Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
'I am sorry,' said Frodo. 'But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum.'You have not seen him,' Gandalf broke in.
'No, and I don't want to,' said Frodo.
Then, in The Two Towers Frodo has just captured Gollum and is recalling the conversation between he and Gandalf. In full, this is what it says:
What a pity Biblo didn't stab the vile creature, when he had a chance!Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need.
I do not feel any pity for Gollum. He deserves death.
Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.
Then Frodo says:
'Very well,' he answered aloud, lowering his sword. But still I am afraid. And yet, as you see, I will not touch the creature. For now that I see him, I do pity him.Sam stared at his master, who seemed to be speaking to someone who was not there. Gollum lifted his head.
I just found it interesting that not only did Frodo recall what Gandalf said to him, but he also recalled that Gandalf had implied that he needed to see Gollum before making up his mind and that now that he had seen him, he was still afraid but now had pity.
"Thou art inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." (Roms. 2:1)
So Frodo, by an act of compassion, saved himself.
But what struck me in particular about this was how Tolkien took the themes "You haven't seen him." "Now that I've seen him" and "I'm frightened" "I'm still afraid" and carried it from the beginning of the first book all the way to the beginning of the fourth book. I'm not a great literary critic, but to me this just seems astounding. And it's only one example. Tolkien just amazes me.
I read somewhere that Christopher Tolkien had a timeline that his dad did that had down to the minute of each day each thing each character did.
It's hard to stop, isn't it? ;)
But that's probably just me. :)
Detail of the lower left corner:
The other detail:
Now I know that Tolkien mentions that hobbits are inclined to being fat, but I suspect that is the result of a leisurely life, and with age. An inclination, not a rule. And our hobbits were mobile, not couch potatoe hobbits!
I still believe that must be Pippin climbing up the roots, but where is his elven cloak? And get a load of that hair! Much longer than I imagined. And the expression on his face is a little clearer on my copy, very grim. But the one that I think of as Merry, lying on his stomach with his arms flung up around his head, just breaks my heart. He looks so exhausted. But what are those items beside him? Perhaps one is their elven cloaks rolled up into a bundle? I don't know. One looks like a red hood, but I can't imagine that making the trip with the orcs. And Pippin appears to be carrying a sword...which I can't figure out either, after the orcs had them. Did he lift a sword from one of the dead orcs?
Mr. Tolkien has painted a confusing picture, I wish there was someone I could ask that might know!
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