The Lord of the Rings Discussion, Book II, Chapter 1

[brownjenkins]

Many Meetings

Here begins the next phase of the Ring's journey. We find Frodo wakening in a comfortable bed in Rivendell, nearly musing as if all was a dream till he spots the richly-carved beams on the ceiling and hears the voice of the long-absent Gandalf. Yes! Gandalf, the wiley old wizard himself, bringing Frodo right back down to earth with his talk of how lucky he was to be here after the 'absurd' things he had done since leaving home. Another glimpse at the dry humor we see from the grey one from time to time. Is there a method behind his sometimes sharp sense of wit, or is it just his way of expressing himself?

Frodo is somewhat surprised when Gandalf expresses so much knowledge of his travels. The wizard mentions that the hobbit spoke in his sleep, and also that "it has not been hard for me to read your mind and memory". Possibly a rare glimpse at one of Gandalf's more mystical powers?

We learn that Frodo has been unconcious for four days and three nights, watched over by Sam and Gandalf (and Bilbo, we learn later), and mended by the healing powers of the Elf-lord Elrond. It seems that a fragment of the morgul-blade was lodged in his shoulder, and this piece was slowly working its way to his heart. If successful, this would have lead to a state that even Gandalf saw as beyond repair. Yet only the night before, Elrond was able to dislodge this splinter and remove the threat of Frodo 'fading'. A fate which Gandalf is surprised the hobbit was able to hold off for so long. Something he even doubted even a strong warrior among men could have done.

Gandalf also gives Frodo a glimpse of what he might have become, a wraith tied to Sauron's will, to be tormented for keeping the ring from him. The greatest torment being the vision of the ruling ring once again on the Dark Lord's hand. Why does Gandalf see this as so particularly painful to the Ringbearer? Is it just the failure of the quest, or is it something more?

Of note also is Frodo's statement about how much more terrified he would have been had he known the full implications of what he was facing. There is little doubt that Gandalf held some information back when he spoke of the Ring and the Ringwraiths during 'The Shadow of the Past'. Was he hiding infomation in fear that Frodo would not accept the task, or was there maybe another purpose?

The wizard tells Frodo how the ring, when worn, places him half within the world of the wraiths. An unseen world which we learn that elves such as Glorfindel, who have seen the Blessed Realm, have a special awareness of. This would seem to point to the world of the spirit, or 'the soul'. Everpresent, yet unfathomable to the common man, hobbit, or even elf. A place where the Elf-lord shines like a star. This is a power which Gandalf sees as a force to use against the Enemy. He also says 'There is power, too, of another kind in the Shire.' What do you feel is this power of the spirit among the elves? And what of the other kind in the Shire?

Gandalf mentions he was delayed, and hints of the story yet to come. Then he retells the events at the Ford of Bruinen. How Elrond was behind the flood, which the wizard embellished with a water-formed cavalry and rolling boulders. And how Strider and Glorfindel forced the steeds with the six Ringwraiths, who were not taken immediately, into the water where they most likely perished, though the wraiths themselves survived.

After some rest, Frodo is reunited with Sam and they set out to explore the Last Homely House. They meet up with Merry and Pippin who, to the dismay of Gandalf, expresses his fool-of-a-tookishness by naming Frodo 'Lord of the Ring'. This Pip shrugs off as usual wizardly gloom and doom, saying it is much to cheery in Rivendell for such worries. Another expression of a 'timelessness' Bilbo later mentions. Is this a quality of all elvish abodes?

At the sound of bells, they leave for a banquet where we get some marvelous descriptions of Glorfindel, Gandalf and master Elrond in their finest. We also see Arwen for the first time, who's beauty is likened to Lúthien, the fairest elvenkind has ever known. Frodo is seated next to Glóin of 'there and back again' fame, and we hear a few more hints of stories to come concerning Balin and events at The Lonely Mountain.

After the meal Frodo heads with Gandalf to the Hall of Fire, where music is played and stories told. To his surprise he meets none other than Bilbo himself there, composing a song he plans to sing for the elven revellers. Bilbo speaks of his travels back to Erebor and his retirement in Rivendell. He asks to see the ring again, but when Frodo produces it, a shadow-vision of an almost gollum-like appearance comes over Bilbo, and the old hobbit expresses his regrets to Frodo about the whole affair. If Gandalf had only known sooner, Bilbo would have brought it here long ago. Is there any validity to this musing, or may Gandalf have had other reasons for leaving the Ring in the Shire, which he may not have positively identified, but certainly had concerns about?

The chapter closes with Aragorn returning, kept from the banquet due to a desire for information from Elrond's sons, and assisting Bilbo in finishing his song. One of the most beautiful and richly-detailed compositions in the trilogy, it speaks of the voyage of Eärendil and his ultimate fate.

More than anything so far in this rereading, this passage brought me back to my first experience with the Lord of the Rings. It was sometime around 1977, give or take. Having read the Silmarillion and most of the HoME books now, Bilbo's tune is just a snippit of the vast history of the First Age. But back then, when it was all so new, there was so much mystery behind this song and many of the references in this chapter and the one to come. I remember thinking, before I even had the benefit of the appendices behind me, who was this Eärendil and why was it so bold of Bilbo to sing about him in the House of Elrond? This sense of layers and deeper lore is why, to this day, I still suggest new readers follow Tolkien's works by publication as opposed to chronology. It makes the uncovering of the stories within the Silmarillion and those that follow all the more anticipated and wonderful.



PS ~ see RÃ*an, i do have a SHIFT key