riders. For all the bone chilling happenings/incidents later, the episode here with the Black Rider sniffing his way off the road and Frodo in back of the tree has always been one of my shivery-est. And, apart from any other factors in why they missed them, I always forget how stealthily quiet hobbits can be.

As a side note, if this is your first time reading (and you're finding it slow in any way) we're gonna start getting into some more action very shortly! ;)

Quotes:

• "A few creatures came and looked at them when the fire had died away. A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed. 'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this.' He was quite right, but he never found out any more about it." (Kind of an unusual LOTR quote, isn't it?)
• "Pippin afterwards recalled little of either food or drink, for his mind was filled with the light upon the elf-faces, and the sound of voices so various and so beautiful that he felt in a waking dream. But he remembered that there was bread, surpassing the savour of a fair white loaf to one who is starving; and fruits sweet as wildberries and richer than the tended fruits of gardens; he drained a cup that was filled with a fragrant draught, cool as a clear fountain, golden as a summer afternoon." 
• "Courage is found in unlikely places..."

 

For thought:

• Does your heart turn to journeying in the autumn? Do you like walking in the dark?
• I'm curious... if you've seen the movie, are you noticing events unfolding any differently at this point?
  

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 2 // The Shadow of the Past

Also known as the First Long Chapter Where Much Is Explained, I feel like this is where we go out of Hobbit territory and we start seeing the edges of momentous things.

And I forgot the mention of Ents in this chapter! I always think of them as being a bit of a surprise further in. But nope, here they are right at the beginning. So that's neat.

I love the short description of Aragorn -- almost easy to miss in passing -- but packed with grim mystery, and tingles, eh?

Then as relates to what Gandalf says regarding not killing Gollum... I'm really looking forward to mulling again over the whole concept of 1) how we don't always see the ultimate reason for something and 2) sometimes repentance from any one person/character looks definitively impossible, but it doesn't matter, the final call isn't ours to make. We can only make decisions based on what's right and what seems wise at a specific time, and the role we've been called to play. Which is all a discussion of Providence, I guess.

And this might seem self-evident to everyone else, but it just smacked into me again. The Ring twists and deadens those in its thrall. So isn't it fascinating that Gandalf says Bilbo took such little hurt from the Ring because he began his holding of it with pity (v. murder in his heart) and here at this point Frodo has no pity, but then over the course of the story matures into it even while already holding the Ring. So yes, sometimes I agree Frodo can come across as one of the weaker characters (though we're definitely going to examine that as we go along), but in essence -- if what I just said is true -- then he must have incredible toughness (moral and otherwise), not only to resist the Ring, but (and I guess through using it as a passing trial?) actually developing virtue while holding it, and must really be a fine specimen of a hobbit. I'm looking forward to putting my theory to the test as we go along.

Finally there's Sam making his full grand entrance -- shears, grass clippings, and all. Dear Sam!

Quotes:

"It was early April and the sky was now clearing after heavy rain. The sun was down, and a cool pale evening was quietly fading into night. He walked home under the early stars through Hobbiton and up the Hill, whistling softly and thoughtfully."

"Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore: an obscure branch of knowledge, but full of surprises. Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree-roots."

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

"Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought." 

"My dear Frodo!" exclaimed Gandalf. "Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch. I hardly expected to get such an answer, not even from you. But Bilbo made no mistake in choosing his heir, though he little thought how important it would prove."

"Get up, Sam!" said Gandalf. "I have thought of something better than that. Something to shut your mouth, and punish you properly for listening. You shall go away with Mr. Frodo!"

For thought:

-- What stuck out to you in this chapter?

The Fellowship of the Ring // Book 1, Chapter 1 // A Long-Expected Party

 

(Funny anecdote: as I recall, at our wedding reception the folks helping in the kitchen didn't want 

the doorways getting clogged up, so we put up this same notice. Just thought you'd all enjoy that. xD)

Ok! On to the story proper. I always feel like this chapter is a (fairly) lighthearted extension of The Hobbit. What with kind of being in a happy little Shire bubble and of course all the feasting and wine and cakes and good things. Lots and lots of good things. And the general jollity.

I particularly noticed how smoothly Tolkien transitions us from Bilbo to Frodo. One thing I always forget about Frodo is that pretty much the first real glimpse we get into him, is that he's holding back laughter. I do remember touching on this a little with a character study I wrote on him a few years ago, but I wanna hold on to that this time too, seeing how his character develops. He sees the humor around him (you get the sense in a bit of an Elizabeth Bennet-ish sort of fashion), but also with that deep sensitivity and love for ethereal beauty.

Small notes:

1) I was surprised that I actually liked Bilbo more in this chapter than I have on previous reads

2) I love the fireworks <3

3) Story wise, I also like how the dwarves and other folk helping are kept mysterious -- an inner circle -- and so we're already feeling the allure of wide wild mysterious places beyond the border of the Shire.

Quotes:

"...hobbits were easy-going with their children in the matter of sitting up late..." 

"...their cousin, Bilbo, had been specializing in food for many years and his table had a high reputation."

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

"I want to see the wild country again before I die, and the Mountains; but he is still in love with the Shire, with woods and fields and little rivers."

For thought:

-- Have you read The Hobbit?

-- What do you think of Bilbo's exit plan?