LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring, Post 7

This is the sixth post of a series of posts on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  This series focuses on the first volume of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

You can find the first post here. 

The second post here.

The third post here.

The fourth post here. 

The fifth post here.

The sixth post here.

  

Summary: Bk1 Ch 12

Chapter 12: Flight to the Ford

 

In the confusion of the Dark Riders attack and stabbing, Frodo, Strider and Sam take Frodo’s limp body and place it by the fire.  The companions worry Frodo may not live.  Frodo does not die but is terribly weakened.  Strider made some balm with vegetation to nurse the wound.

Despite the pain, Frodo continued with the journey with the companions in the dark and under the fear the Dark Riders would return.  Strider even decided to return to the road for a while for easier travel.  By the marsh of one of the rivers, Strider finds a beryl—an elf stone, which he takes as a positive sign.  Their journey took them to a confluence of two rivers.  Most of the time Frodo rode on a donkey but there were times he had to dismount to strive on foot.  He had difficulties climbing and was physically getting worse, not better.  Along the way they came across three figures of trolls who had been turned to stone.  Sam remembered a song about trolls and sang it. 

At one point they heard the sound of hooves, and they spotted a white horse, which alleviated their fears of it being a Dark Rider.  Strider went out to meet the rider of the white horse, and he brought back an elf from the house of Elrond.  The elf’s name was Glorfindel.  Glorfindel told them he had been tracking them and it was he who left the beryl as a sign. 

As Glorfindel spoke, Frodo collapsed in pain.  Strider explained what had happened to Frodo, and Glorfindel applied some elf medicine to the wound which revived Frodo enough to travel on.  Glorfindel provided Frodo his white horse to ride. 

Several days later they reached the Ford of Rivendell, and, with the Dark Riders racing toward them, the companions rushed across the Ford.  Midway across the Dark Riders were about to snag Frodo, but the water rose to a flood and drowned several of the Dark Riders’s horses and pulled the others away. Frodo, confused, also fell into the water, where he then passed out.

 

Summary: Bk 2 Ch 1

Book II

Chapter 1: Many Meetings

 

When Frodo came to, he found himself in a bed, and Gandalf above him explaining that he was in the house of Elrond and that it was now October 24^th.  Frodo has been unconscious for four nights and three days.  He also explained that Frodo had nearly died at the Ford.  He told Frodo that there will be a Council as soon as Frodo is well enough to attend.  He explained that Strider, also called Aragorn, is of the old Kings, and that Glorfindel is an elf lord of a house of princes.  He explained the Dark Riders are Ringwraiths, and though the horses have perished they are not so easy to kill, but they are now handicapped without their horses.  Gandalf explained that the flood was commanded by Elrond, which is in his power.

After Frodo awakened from another sleep, Sam came in and took Frodo about the house.  They came upon Merry and Pippin, and everyone at the house were celebrating in a feast for Frodo’s arrival.  He met Elrond and Glorfindel, Elrond’s daughter Arwen, and her brothers Elladan and Elrohir.  Strider was there and a dwarf named Glóin. 

They made their way to the Hall of Fire, a quiet place of contemplation.  In the hall at a table was a dark figure apparently asleep but as it turned out was meditating.  Elrond tried to awaken him but he was awake, and then Frodo saw that it was Bilbo.  They had a splendid and heartfelt reunion.  Bilbo introduced Frodo to his friend Dúnadan, who turned out to be still a third name for Aragorn.  Dúnadan had told Bilbo of Frodo’s adventures.  Bilbo asked Dúnadan to help him with a poem he was composing, and when ready Bilbo chanted the verses of the poem.  Afterward, Frodo went back to his own room.

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Comment from Ellie:

There is a lot in these chapters, I think, especially in the second one, but what I wanted to share here (and I hope it at least partially belongs to this topic) was a quote from a video essay on Aragorn and his (healthy) masculinity I watched today; I've always loved the notion that Aragorn is a great healer AND a great king; and even though he wasn't able to heal Frodo, we could see this characteristic show itself, for the first time in the book I think? Here is the quote:

 

"Your strength is not for yourself. It is for others. Physical power is important for masculinity, yes, but that is because it allows us to better protect those whom we love. In carrying out that duty is one of, if not THE central aspect of a man's job. As long as there have been wars, it has been largely the role of the man, often sadly the young man, to defend his nation, his people. ... When Christ child was in danger, it was St. Joseph who was entrusted with the mission to bring the Holy family to safety. By nature, man are granted larger frame, denser bones, and more muscle mass than women. And with those physical advantages comes a duty that cannot be denied without denying the very essence of what it means to be a man in relationship with others. Indeed, embracing full authentic virtuous masculinity, requires one to be in relationship. ... Human beings do not exist alone; we were not made for ourselves, but rather for each other. Aragorn clearly knows this. He seeks the company of those who need him, ..."

 

I do like the line that I think is crucial for the Catholic faith that "... Human beings do not exist alone; we were not made for ourselves, but rather for each other. " I think we can even see that in the second chapter, when all of the characters gather around for a dinner or, later, to tell stories and sing songs in a great hall; we can even see that in Bilbo asking Aragorn to help him finish some verses of his song. Again, there is a great notion of communion and kinship.

 

To use Tolkien's own words: Aragorn is "a great instrument in God's hands. A mover, a doer, even an achiever of great things. A beginner at the very least of large things.”

 

I really hope this is not too off the topic!!

My Reply to Ellie:

That is a great quote Ellie. The fullness of Aragorn's character is still to be realized. I think this is something to keep in mind as we read on. He has always been mysterious to me, and I don't think in my reading as a young man I understood him. He does seem like the ideal man, doesn't he? Aragorn as healer is not something I realized or noticed before. I will definitely keep it in mind as we progress. Thanks.

 

By the way, where is that quote from?

Ellie’s Reply to Me:

The quote is from a video essay called "Why We Need Aragorn’s Example of Masculinity" on a channel called 'Master Samwise' (the link is here)

 

 

They also have a video on Sam and his character, but I have yet to watch that one! I definitely recommend watching it! 

Kristen Reply to Me:

Manny wrote: "He does seem like the ideal man, doesn’t he?"
Very much so. I was just thinking which male characters in literature come close to him and I’m fumbling a bit. Many times we are presented with a flawed/immature character who then grows into maturity, but with Aragorn these years are in the past and yet he plays a major leading role in the quest.

My Reply to Kerstin:

Good point. It would not typically be the central character of a novel, because he usually needs to to grow into it. It would have to be a contrasting character. Hmm, Levin from Anna Karenina, the contrasting male figure of the Levin and Kitty relationship comes to mind. But I haven't read the novel in a while, so I'm not sure if that is perfect. Oh, and there is Atticus Finch - who is usually considered the ideal father - from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Michelle’s Reply to Kerstin:

I always liked that about Aragorn. He has a weight of history and competence about him immediately upon his entry into the story. It's really unusual. 

###

So what seems to be important in these chapters I think is the near death experience Frodo undergoes and his resuscitation.  Since leaving the Shire, it has been a struggle for Frodo and the companions, traversing forest, rivers, and hills, escaping Dark Riders and undergoing scrutiny.  All these hardships climax with the attack of the Dark Riders, which leaves Frodo “pierced” (the word used in the second to last paragraph in the chapter “A Knife in the Dark”) and struggling to fight off the poison or demonic spirit (I can’t tell which) inherent to the Dark Riders’ weapon.  That Tolkien uses the word “pierced” has to allude to the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah:

 

Who would believe what we have heard?  To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.  Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured.  We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity.  He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.  (Is 53:1-5)

Granted, not everything in the passage applies to Frodo—he wasn’t spurned—but he certainly endured suffering and was notably pierced.  Frodo is here a Christ-figure by his suffering.  But it’s more than that. 

 

Suddenly to his horror Sam found that his master had vanished; and at that moment a black shadow rushed past him, and he fell. He heard Frodo’s voice, but it seemed to come from a great distance, or from under the earth, crying out strange words. They saw nothing more, until they stumbled over the body of Frodo, lying as if dead, face downwards on the grass with his sword beneath him. Strider ordered them to pick him up and lay him near the fire, and then he disappeared. That was now a good while ago.

Frodo’s journey is a microcosm of human experience.  Life can be a struggle, companionship, joy, suffering, and then deathly pain, and finally death.  Here Frodo metaphorically dies.  He is heard as if “under the earth.”  They stumble over “his body.”  He is “lying as if dead, face downwards on the grass.”  Sam even despairs in tears for his friend. 

Eventually Frodo does get up, and his companions nurse his wound.  He will struggle on, if not mortally wounded then potentially mortally wounded. 

There is a subsequent confrontation at the Ford.  Frodo, atop the white horse, is rushing across the Ford to safety, when he is pierced again, this time metaphorically:

 

He shut his eyes and clung to the horse’s mane. The wind whistled in his ears, and the bells upon the harness rang wild and shrill. A breath of deadly cold pierced him like a spear, as with a last spurt, like a flash of white fire, the elf-horse speeding as if on wings, passed right before the face of the foremost Rider.

Again Tolkien uses the word “pierced,” and here he could have chosen many ways to describe the effect of the evil on Frodo.  I’d like to consider this a metaphysical piercing, the cold breath of evil stabbing “like a spear,” alluding of course to the piercing of Christ on the cross by the Roman soldier’s spear.

But once across the Ford, the pack of Dark Riders accost him, forcing Frodo to turn and fight.

 

But the pursuers were close behind. At the top of the bank the horse halted and turned about neighing fiercely. There were Nine Riders at the water’s edge below, and Frodo’s spirit quailed before the threat of their uplifted faces. He knew of nothing that would prevent them from crossing as easily as he had done; and he felt that it was useless to try to escape over the long uncertain path from the Ford to the edge of Rivendell, if once the Riders crossed. In any case he felt that he was commanded urgently to halt. Hatred again stirred in him, but he had no longer the strength to refuse.

 

Suddenly the foremost Rider spurred his horse forward. It checked at the water and reared up. With a great effort Frodo sat upright and brandished his sword. ‘Go back!’ he cried.

 

‘Go back to the Land of Mordor, and follow me no more!’ His voice sounded thin and shrill in his own ears. The Riders halted, but Frodo had not the power of Bombadil. His enemies laughed at him with a harsh and chilling laughter. ‘Come back! Come back!’ they called. ‘To Mordor we will take you!’

 

‘Go back!’ he whispered. ‘The Ring! The Ring!’ they cried with deadly voices; and immediately their leader urged his horse forward into the water, followed closely by two others.

That’s quite a scene.  You can see the powerlessness of Frodo as he is about to undergo what might be seen as a Passion narrative.  We are told in the next chapter that if he had been captured, he would have been tormented by the Dark Lord.  He is even mocked here, and this might amount to a crucifixion but for a miracle event, what Tolkien describes as a eucatastrophe.    

 

At that moment there came a roaring and a rushing: a noise of loud waters rolling many stones. Dimly Frodo saw the river below him rise, and down along its course there came a plumed cavalry of waves. White flames seemed to Frodo to flicker on their crests, and he half fancied that he saw amid the water white riders upon white horses with frothing manes. The three Riders that were still in the midst of the Ford were overwhelmed: they disappeared, buried suddenly under angry foam. Those that were behind drew back in dismay.

 

With his last failing senses Frodo heard cries, and it seemed to him that he saw, beyond the Riders that hesitated on the shore, a shining figure of white light; and behind it ran small shadowy forms waving flames, that flared red in the grey mist that was falling over the world.

 

The black horses were filled with madness, and leaping forward in terror they bore their riders into the rushing flood. Their piercing cries were drowned in the roaring of the river as it carried them away. Then Frodo felt himself falling, and the roaring and confusion seemed to rise and engulf him together with his enemies. He heard and saw no more.

A rushing flood of the river overturns the Dark Riders.  Frodo too falls beneath the waves and goes unconscious.  Here is a second metaphorical death for Frodo.  We are told later that Strider saved him, and he, after some bleak moments in an unconscious state, revives at Rivendell.  He has gone through a rebirth, a regeneration, perhaps even a resurrection.  If we haven’t identified Frodo with Christ before, we should certainly do so now.

###

Ellie Reply:

Also, Manny, so many good points! I'm really glad you mentioned the 'eucatastrophe', because the scene with Frodo and the Dark Riders really seems like the perfect example of a eucatastrophic scene and it's also important, because Tolkien considered it the most important function of a fairy-story. In 'On Fairy-Stories" Tolkien explains this term in depth, but what I really love is his connecting it to the Gospel, when in one of his letters he writes that: "And I concluded by saying that the Resurrection was the greatest 'eucatastrophe' possible in the greatest Fairy Story – and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love. "

###

There are numerous interesting details that I can’t completely fathom from the first chapter of Book II.  What exactly is the nature of Rivendell and of the Elves?  Do they have supernatural powers?  It is the Elves ability to counter the dark powers that saved Frodo from death, pulling out the splinter that had been embedded in Frodo’s body.  That seems to be from more than just skill.  Dark powers, one would think, require good powers to repel them.  When Gandalf is beside Frodo’s bed explaining all that happened, Frodo asked him about the flood.

 

‘Who made the flood?’ asked Frodo.

 

‘Elrond commanded it,’ answered Gandalf. ‘The river of this valley is under his power, and it will rise in anger when he has great need to bar the Ford. As soon as the captain of the Ringwraiths rode into the water the flood was released. If I may say so, I added a few touches of my own: you may not have noticed, but some of the waves took the form of great white horses with shining white riders; and there were many rolling and grinding boulders. For a moment I was afraid that we had let loose too fierce a wrath, and the flood would get out of hand and wash you all away. There is great vigour in the waters that come down from the snows of the Misty Mountains.’

How does one command a flood?  How is the river under Elrond’s power?  Now there could be a non-supernatural explanation.  The river could have been dammed up and the dam opened upon Elrond’s command.  But is that what happened?  Or was it a supernatural command over nature, and if so how does that fit into a Christian worldview?  Why and how did the waves of the flood take on the form of great white horses?  Does someone know more about this?

So what is the nature of elves?  Earlier in that conversation, Frodo asks Gandalf himself.

 

‘What about Rivendell and the Elves? Is Rivendell safe?’

 

‘Yes, at present, until all else is conquered. The Elves may fear the Dark Lord, and they may fly before him, but never again will they listen to him or serve him. And here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.’

 

‘I thought that I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others. Was that Glorfindel then?’ ‘Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the Firstborn. He is an Elf-lord of a house of princes. Indeed there is a power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: and elsewhere other powers still dwell. There is power, too, of another kind in the Shire. But all such places will soon become islands under siege, if things go on as they are going. The Dark Lord is putting forth all his strength.

 

‘Still,’ he said, standing suddenly up and sticking out his chin, while his beard went stiff and straight like bristling wire, ‘we must keep up our courage. You will soon be well, if I do not talk you to death. You are in Rivendell, and you need not worry about anything for the present.’

Quite a few details stick out from that passage.  The Elvin-wise Lords “live in both worlds,” can be before the Dark Lords and not be harmed, and they have “great power.”  So what is the nature of this power?

Glorfindel is an Elf-lord, and one of the “Firstborn.”  Firstborn has a Biblical echo, and why is it capitalized?

We learn there is a “power in Rivendell” that can “withstand the might of Mordor.”  What exactly is the nature of this power, and must it be supernatural to withstand the evil power of Mordor?  Why does Frodo not have to fear while in Rivendell?

Indeed Rivendell seems like paradise in many ways.  Elves are “ageless” and shining.  Frodo is saved there and ‘resurrected.”  Everything is orderly and ideal.  There is a sort of liturgy in the Hall of Fire where songs are chanted and tales are told.  And there are feasts to form fellowship, and unlike Bilbo’s feast at his birthday at the beginning of the novel, there is no animosity between the guests.  It all seems so heavenly. 

So what should we make of all this?

###

Ellie Comment:

Good questions Manny. I think the answers to all of these require the reading of The Silmarillion, where the nature of Elves is explained.

 

I think the explanation to Elrond's power comes in the next chapter, The Council of Elrond, where we learn about the three Rings of Power that the Elves made. If I'm not mistaken, Galadriel of Lothlórien has one, and I just have to assume that Elrond has one, too; Vilya is the name of it, and from what I could glean online, it has the ability to heal (with its help, he probably healed Frodo) and so we can guess that it also has the power to control some elements. I don't think the elves have "magic powers", but that they utilize the Rings. But that's for further discussion.

 

About the Firstborn question - indeed, Elves are Firstborn, because they were the first "creatures" to be awakened/made in the world of Arda, particularly Middle-Earth. Yes, there are the Valar, but I think they are more like angelic creatures, while the Elves (and subsequently Men), are children of Eru Illúvatar, of the creator who made them.

 

I also think that the safety of Rivendell could be attributed to the fact that Elves are indeed the Firstborn, some of them (I'm thinking of Glorfindel here) saw the light of Valinor, a place where the Valar live, a place where they rule, a place where the Elves are trying to go (we could say it's a place that resembles Heaven?), a place where their true home is. I think Rivendell might resemble Valinor in the sense that it's a place full of light, which the Enemy can't reach.

 

I admit that we are (and will be) bombarded with information about the First and Second Ages and not all of it is explained in the LoTR books, so it can be confusing. But indeed all of these questions probably require a heavy study of Tolkien's works, like The Silmarillion, and it makes me wonder how he was able to create all of this!

My Reply to Ellie:

Thanks for the explanation Ellie, that is really helpful. I haven't read the next chapter yet. Perhaps tonight.

Ellie’s Reply to Me:

Of course, always my pleasure! I think the next chapter is going to give us more information and more stuff to discuss since it's pretty long and info-dense.

###

One last major comment on this section.  The reunion of Frodo and Bilbo was magnificent.  It was such a captivating scene that I’m going to quote the passage for everyone’s enjoyment, despite it being a bit lengthy.  This has the feeling to me of being in heaven and reunited with a loved one.

 

At length the feast came to an end. Elrond and Arwen rose and went down the hall, and the company followed them in due order. The doors were thrown open, and they went across a wide passage and through other doors, and came into a further hall. In it were no tables, but a bright fire was burning in a great hearth between the carven pillars upon either side.

 

Frodo found himself walking with Gandalf. ‘This is the Hall of Fire,’ said the wizard. ‘Here you will hear many songs and tales – if you can keep awake. But except on high days it usually stands empty and quiet, and people come here who wish for peace, and thought. There is always a fire here, all the year round, but there is little other light.’

 

As Elrond entered and went towards the seat prepared for him, Elvish minstrels began to make sweet music. Slowly the hall filled, and Frodo looked with delight upon the many fair faces that were gathered together; the golden firelight played upon them and shimmered in their hair. Suddenly he noticed, not far from the further end of the fire, a small dark figure seated on a stool with his back propped against a pillar. Beside him on the ground was a drinking-cup and some bread. Frodo wondered whether he was ill (if people were ever ill in Rivendell), and had been unable to come to the feast. His head seemed sunk in sleep on his breast, and a fold of his dark cloak was drawn over his face.

 

Elrond went forward and stood beside the silent figure. ‘Awake, little master!’ he said, with a smile. Then, turning to Frodo, he beckoned to him. ‘Now at last the hour has come that you have wished for, Frodo,’ he said. ‘Here is a friend that you have long missed.’

 

The dark figure raised its head and uncovered its face.

 

‘Bilbo!’ cried Frodo with sudden recognition, and he sprang forward.

 

‘Hullo, Frodo my lad!’ said Bilbo. ‘So you have got here at last. I hoped you would manage it. Well, well! So all this feasting is in your honour, I hear. I hope you enjoyed yourself?’

 

‘Why weren’t you there?’ cried Frodo. ‘And why haven’t I been allowed to see you before?’

 

‘Because you were asleep. I have seen a good deal of you. I have sat by your side with Sam each day. But as for the feast, I don’t go in for such things much now. And I had something else to do.’

 

‘What were you doing?’

 

‘Why, sitting and thinking. I do a lot of that nowadays, and this is the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!’ he said, cocking an eye at Elrond. There was a bright twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness that Frodo could see. ‘Wake up! I was not asleep, Master Elrond. If you want to know, you have all come out from your feast too soon, and you have disturbed me – in the middle of making up a song. I was stuck over a line or two, and was thinking about them; but now I don’t suppose I shall ever get them right. There will be such a deal of singing that the ideas will be driven clean out of my head. I shall have to get my friend the Dúnadan to help me. Where is he?’

 

Elrond laughed. ‘He shall be found,’ he said. ‘Then you two shall go into a corner and finish your task, and we will hear it and judge it before we end our merrymaking.’ Messengers were sent to find Bilbo’s friend, though none knew where he was, or why he had not been present at the feast.

Isn’t that special.  Some of the charge from the scene was from the gap between when we last saw Bilbo and the anticipation of meeting him again.  Now wouldn’t the reunion have had even more anticipation if the scene was pushed even further into the story?  Now who am I to tell Tolkien how to plot—and I imagine there are very good reasons to have this reunion at this point—but would the reunion have been even grander if it had occurred at say two thirds of the way through the trilogy rather than at two thirds of the way through the first volume?  Just a thought.

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Michelle Comment:

It would have had a greater impact later, except for the setting deeper into the story. Bilbo is happy in Rivendell, [and I have trouble imagining him in Mordor].

Michael Comment:

Thank you Manny for your summary, and thanks to everyone for the fascinating comments and observations on these two chapters.

 

I wonder whether another aspect of Frodo's Christ-like nature can be seen through his relationship with Sam, who (e.g. in his impetuosity and unintended humour) sometimes comes across like Simon Peter.

My Reply to Michael:

Thank you Michael! That is a very apt comparison which never crossed my mind, and it does strike me as intentional. We’ll see as we go on. So would that mean then that Merry and Pippin correspond to James and John?

Frances Comment:

I hope this is not an inapt place to insert a small scene from real life that sheds light on the beautiful, fatherly character of the artist J.R.R. Tolkien. In her book Tolkien’s Modern Reading, Holly Ordway tells us of this lovely incident: When he was a very young, highly strung little boy, “upstairs in bed at night, Christopher would sometimes become fearful that his father would work so hard that something terrible would happen . . .

 

“On one occasion, unable to hear any noise from downstairs, he made his way down to his father’s study to check nothing was wrong. Tolkien was working on a watercolor, the picture of Rivendell. Relieved to find his father alive and well, Christopher began to weep, and a single tear —a substantial one — dropped onto the painting. His father did not chastise him or discard the work in progress. . . Rather, he picked up his brush and re-painted the tree where the tear had fallen, gently incorporating the little splash into his design: he changed the leaves.” (Page 292)

My Reply to Frances:

Haha! Great story. Thank you Frances.