Here I am again!! Thank you all so much for your patience.
Ok, whew! What a chapter.
I'd forgotten that Faramir is mentioned (though not by name) in the very chapter we meet Boromir. So he's not an afterthought, rather -- though he can't come in for a while due to the very nature of the plot -- the two brothers, while different, are always shoulder to shoulder. I love the very, very short sentences we have underlining how they were brothers in arms. You know they had each others backs. <3
Akin to when we first meet him in Bree, I love how Aragorn is sitting in a corner all booted and clothed for a journey again. It adds yet more focus on the pressure and imminence of the decision they're all wrangling out. And he's very involved, but also withdrawn, with that air of mystery.
And, possibly small among all the great matters discussed (though isn't that the very theme of this chapter?) we hear of Gwaihir and Shadowfax for the first time.
Quotes:
- "You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so. Believe rather that it is so ordered that we, who sit here, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world."
- "White.' he sneered. 'It serves as a beginning. White cloth may be dyed. The white page can be overwritten; and the white light can be broken.' 'In which case it is no longer white,' said I. 'And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."
- "It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy!"
- "The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."
- "If I understand aright all that I have heard,' he said, 'I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?"
- "A nice pickle we have landed ourselves in, Mr. Frodo!' he said, shaking his head."
For thought:
- So much happened in this chapter: new characters and so much history -- with threads both dark and light; so much character development and different
characters playing off each other with all the seeds of tension and foreshadowing -- I'd love to hear what stood out to you the most. And was any part of the recounted stories a surprise/new to you?
- What is one of your favorite quotes from this chapter?
It is very interesting that the dream came repeatedly to Faramir and only once to Boromir -- as if Faramir was really supposed to go.
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes! one of my favorites is about the Three Rings:
"Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One. It would be better if the Three had never been. That is his purpose."
There was a lot in this chapter! I tried to consolidate as much as I could in my review: https://revealedintime.blogspot.com/2020/12/lotr-read-along-fellowship-of-ring.html
ReplyDeleteI'm only a month behind, whew.
ReplyDeleteI love this chapter, even though it's long. One thing that strikes me is that Boromir chose to go on this journey instead of Faramir. Partly to protect his brother from the perilous journey, I'm sure -- Boromir is used to peril and privation, and even enjoys roughing it, as it were. But also, Boromir is very very very very confident in his own abilities. Lots of pride. Lots of "if you want it done right, do it yourself" going on for him, so he took the journey, which maybe was not meant for him.
Another thing that struck me, this one for the first time, was... what if Gandalf HAD gone to the Shire first, to get Frodo and the ring, and then continued on to Saruman? There's a line (and I'm tired and not looking it up) where he says he changed his plan because he thought there wasn't time to get to the Shire too, so it almost sounds like he planned originally to pick up Frodo and the ring on the way to Isengard. What a disaster that would have been, bringing the ring straight to Saruman!