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between_time_and_42...except spoiler alert: I didn't cry. Considering how emotional I got over the endings of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, I'm honestly surprised that I didn't have that kind of reaction... at least not when reading. We'll dive into my thoughts some more in this post- the final installment of my LOTR live-ish blogging.
So, it's at this point in the book- the chapter "Homeward Bound"- where I realized that the ending of the book differs greatly from that of the movies. I had heard about "The Scouring of the Shire," where the hobbits return to the Shire to find that it's been taken over by evil forces and they have to throw them out, and I had no idea how that was going to play out. I also didn't know if I preferred the sound of that ending, or the movies' ending where nothing has changed in the Shire and therefore, the hobbits no longer feel at home in it. We'll get into my thoughts on "The Scouring of the Shire," but first, regarding "Homeward Bound," I can't help but feel like that's a very optimistic-sounding title for what ended up being... well... I'm not sure if there's a better word than "sad." The hobbits' return to Bree and meeting with Butterbur should have been triumphant and felt like a warm, cozy homecoming, but instead, they're met with darkness and worry.
"Then the hobbits suddenly realized that people had looked at them with amazement not out of surprise at their return so much as in wonder at their gear. They themselves had become so used to warfare and to riding in well-arrayed companies that they had quite forgotten that the bright mail peeping from under their cloaks, and the helms of Gondor and the Mark, and the fair devices on their shields, would seem outlandish in their own country."
This is the first time when reading LOTR that I've felt that Tolkien was writing from real-life experience, or at least that I can easily see a real-world parallel in what he's written. Namely, this feels like how I'd imagine it feels for soldiers to return to civilian life after having been deployed in the armed forces. I think it's great that this culture shock is depicted here, because it really conveys the sense of an adventure ending, as if the hobbits are just waking up after having been asleep all the time when they'd been away. (I don't know if this sentence makes any sense, lol.)
Butterbur finding out that the man he knew as Strider has become King is amazing. I love how the concept of a "king" is just that- an abstract concept- and putting a face and name to that concept doesn't really make it real for him, just a bizarre notion that I'm sure he doesn't fully believe. Again, I can see a real-world parallel here, where people in rural areas aren't always so concerned with politics, especially when it doesn't affect them. (This is not me saying that people who live in rural areas are ignorant, just that it's easier to ignore these things when you don't have regular ways of keeping up with the media and you have other things to worry about.)
"I've something that belongs to you. If you recollect Bill Ferny and the horsethieving: his pony as you bought, well, it's here."
OH MY GOD, BILL THE PONY IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN BREE!! What a happy thing to find out. At least there's SOME joy in the hobbits' homecoming.
"'I am with you at present,' said Gandalf, 'but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the Shire. You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. Do you not yet understand? My time is over: And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now.'"
Wait, was LOTR a coming of age story all along? This is definitely something that's been coming for a long time- Gandalf leaving the hobbits to fight for themselves. I was starting to get the feeling, particularly in Minas Tirith when Pippin was looking for Gandalf because he had been known to always fix things, that the hobbits (or at least, Pippin and sometimes Merry) had been relying on Gandalf too much to save the day. Now those two have become knights of two different kingdoms, and Sam & Frodo made it to Mordor and came back alive. They can take care of themselves. And so... goodbye, Gandalf.
"'I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil; such a talk as I have not had in all my time.'"
Man, I'd pay to hear THAT conversation, is all I can say to that.
It's painful to read about the hobbits coming back and not taking the new regime seriously. One gets the impression that they have NO IDEA what they're in for, and haven't grasped the severity of the situation... just like when they first started out on their journey, and neither Merry nor Pippin and maybe not even Sam had fully grasped how dangerous their journey was going to be. But the danger wasn't supposed to follow them home... the Shire was the one place that they could always count on being safe and protected. So I can see why they can't fully wrap their minds around what's going on just yet.
"'Well I am staggered!' said Pippin. 'Of all the ends to our journey that is the very last I should have thought of: to have to fight half-orcs and ruffians in the Shire itself-- to rescue Lotho Pimple!'"
"'Fight?' said Frodo. 'Well, I suppose it may come to that. But remember: there is to be no slaying of hobbits not even if they have gone over to the other side [...] No hobbit has ever killed another on purpose in the Shire, and it is not to begin now. And nobody is to be killed at all, if it can be helped.'"
"'But if there are many of these ruffians,' said Merry, 'it will certainly mean fighting. You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo.'"
First of all: I think it's hilarious that Pippin is so appalled at the thought of rescuing someone that he and the others never got along with. Secondly: Frodo's sudden bout of pacifism (which I guess wasn't all that sudden, because it was in Mordor that he decided not to ever use his sword again) only reinforces the theme that I think Eowyn's story first introduced: that violence is never the answer and only leads to more suffering. It's very noble of Frodo to feel this way, and I think the narrative is supporting his decision. However, Merry has a great point (though tbh I just quoted that line because of how frequently Movie!Frodo appears to be shocked and sad. It kind of cracked me up).
"'I've an idea,' said Sam. 'Let's go to old Tom Cotton's down South Lane! He always was a stout fellow. And he has a lot of lads that were all friends of mine.'"
You sure you want to go there because Tom Cotton can help you, Sam... or is it because you're missing your girlfriend? :P
"'What about Mrs. Cotton and Rosie?' said Sam. 'It isn't safe yet for them to be left all alone.'
"'My Nibs is with them. But you can go and help him, if you have a mind,' said Farmer Cotton with a grin."
OHHHHH Mr. Cotton knows what's up, and he KNOWS that Sam likes Rosie :'D :'D
"'Hullo, Sam! Where've you been? They said you were dead; but I've been expecting you since the Spring. You haven't hurried, have you?'"
Oh my god! Rosie is immediately taking Sam to task for not showing up earlier! I admire her already. She's got guts.
"'Well, be off with you!' said Rosie. 'If you've been looking after Mr. Frodo all this while, what d'you want to leave him for, as soon as things look dangerous?'
"This was too much for Sam. It needed a week's answer, or none."
This, on the other hand... I have no idea how to take this. At first, I read it as Rosie being sarcastic and holding Sam's disappearance over his head- "if you've spent all that time with Mr. Frodo, why don't you go back to him? What's another few hours going to do?" I thiiiiink this is the interpretation the narrative supports, with Sam's response being one of abject refusal to deal with the concerns Rosie is raising right at the moment... but at the same time, I feel like it could also be read as her genuinely saying "you've been with Mr. Frodo for so long, you ought to go back to him and help out," and Sam is just flabbergasted that she'd be so accepting. I have a feeling it's the former interpretation, though, which puts Rosie in a not-entirely-agreeable light in my eyes. As I understand it, she and Sam had probably been courting, or at least been interested in each other, but Sam never made any formal proposal, so Rosie can't complain too much, and besides, she has no idea what kind of hell Sam went through for "Mr. Frodo..." But I'm also being way too sentimental about the bond that Sam and Frodo share, and I think it probably is reasonable of Rosie to be upset not to have heard from the one she loves for so long.
Wow, I love the story of Lobelia trying to resist being arrested. I sense a redemption arc coming for her.
"'I am very sorry, Mr. Gamgee,' said Frodo. 'But now I've come back, I'll do my best to make amends.'
"'Well, you can't say fairer than that,' said the gaffer. 'Mr. Frodo Baggins is a real gentlehobbit, I always have said, whatever you may think of some others of the name, begging your pardon. And I hope my Sam's behaved hisself and given satisfaction?'
Oh my god, poor Bilbo out here still catching strays :P Also... god, I have the mind of a horny teenager and I'm so sorry, but... "given satisfaction," eh? :P
"'Perfect satisfaction, Mr. Gamgee,' said Frodo. 'Indeed, if you will believe it, he's now one of the most famous people in all the lands, and they are making songs about his deeds from here to the Sea and beyond the Freat River.' Sam blushed, but he looked gratefully at Frodo, for Rosie's eyes were shining and she was smiling at him."
Awww Frodo is such a bro!! (Let's call him Fro-bro. :P)
So here it is... the Scouring of the Shire. All things considered, it could have gone much worse, and I'm glad that the hobbits managed to rise up and defeat their oppressors. Still, it's heartbreaking that it happened at all in the first place. It reminds me a little bit of Ursula K. Le Guin's book The Word For World is Forest, where colonizers from Earth take over a foreign planet and force the native population, who had only ever known peace, into killing them out of self-defense. That society will never know innocence again, and neither will the hobbits of the Shire after this. Frodo wondered "where shall I find rest?" on his way back home, and I feel like what just happened shows that he can't find rest anywhere, not even back home. It will never return to the way it was before, for him or for anyone else who lived through this.
"'This is worse than Mordor!' said Sam. 'Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined.'"
On the one hand... I can't possible see how this could be worse than Mordor. On the other hand... I understand what Sam is saying, poor thing. It's worse because Mordor was just as bad as they were expecting, but the Shire is Home and it's supposed to be safe and untouched by evil. After all the triumph and praise the hobbits received in Gondor, these travelers believed that their work was done, but now they have to roll up their sleeves and sort out a new mess.
Obvious answer is obvious, but... I KNEW IT WAS SARUMAN!! I mean, who else could it have been? (Though I was confused because it felt like the hobbits had JUST seen Saruman on the road on their way back to the Shire, but I guess they spent a long time in Rivendell, long enough for him to come to the Shire and set up camp.)
HOLY FUCKING SHIT I DID NOT SEE WORMTONGUE KILLING SARUMAN COMING. I actually feel really sorry for Wormtongue now, even though I also can't stand him. What a pathetic man. And the hobbits killing Wormtongue... Damn. Just... damn.
"'Who's this young giant with the loud voice [Fredegar] whispered. 'Not little Pippin! What's your size in hats now?'"
Awww, Fredegar... He was a real one, seriously, after how he stayed behind to fool everyone into thinking Frodo had remained at Crickhollow. And yet he was so easily forgotten... until now, when he's rescued from prison, and teases Pippin in the process in the manner of Shire hobbits. Oh, I love that so much.
Speaking of things I love... Lobelia getting a round of applause when she is freed from prison was pleasantly unexpected. And then there's:
"When the poor creature died next Spring- she was after all more than a hundred years old- Frodo was surprised and much moved: she had left all that remained of her money and of Lotho's for him to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the troubles. So that feud was ended."
So, it wasn't really a redemption ARC, but she did redeem herself, and I'm happy that she and Frodo manage to somewhat patch things up. Now that we've seen true evil in this book, Lobelia's crime of coveting Bag End hardly seems like something to complain about.
"'What can I do with this?' said Sam.
"'Throw it in the air on a breezy day and let it do its work!' said Pippin.
'Of what?' said Sam.
"'Choose one spot as a nursery, and see what happens to the plants there,' said Merry.
"'But I'm sure the Lady would not like me to keep it all for my own garden, now that so many folk have suffered,' said Sam.
"'Use all the wits and knowledge you have of your own, Sam,' said Frodo, 'and then use the dirt to help your work and better it. And use it sparingly. There is not much here, and I expect every grain has value.'"
I've said it before, but GOD I LOVE HOBBIT BANTER SO MUCH. Especially silly little Pippin <3 I also love that Frodo is encouraging Sam by showing his belief in him- not telling him what to do, exactly, but rather telling him to do what he thinks is best. It took me long enough, but man... I truly love Frodo. (Even though I will always prefer Bilbo as a character.)
The fact that there's a mallorn tree at Bag End in place of the Party Tree makes me so happy. I'm getting a strong feeling of things coming full circle.
Now, this next part made me INSANE so I have to quote it in its entirety:
"When at last all was ready Frodo said: 'When are you going to move in and join me, Sam?'
"Sam looked a bit awkward.
"'There is no need to come yet, if you don't want to,' said Frodo. "But you know the Gaffer is close at hand, and he will be very well looked after by Widow Rumble.'
"'It's not that, Mr. Frodo,' said Sam, and he went very red.
"'Well, what is it?'
"'It's Rosie, Rose Cotton,' said Sam. 'It seems she didn't like my going abroad at all, poor lass; but as I hadn't spoken, she couldn't say so. And I didn't speak, because I had a job to do first. But now I have spoken, and she says;: 'Well, you've wasted a year, so why wait longer?' 'Wasted?' I says. I wouldn't call it that.' Still I see what she means. I feel torn in two, as you might say.'
"'I see,' said Frodo: 'you want to get married, and yet you want to live with me in Bag End too? But my dear Sam, how easy! Get married as soon as you can, and then move in with Rosie. There's room enough in Bag End for as big a family as you could wish for.'"
Like... Oh my god. First of all, the fact that Frodo wanted Sam to move in with him. After the journey they've been on together, there is no way in hell that they can ever be parted. Their friendship has been forged in fire. Secondly... I continue to admire Rosie's guts, lol. Thirdly... I've said before that the aroace dream is to live with all your friends, and FRODO IS LIVING THAT DREAM AND I'M SO JEALOUS. To me, this section makes it clear that Sam considers his relationship with Rosie to be just as important as his relationship with Frodo, and Frodo encourages that, and now they're all going to live together in blissful relationship anarchy and I LOVE IT. (I know, I know, Tolkien wasn't thinking of anything like that at the time when he wrote this, but clearly I've found something in this relationship that resonates with me and I'm so grateful.)
"And if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care."
I think this means that Frodo feels lucky because Sam and Rosie are both looking after him (as servants, I guess, so maybe that "blissful relationship anarchy" thing was waaaay off the mark, because them being servants to Frodo implies a hierarchy). But I also like to imagine that Frodo is reflecting on how well Rosie looks after Sam.
"Merry and Pippin lived together for some time at Crickhollow, and there was much coming and going between Buckland and Bag End. The two young Travellers cut a great dash in the Shire with their songs and their tales and their finery, and their wonderful parties. 'Lordly' folk called them, meaning nothing but good; for it warmed all hearts to see them go riding by with their mail-shirts so bright and their shields so splendid, laughing and singing songs of far away; and if they were now large and magnificent, they were unchanged otherwise, unless they were indeed more fairspoken and more jovial and full of merriment than ever before."
Ohhhh this is such a good ending for Merry & Pippin <3 I'm SO PROUD of my babies. And I want to be invited to one of those parties. Love how they moved in together, too (and that the Crickhollow home didn't go to waste!).
However, not all is fine and well:
"Frodo dropped quietly out of all the doings of the Shire, and Sam was pained to notice how little honour he had in his own country. Few people knew or wanted to know about his deeds and adventures; their admiration and respect were given mostly to Mr. Meriadoc and Mr. Peregrin and (if Sam had known it) to himself."
Poor Frodo is almost certainly feeling out of place, after realizing that he isn't able to find the healing he seeks in the Shire. Somehow, I doubt he would want his deeds to be exalted in the Shire like they were in Gondor (I imagine he's still got some Big Feelings about the whole incident at Mount Doom when he claimed the Ring), so I have a feeling that he's all too happy to not receive much attention, but I understand Sam's feelings, since he admires Frodo so much. On another note, I love that Sam has maintained his humility to the end.
"'Well, Mr. Frodo,' [Sam] said, 'I'm in a bit of a fix. Rose and me had settled to call him Frodo, with your leave; but it's not HIM, it's HER. Though as pretty a maidchild as any one could hope for, taking after Rose more than me, luckily.'"
...and yet, there's such a thing as being TOO humble, to the point where it turns into self-deprecation, and Sam is unfortunately adept at crossing that line. Which is to say: I'm sure your child is all the more beautiful for taking after you as well as Rosie, Sam, would you kindly shut your mouth? (How adorable is it that he also wanted to name his firstborn after Frodo?)
"'I wish I could go all the way with you to Rivendell, Mr. Frodo, and see Mr. Bilbo,' said Sam. 'And yet the only place I really want to be in is here. I am that torn in two.'
"'Poor Sam! It will feel like that, I am afraid,' said Frodo. 'But you will be healed. You were meant to be solid and whole, and you will be.'"
Um... I have a LOT of thoughts on this, and I'm going to get into them VERY soon.
The moment where Frodo is singing the Walking Song and then the elves show up and respond with their version of it is so beautiful. I can hear exactly what that sounds like in my head (to the tune that I made up for it). In fact, I find it so lovely that I have to type out the lyrics here:
A! Elberth Gilthoniel!
silivren penna miriel
o menel aglar elenath
Gilthoniel, A! Elbereth!
We still remember we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees
The starlight on the Western Seas.
(I'm going to have to comb through the book to see if I can figure out where "Elbereth Gilthoniel" came from, because those words have cropped up a few times and I don't remember their significance.)
I had completely forgotten that Elrond had a Ring, though I don't remember if this was actually revealed in the book previously or if it's just something I had known from some other source. (I was convinced that the opening to the first movie showed Elrond as one of the elves who received a Ring of Power, but I recently watched the first movie again (in theaters, no less!) and I found that I was mistaken. Hmm.) Either way, it's really cool to see him wearing it, and to have it properly named at last.
"Then Bilbo woke and opened his eyes. 'Hullo, Frodo!' he said. 'Well, I have passed the Old Took today! So that's settled. And now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey. Are you coming?'"
BILBO <333 I love him so, so much. And here is where his story ends. It's been QUITE a journey, indeed.
And now, we get the part that I have BIG FEELINGS about:
"'Yes, I am coming,' said Frodo. 'The Ring-bearers should go together.'
"'Where are you going, Master?' cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.
"'To the Havens, Sam,' said Frodo.
"'And I can't come.'
""No, Sam. Not yet anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer, if only for a little while. Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.'
So, my first reaction to this was: "WTF, that's so unfair to Sam!" Because I personally believe that Sam deserved to have it all. The tensions between his marital life and his life in service to Frodo had already come up earlier, and I understand the difficulty in transitioning from one stage of life to another, but... it's not like his relationship with Frodo was of lesser importance to his relationship with Rosie. If it wasn't, then Sam wouldn't feel so torn in two- caught in the struggle of trying to balance two things that mean an equal amount to him. I just wanted Sam to be able to have it both ways. But I guess the point is... Frodo is leaving, and therefore Sam CAN'T have it both ways. I just wish Frodo leaving hadn't been presented as the solution to Sam feeling "torn in two," instead of his leaving bringing resolution to Sam's conflict by default. And obviously, it's not like Frodo left BECAUSE he wanted Sam to make his choice... he left because he needed to recover from the ordeal he'd been through as a Ring-bearer, and he wasn't able to heal in the Shire. But the way Frodo speaks as if it's a good thing to leave because Sam will not longer have to feel so conflicted... I don't know if I'm explaining any of this correctly, I just selfishly wish on Sam's behalf that there had been an easier way. (I also want to point out that I think I would have been more okay with this if it had been explicitly stated how this was an important step for Sam to finally be his own person and stop living for other people, i.e. Frodo. I've mentioned that I think Sam's loyalty to Frodo stems from his feelings of low self-esteem that the Gaffer has unfortunately ingrained within him, and maybe Frodo has to leave for Sam to finally start living for himself. But Frodo didn't HAVE to leave for that to happen. I just... ugh.)
"'But,' said Sam, and tears started in his eyes, 'I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.'"
Welp, add that to my list of lines delivered by Sam that make me want to curl up in a ball and cry... I don't know what it is about this line, but I can HEAR Sam's voice in my head delivering this in the most plaintive, broken way. UGH.
"'So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be to , Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them [...] And you also have Rose, and Elanor, and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin, and perhaps more that I cannot see.'"
Okay, so when I first read this, I thought... "is Frodo a psychic now??" It seemed awfully strange to me that he was able to predict all the names of Sam's children, just like that. However, I saw it pointed out somewhere that Sam wrote the last few pages of the Red Book, and The Lord of the Rings is supposed to be a translation of the Red Book... So maybe Sam wrote this part himself, after all of his children had been born. (I also have to point out how adorable it is that Sam named his sons after all of his friends, not just Frodo. Awww...)
"Then Cirdan led them to the Havens, and there was a white ship, and upon the quay beside a great grey horse stood a figure robed all in white awaiting them. As he turned and came towards them Frodo saw that Gandalf now wore openly on his hand the Third Ring, Narya the Great, and stone upon it was red as fire."
OHHHH MY GOD THAT REVEAL WAS AMAZING!!! Honestly, as obvious as it may seem now, I NEVER guessed that Gandalf had a Ring of Power. I love so much that this revelation was saved until the second to last page. (I also can't wait to see the third movie in the theater this weekend so I can see if Gandalf is shown wearing the ring in his final scene of the film... because that really should have been in the movie if it wasn't.)
"But even as they stood there, and the Elves were going aboard, and all was being made ready to depart, up rode Merry and Pippin in great haste. and amid his tears Pippin laughed.
"'You tried to give us the slip once before and failed, Frodo,' he said. 'This time you have nearly succeeded, but you have failed again.'"
YESSS!!! It wouldn't have been the same if Frodo left without the rest of his friends seeing him off!!
"'Well, here at last. dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.'"
Oh, thanks Gandalf, that helps a lot with the tears that are surely coming for me during this scene. (Except, again, I actually didn't cry when reading the ending... Not until I had listened to the audiobook version of it, and then it absolutely broke me, lol. I don't know why hearing this scene read aloud hit so much harder for me than reading it on my own.)
"Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went aboard, and the sails were drawn up and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth, and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out onto the High Seas and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise."
This is just so beautiful, I had to quote it here. I really, really hope Frodo managed to find peace in the end- and I think this little glimpse of the land to which he was sailing shows that he did. (Also, I'm sorry, but they should have had Frodo kiss both Merry and Pippin in the movie. Although that might have made the kiss that he did give to Sam seem anticlimactic.)
And then, at last...
"At last they rose over the downs and took the East Road, and then Merry and Pippin rode on to Buckland, and already they were singing again as they went. But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor on his lap.
"He drew a deep breath. 'Well, I'm back,' he said."
Well... I'm done. I am DONE. I'm done with this book, I'm done blogging about it... and emotionally, I am DONE, because the beautiful simplicity of the ending just slayed me. Somehow, it brought it all back to the imagery of the Walking Song, how "upon the hearth, the fire is red" and then at the end of his journey (and the song), the protagonist goes home to bed. It's just... so perfect an ending for a simple, kind-hearted character like Sam. All is well that ends well. <3
SO! It's been a few weeks since I finished this book, so I feel distant enough from it that I don't really have enough energy to gush and enthuse about the experience of reading it. Suffice to say, it was a gripping, emotionally-engaging story with memorable characters who will live in my head for a long time, and it's definitely worthy of its "greatest of all time" status.
As far as Tolkien goes, though... My favorite book of his will always be Mr. Bliss. And that's the solid truth. (Maybe I'll make a post about Mr. Bliss another time.)
"Then the hobbits suddenly realized that people had looked at them with amazement not out of surprise at their return so much as in wonder at their gear. They themselves had become so used to warfare and to riding in well-arrayed companies that they had quite forgotten that the bright mail peeping from under their cloaks, and the helms of Gondor and the Mark, and the fair devices on their shields, would seem outlandish in their own country."
This is the first time when reading LOTR that I've felt that Tolkien was writing from real-life experience, or at least that I can easily see a real-world parallel in what he's written. Namely, this feels like how I'd imagine it feels for soldiers to return to civilian life after having been deployed in the armed forces. I think it's great that this culture shock is depicted here, because it really conveys the sense of an adventure ending, as if the hobbits are just waking up after having been asleep all the time when they'd been away. (I don't know if this sentence makes any sense, lol.)
Butterbur finding out that the man he knew as Strider has become King is amazing. I love how the concept of a "king" is just that- an abstract concept- and putting a face and name to that concept doesn't really make it real for him, just a bizarre notion that I'm sure he doesn't fully believe. Again, I can see a real-world parallel here, where people in rural areas aren't always so concerned with politics, especially when it doesn't affect them. (This is not me saying that people who live in rural areas are ignorant, just that it's easier to ignore these things when you don't have regular ways of keeping up with the media and you have other things to worry about.)
"I've something that belongs to you. If you recollect Bill Ferny and the horsethieving: his pony as you bought, well, it's here."
OH MY GOD, BILL THE PONY IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN BREE!! What a happy thing to find out. At least there's SOME joy in the hobbits' homecoming.
"'I am with you at present,' said Gandalf, 'but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the Shire. You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. Do you not yet understand? My time is over: And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now.'"
Wait, was LOTR a coming of age story all along? This is definitely something that's been coming for a long time- Gandalf leaving the hobbits to fight for themselves. I was starting to get the feeling, particularly in Minas Tirith when Pippin was looking for Gandalf because he had been known to always fix things, that the hobbits (or at least, Pippin and sometimes Merry) had been relying on Gandalf too much to save the day. Now those two have become knights of two different kingdoms, and Sam & Frodo made it to Mordor and came back alive. They can take care of themselves. And so... goodbye, Gandalf.
"'I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil; such a talk as I have not had in all my time.'"
Man, I'd pay to hear THAT conversation, is all I can say to that.
It's painful to read about the hobbits coming back and not taking the new regime seriously. One gets the impression that they have NO IDEA what they're in for, and haven't grasped the severity of the situation... just like when they first started out on their journey, and neither Merry nor Pippin and maybe not even Sam had fully grasped how dangerous their journey was going to be. But the danger wasn't supposed to follow them home... the Shire was the one place that they could always count on being safe and protected. So I can see why they can't fully wrap their minds around what's going on just yet.
"'Well I am staggered!' said Pippin. 'Of all the ends to our journey that is the very last I should have thought of: to have to fight half-orcs and ruffians in the Shire itself-- to rescue Lotho Pimple!'"
"'Fight?' said Frodo. 'Well, I suppose it may come to that. But remember: there is to be no slaying of hobbits not even if they have gone over to the other side [...] No hobbit has ever killed another on purpose in the Shire, and it is not to begin now. And nobody is to be killed at all, if it can be helped.'"
"'But if there are many of these ruffians,' said Merry, 'it will certainly mean fighting. You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo.'"
First of all: I think it's hilarious that Pippin is so appalled at the thought of rescuing someone that he and the others never got along with. Secondly: Frodo's sudden bout of pacifism (which I guess wasn't all that sudden, because it was in Mordor that he decided not to ever use his sword again) only reinforces the theme that I think Eowyn's story first introduced: that violence is never the answer and only leads to more suffering. It's very noble of Frodo to feel this way, and I think the narrative is supporting his decision. However, Merry has a great point (though tbh I just quoted that line because of how frequently Movie!Frodo appears to be shocked and sad. It kind of cracked me up).
"'I've an idea,' said Sam. 'Let's go to old Tom Cotton's down South Lane! He always was a stout fellow. And he has a lot of lads that were all friends of mine.'"
You sure you want to go there because Tom Cotton can help you, Sam... or is it because you're missing your girlfriend? :P
"'What about Mrs. Cotton and Rosie?' said Sam. 'It isn't safe yet for them to be left all alone.'
"'My Nibs is with them. But you can go and help him, if you have a mind,' said Farmer Cotton with a grin."
OHHHHH Mr. Cotton knows what's up, and he KNOWS that Sam likes Rosie :'D :'D
"'Hullo, Sam! Where've you been? They said you were dead; but I've been expecting you since the Spring. You haven't hurried, have you?'"
Oh my god! Rosie is immediately taking Sam to task for not showing up earlier! I admire her already. She's got guts.
"'Well, be off with you!' said Rosie. 'If you've been looking after Mr. Frodo all this while, what d'you want to leave him for, as soon as things look dangerous?'
"This was too much for Sam. It needed a week's answer, or none."
This, on the other hand... I have no idea how to take this. At first, I read it as Rosie being sarcastic and holding Sam's disappearance over his head- "if you've spent all that time with Mr. Frodo, why don't you go back to him? What's another few hours going to do?" I thiiiiink this is the interpretation the narrative supports, with Sam's response being one of abject refusal to deal with the concerns Rosie is raising right at the moment... but at the same time, I feel like it could also be read as her genuinely saying "you've been with Mr. Frodo for so long, you ought to go back to him and help out," and Sam is just flabbergasted that she'd be so accepting. I have a feeling it's the former interpretation, though, which puts Rosie in a not-entirely-agreeable light in my eyes. As I understand it, she and Sam had probably been courting, or at least been interested in each other, but Sam never made any formal proposal, so Rosie can't complain too much, and besides, she has no idea what kind of hell Sam went through for "Mr. Frodo..." But I'm also being way too sentimental about the bond that Sam and Frodo share, and I think it probably is reasonable of Rosie to be upset not to have heard from the one she loves for so long.
Wow, I love the story of Lobelia trying to resist being arrested. I sense a redemption arc coming for her.
"'I am very sorry, Mr. Gamgee,' said Frodo. 'But now I've come back, I'll do my best to make amends.'
"'Well, you can't say fairer than that,' said the gaffer. 'Mr. Frodo Baggins is a real gentlehobbit, I always have said, whatever you may think of some others of the name, begging your pardon. And I hope my Sam's behaved hisself and given satisfaction?'
Oh my god, poor Bilbo out here still catching strays :P Also... god, I have the mind of a horny teenager and I'm so sorry, but... "given satisfaction," eh? :P
"'Perfect satisfaction, Mr. Gamgee,' said Frodo. 'Indeed, if you will believe it, he's now one of the most famous people in all the lands, and they are making songs about his deeds from here to the Sea and beyond the Freat River.' Sam blushed, but he looked gratefully at Frodo, for Rosie's eyes were shining and she was smiling at him."
Awww Frodo is such a bro!! (Let's call him Fro-bro. :P)
So here it is... the Scouring of the Shire. All things considered, it could have gone much worse, and I'm glad that the hobbits managed to rise up and defeat their oppressors. Still, it's heartbreaking that it happened at all in the first place. It reminds me a little bit of Ursula K. Le Guin's book The Word For World is Forest, where colonizers from Earth take over a foreign planet and force the native population, who had only ever known peace, into killing them out of self-defense. That society will never know innocence again, and neither will the hobbits of the Shire after this. Frodo wondered "where shall I find rest?" on his way back home, and I feel like what just happened shows that he can't find rest anywhere, not even back home. It will never return to the way it was before, for him or for anyone else who lived through this.
"'This is worse than Mordor!' said Sam. 'Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined.'"
On the one hand... I can't possible see how this could be worse than Mordor. On the other hand... I understand what Sam is saying, poor thing. It's worse because Mordor was just as bad as they were expecting, but the Shire is Home and it's supposed to be safe and untouched by evil. After all the triumph and praise the hobbits received in Gondor, these travelers believed that their work was done, but now they have to roll up their sleeves and sort out a new mess.
Obvious answer is obvious, but... I KNEW IT WAS SARUMAN!! I mean, who else could it have been? (Though I was confused because it felt like the hobbits had JUST seen Saruman on the road on their way back to the Shire, but I guess they spent a long time in Rivendell, long enough for him to come to the Shire and set up camp.)
HOLY FUCKING SHIT I DID NOT SEE WORMTONGUE KILLING SARUMAN COMING. I actually feel really sorry for Wormtongue now, even though I also can't stand him. What a pathetic man. And the hobbits killing Wormtongue... Damn. Just... damn.
"'Who's this young giant with the loud voice [Fredegar] whispered. 'Not little Pippin! What's your size in hats now?'"
Awww, Fredegar... He was a real one, seriously, after how he stayed behind to fool everyone into thinking Frodo had remained at Crickhollow. And yet he was so easily forgotten... until now, when he's rescued from prison, and teases Pippin in the process in the manner of Shire hobbits. Oh, I love that so much.
Speaking of things I love... Lobelia getting a round of applause when she is freed from prison was pleasantly unexpected. And then there's:
"When the poor creature died next Spring- she was after all more than a hundred years old- Frodo was surprised and much moved: she had left all that remained of her money and of Lotho's for him to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the troubles. So that feud was ended."
So, it wasn't really a redemption ARC, but she did redeem herself, and I'm happy that she and Frodo manage to somewhat patch things up. Now that we've seen true evil in this book, Lobelia's crime of coveting Bag End hardly seems like something to complain about.
"'What can I do with this?' said Sam.
"'Throw it in the air on a breezy day and let it do its work!' said Pippin.
'Of what?' said Sam.
"'Choose one spot as a nursery, and see what happens to the plants there,' said Merry.
"'But I'm sure the Lady would not like me to keep it all for my own garden, now that so many folk have suffered,' said Sam.
"'Use all the wits and knowledge you have of your own, Sam,' said Frodo, 'and then use the dirt to help your work and better it. And use it sparingly. There is not much here, and I expect every grain has value.'"
I've said it before, but GOD I LOVE HOBBIT BANTER SO MUCH. Especially silly little Pippin <3 I also love that Frodo is encouraging Sam by showing his belief in him- not telling him what to do, exactly, but rather telling him to do what he thinks is best. It took me long enough, but man... I truly love Frodo. (Even though I will always prefer Bilbo as a character.)
The fact that there's a mallorn tree at Bag End in place of the Party Tree makes me so happy. I'm getting a strong feeling of things coming full circle.
Now, this next part made me INSANE so I have to quote it in its entirety:
"When at last all was ready Frodo said: 'When are you going to move in and join me, Sam?'
"Sam looked a bit awkward.
"'There is no need to come yet, if you don't want to,' said Frodo. "But you know the Gaffer is close at hand, and he will be very well looked after by Widow Rumble.'
"'It's not that, Mr. Frodo,' said Sam, and he went very red.
"'Well, what is it?'
"'It's Rosie, Rose Cotton,' said Sam. 'It seems she didn't like my going abroad at all, poor lass; but as I hadn't spoken, she couldn't say so. And I didn't speak, because I had a job to do first. But now I have spoken, and she says;: 'Well, you've wasted a year, so why wait longer?' 'Wasted?' I says. I wouldn't call it that.' Still I see what she means. I feel torn in two, as you might say.'
"'I see,' said Frodo: 'you want to get married, and yet you want to live with me in Bag End too? But my dear Sam, how easy! Get married as soon as you can, and then move in with Rosie. There's room enough in Bag End for as big a family as you could wish for.'"
Like... Oh my god. First of all, the fact that Frodo wanted Sam to move in with him. After the journey they've been on together, there is no way in hell that they can ever be parted. Their friendship has been forged in fire. Secondly... I continue to admire Rosie's guts, lol. Thirdly... I've said before that the aroace dream is to live with all your friends, and FRODO IS LIVING THAT DREAM AND I'M SO JEALOUS. To me, this section makes it clear that Sam considers his relationship with Rosie to be just as important as his relationship with Frodo, and Frodo encourages that, and now they're all going to live together in blissful relationship anarchy and I LOVE IT. (I know, I know, Tolkien wasn't thinking of anything like that at the time when he wrote this, but clearly I've found something in this relationship that resonates with me and I'm so grateful.)
"And if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care."
I think this means that Frodo feels lucky because Sam and Rosie are both looking after him (as servants, I guess, so maybe that "blissful relationship anarchy" thing was waaaay off the mark, because them being servants to Frodo implies a hierarchy). But I also like to imagine that Frodo is reflecting on how well Rosie looks after Sam.
"Merry and Pippin lived together for some time at Crickhollow, and there was much coming and going between Buckland and Bag End. The two young Travellers cut a great dash in the Shire with their songs and their tales and their finery, and their wonderful parties. 'Lordly' folk called them, meaning nothing but good; for it warmed all hearts to see them go riding by with their mail-shirts so bright and their shields so splendid, laughing and singing songs of far away; and if they were now large and magnificent, they were unchanged otherwise, unless they were indeed more fairspoken and more jovial and full of merriment than ever before."
Ohhhh this is such a good ending for Merry & Pippin <3 I'm SO PROUD of my babies. And I want to be invited to one of those parties. Love how they moved in together, too (and that the Crickhollow home didn't go to waste!).
However, not all is fine and well:
"Frodo dropped quietly out of all the doings of the Shire, and Sam was pained to notice how little honour he had in his own country. Few people knew or wanted to know about his deeds and adventures; their admiration and respect were given mostly to Mr. Meriadoc and Mr. Peregrin and (if Sam had known it) to himself."
Poor Frodo is almost certainly feeling out of place, after realizing that he isn't able to find the healing he seeks in the Shire. Somehow, I doubt he would want his deeds to be exalted in the Shire like they were in Gondor (I imagine he's still got some Big Feelings about the whole incident at Mount Doom when he claimed the Ring), so I have a feeling that he's all too happy to not receive much attention, but I understand Sam's feelings, since he admires Frodo so much. On another note, I love that Sam has maintained his humility to the end.
"'Well, Mr. Frodo,' [Sam] said, 'I'm in a bit of a fix. Rose and me had settled to call him Frodo, with your leave; but it's not HIM, it's HER. Though as pretty a maidchild as any one could hope for, taking after Rose more than me, luckily.'"
...and yet, there's such a thing as being TOO humble, to the point where it turns into self-deprecation, and Sam is unfortunately adept at crossing that line. Which is to say: I'm sure your child is all the more beautiful for taking after you as well as Rosie, Sam, would you kindly shut your mouth? (How adorable is it that he also wanted to name his firstborn after Frodo?)
"'I wish I could go all the way with you to Rivendell, Mr. Frodo, and see Mr. Bilbo,' said Sam. 'And yet the only place I really want to be in is here. I am that torn in two.'
"'Poor Sam! It will feel like that, I am afraid,' said Frodo. 'But you will be healed. You were meant to be solid and whole, and you will be.'"
Um... I have a LOT of thoughts on this, and I'm going to get into them VERY soon.
The moment where Frodo is singing the Walking Song and then the elves show up and respond with their version of it is so beautiful. I can hear exactly what that sounds like in my head (to the tune that I made up for it). In fact, I find it so lovely that I have to type out the lyrics here:
A! Elberth Gilthoniel!
silivren penna miriel
o menel aglar elenath
Gilthoniel, A! Elbereth!
We still remember we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees
The starlight on the Western Seas.
(I'm going to have to comb through the book to see if I can figure out where "Elbereth Gilthoniel" came from, because those words have cropped up a few times and I don't remember their significance.)
I had completely forgotten that Elrond had a Ring, though I don't remember if this was actually revealed in the book previously or if it's just something I had known from some other source. (I was convinced that the opening to the first movie showed Elrond as one of the elves who received a Ring of Power, but I recently watched the first movie again (in theaters, no less!) and I found that I was mistaken. Hmm.) Either way, it's really cool to see him wearing it, and to have it properly named at last.
"Then Bilbo woke and opened his eyes. 'Hullo, Frodo!' he said. 'Well, I have passed the Old Took today! So that's settled. And now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey. Are you coming?'"
BILBO <333 I love him so, so much. And here is where his story ends. It's been QUITE a journey, indeed.
And now, we get the part that I have BIG FEELINGS about:
"'Yes, I am coming,' said Frodo. 'The Ring-bearers should go together.'
"'Where are you going, Master?' cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.
"'To the Havens, Sam,' said Frodo.
"'And I can't come.'
""No, Sam. Not yet anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer, if only for a little while. Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.'
So, my first reaction to this was: "WTF, that's so unfair to Sam!" Because I personally believe that Sam deserved to have it all. The tensions between his marital life and his life in service to Frodo had already come up earlier, and I understand the difficulty in transitioning from one stage of life to another, but... it's not like his relationship with Frodo was of lesser importance to his relationship with Rosie. If it wasn't, then Sam wouldn't feel so torn in two- caught in the struggle of trying to balance two things that mean an equal amount to him. I just wanted Sam to be able to have it both ways. But I guess the point is... Frodo is leaving, and therefore Sam CAN'T have it both ways. I just wish Frodo leaving hadn't been presented as the solution to Sam feeling "torn in two," instead of his leaving bringing resolution to Sam's conflict by default. And obviously, it's not like Frodo left BECAUSE he wanted Sam to make his choice... he left because he needed to recover from the ordeal he'd been through as a Ring-bearer, and he wasn't able to heal in the Shire. But the way Frodo speaks as if it's a good thing to leave because Sam will not longer have to feel so conflicted... I don't know if I'm explaining any of this correctly, I just selfishly wish on Sam's behalf that there had been an easier way. (I also want to point out that I think I would have been more okay with this if it had been explicitly stated how this was an important step for Sam to finally be his own person and stop living for other people, i.e. Frodo. I've mentioned that I think Sam's loyalty to Frodo stems from his feelings of low self-esteem that the Gaffer has unfortunately ingrained within him, and maybe Frodo has to leave for Sam to finally start living for himself. But Frodo didn't HAVE to leave for that to happen. I just... ugh.)
"'But,' said Sam, and tears started in his eyes, 'I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.'"
Welp, add that to my list of lines delivered by Sam that make me want to curl up in a ball and cry... I don't know what it is about this line, but I can HEAR Sam's voice in my head delivering this in the most plaintive, broken way. UGH.
"'So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be to , Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them [...] And you also have Rose, and Elanor, and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin, and perhaps more that I cannot see.'"
Okay, so when I first read this, I thought... "is Frodo a psychic now??" It seemed awfully strange to me that he was able to predict all the names of Sam's children, just like that. However, I saw it pointed out somewhere that Sam wrote the last few pages of the Red Book, and The Lord of the Rings is supposed to be a translation of the Red Book... So maybe Sam wrote this part himself, after all of his children had been born. (I also have to point out how adorable it is that Sam named his sons after all of his friends, not just Frodo. Awww...)
"Then Cirdan led them to the Havens, and there was a white ship, and upon the quay beside a great grey horse stood a figure robed all in white awaiting them. As he turned and came towards them Frodo saw that Gandalf now wore openly on his hand the Third Ring, Narya the Great, and stone upon it was red as fire."
OHHHH MY GOD THAT REVEAL WAS AMAZING!!! Honestly, as obvious as it may seem now, I NEVER guessed that Gandalf had a Ring of Power. I love so much that this revelation was saved until the second to last page. (I also can't wait to see the third movie in the theater this weekend so I can see if Gandalf is shown wearing the ring in his final scene of the film... because that really should have been in the movie if it wasn't.)
"But even as they stood there, and the Elves were going aboard, and all was being made ready to depart, up rode Merry and Pippin in great haste. and amid his tears Pippin laughed.
"'You tried to give us the slip once before and failed, Frodo,' he said. 'This time you have nearly succeeded, but you have failed again.'"
YESSS!!! It wouldn't have been the same if Frodo left without the rest of his friends seeing him off!!
"'Well, here at last. dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.'"
Oh, thanks Gandalf, that helps a lot with the tears that are surely coming for me during this scene. (Except, again, I actually didn't cry when reading the ending... Not until I had listened to the audiobook version of it, and then it absolutely broke me, lol. I don't know why hearing this scene read aloud hit so much harder for me than reading it on my own.)
"Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went aboard, and the sails were drawn up and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth, and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out onto the High Seas and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise."
This is just so beautiful, I had to quote it here. I really, really hope Frodo managed to find peace in the end- and I think this little glimpse of the land to which he was sailing shows that he did. (Also, I'm sorry, but they should have had Frodo kiss both Merry and Pippin in the movie. Although that might have made the kiss that he did give to Sam seem anticlimactic.)
And then, at last...
"At last they rose over the downs and took the East Road, and then Merry and Pippin rode on to Buckland, and already they were singing again as they went. But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor on his lap.
"He drew a deep breath. 'Well, I'm back,' he said."
Well... I'm done. I am DONE. I'm done with this book, I'm done blogging about it... and emotionally, I am DONE, because the beautiful simplicity of the ending just slayed me. Somehow, it brought it all back to the imagery of the Walking Song, how "upon the hearth, the fire is red" and then at the end of his journey (and the song), the protagonist goes home to bed. It's just... so perfect an ending for a simple, kind-hearted character like Sam. All is well that ends well. <3
SO! It's been a few weeks since I finished this book, so I feel distant enough from it that I don't really have enough energy to gush and enthuse about the experience of reading it. Suffice to say, it was a gripping, emotionally-engaging story with memorable characters who will live in my head for a long time, and it's definitely worthy of its "greatest of all time" status.
As far as Tolkien goes, though... My favorite book of his will always be Mr. Bliss. And that's the solid truth. (Maybe I'll make a post about Mr. Bliss another time.)
