LoTR Discussion Project: Book II Chapter 4: A journey in the dark

[Earniel]

Summary:

The chapter starts with the Fellowship having to face a tough decision: to go through the Moria-mines or find another way. Not only would it help them to get further on their journey but it would also help to make the Fellowship drop off the radar after their open attempt of crossing the mountains. But before they have a chance to talk it through thoroughly, a new danger in the form of Wargs forces their decision. After a battle - and some pretty impressive action from Gandalf - they break up camp and move on.

When they finally reach the Gate of Moria, they find the land curiously changed. Before the gates we get another glimpse of the enmity between Dwarves and Elves. And Sam has to turn his beloved Bill the pony loose. Poor Sam!

The Gate itself proved to be another obstacle, but Gandalf manages. (Is there anything wizards can’t do?) And again, before they have a good chance to discuss whether they still want to go through the Mines, another danger, this time emerging from the lake, drives them forth and locks them inside the mountain.

With the way out barred the Fellowship is left with no option other than brave the darkness of Moria. Gimli was probably the only one who wasn’t sorry for that. His obvious eagerness to enter Moria throughout the chapter is quite endearing.

The road ahead of them was not without danger, with fissures, cracks and pitfalls making their path a difficult one. Sam misses both rope and poor Bill. And after the infamous incident with the Took, the well and the stone, the old Dwarf-home doesn’t seem to be as quiet as it had seemed.

But Moria proves it can be both a dreadful and a wonderful place after they reach the large hall. And we get a glimpse of what Moria had been in its golden age through Gimli’s marvellous song, which goes to show that in each of these small grumpy men, there’s a poet waiting to get out. The chapter ends on a bit of a cliffhanger when the Fellowship discovers the tomb of Balin.


Eärniel’s further ramblings:

An interesting tidbit: When the Fellowship is considering whether to go on or return to Rivendell, Gandalf says: “ The Ringwraiths are deadly enemies, but they are only shadows yet of the power and terror they would possess if the Ruling Ring was on their master’s hand again.”

It not only gives the indication that the Ringwraiths draw strenght either from the One Ring or from Sauron himself. And considering the already terrifying effect the Ringwraith’s scream had and the personal power the Witch King possessed, it’s nigh mindboggling how frightening they could have been.

The fight with the Wargs is one of those often-forgotten moments in LoTR that I’m rather fond of (and one of the reasons I wanted this chapter). It has such nice sentences:

How the wind howls! It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!

"The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears.”
“True! But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls”

Ah, middle-earth- sayings… so wonderful.

And I nearly forgot this one:

“My heart’s right down in my toes, Mr. Pippin. Whatever may be in store for old Gandalf, I’ll wager it isn’t a wolf’s belly.”

Discussion starting points:

1) Gandalf states he had considered the possibility of passing through Moria already in the beginning. I wonder whether this would have influenced the addition of Gimli to the Fellowship. Would Gandalf have specifically wanted a Dwarf to join the Fellowship because of Dwarves’ innate skills in mines and not just to represent all the Free People of Middle-earth?

2) In the morning after the wolf-attack the narration goes:

That day the weather changed again, almost as if it was at the command of some power that had no longer any use for snow, since they had retreated from the pass, a power that wished now to have a clear sight in which things that moved in the wild could be seen from far away.

Is this the lingering evil influence of the Caradhras, or could it be the power of Sauron, seeking to locate the Ring? It would imply Sauron had quite a long reach indeed, not to mention some power over the elements. A force to be reckoned with, even without his Ring on his hand. Interestingly (and here I’m running slightly ahead) these changes in weather and such don’t seem to return after the Fellowship’s journey through the Moria-mines. Would Gandalf’s plan to hide their trail underground have been succesful, even despite the fight with the Balrog and the orcs?

3) The Watcher in the Water forcefully closes the Gatedoors of Moria when its plan to grab Frodo failed. Would it have been under Sauron’s command or perhaps under that of the Balrog? Is it a coincidence that-since it failed to get Frodo- it therefore locked up the entire Fellowship in the Mines? And just how intelligent do you think the Watcher is?

4) Frodo finds out in the mines that his night-sight has improved and ascribes it to the wound he received from the Ringwraiths. He also think something might be following them. We later learn what it was, but what did you think it was, the first time you read LoTR? Do you still remember? My first time around I thought it had merely been Frodo’s imagination.


Some art-work:

And lastly, some beautiful art-work corresponding to this chapter:
The Gate of Moria
Before the Gate of Moria
Within the Mines

There, I’m done rambling now, it’s my Entish nature I fear. Hoom. But you can all wake up and start the discussion. Sorry to have kept you waiting.