Strider Said This Strider Did That

[Morsul the Dark]

As we all know Strider was once a Hobbit.

I'm curious if there's any evidence when this change occurred?

I'm asking because listening to Fellowship again there's a narrative quirk. In book one Tolkien calls him Strider (Strider said this Strider did that.) it's not until book two the Council where he becomes Aragorn in narrative.

I see three possibilities.

A) Tolkien wrote Strider as a Hobbit changing his mind at the council, adding a letter from Gandalf and some minor tweaks he doesn't have to change much.

B) he decided it wasn't until Aragorn's full stature is revealed in Rivendell that he "became" Aragorn in Frodo's mind. (This is a bit of license to the idea the Hobbits wrote the book).

C) just a narrative quirk nothing more.... boring.

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

As we all know Strider was once a Hobbit.

I'm curious if there's any evidence when this change occurred?

I'm asking because listening to Fellowship again there's a narrative quirk. In book one Tolkien calls him Strider (Strider said this Strider did that.) it's not until book two the Council where he becomes Aragorn in narrative.

I see three possibilities.

A) Tolkien wrote Strider as a Hobbit changing his mind at the council, adding a letter from Gandalf and some minor tweaks he doesn't have to change much.

B) he decided it wasn't until Aragorn's full stature is revealed in Rivendell that he "became" Aragorn in Frodo's mind. (This is a bit of license to the idea the Hobbits wrote the book).

C) just a narrative quirk nothing more.... boring.

It was during what Christopher Tolkien calls the "Fourth Stage of Writing" that the idea of Aragorn first appeared, although JRR Tolkien had been puzzling over Strider's (AKA Trotter's) real identity since as early as the first draft.

He is first established as a descendant of Isildur in a letter from Gandalf - and then once at Rivendell Tolkien started to flesh out Aragorn's background in the Council of Elrond - including his connection to the Numenoreans (and therefore to Elrond).

So in a sense your possibility A) is the most correct, but the story got to Rivendell multiple times with "Trotter" as a hobbit before Tolkien changed his mind and made him Aragorn.

[Nerwen]

It's actually A and B, I'd say- they're not mutually exclusive.

[Inziladun]

This just now occurred to me (I blame a whirlwind of activity the past couple of weeks ).

Aragorn does go back to being Strider late in LOTR.

When Pippin meets him again in Minas Tirith:

'Strider! How splendid! Do you know I guessed it was you in the black ships.'

And then Merry does it shortly thereafter:

Merry smiled. 'Well then,' he said, 'if Strider will provide what is needed, I will smoke and think.'

And Sam, at the Field of Cormallen:

'Well if this isn't the crown of all!' he said. 'Strider, or I'm still asleep!'

I like that. It's a nice callback to the earlier parts, when the mysterious man at Bree was trusted by the hobbits and came through. Sort of a full circle for Aragorn, from a wandering Ranger held to little account, to a warrior/healer/king who plays a major part in saving the West from Sauron, and back to old Strider again. As he says, he is still Strider, and etches that name into history by making it the name of his royal house.

[Morsul the Dark]

Thanks! Haven't got back to Rotk yet, I tried googling it but found the wrong information.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Mind you, even as Aragorn the heir of Isildur his nickname remained Trotter throughout the drafts and typescripts and was only changed to Strider on the galleys.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Mind you, even as Aragorn the heir of Isildur his nickname remained Trotter throughout the drafts and typescripts and was only changed to Strider on the galleys.

That is all.