LotR -- Book 6 - Chapter 7 - Homeward Bound

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This brief chapter is transitory in nature, taking the remaining five members of the Fellowship from Rivendell almost to the Shire. They and we readers have come full circle – they were at the same places at the same time one year ago. (We have taken longer than that in our Chapter-by-Chapter quest!)

Painful memories of those events mark the journey for Frodo, yet how different this journey is! They are riding on the roads, not walking through the wilderness; taking their time at a leisurely pace instead of being chased; and Gandalf is with them, though Strider is not.

Bree again marks the point of transition between the wide world and their home. There are disturbing signs of changes there, foreboding the events to come in the Shire. Even the outwardly unchanged ‘Prancing Pony’ is different.

Barliman Butterbur has an important function in this part of the story; his accounts of local events serve as narration – and his forgetfulness keeps up the suspense, not revealing too much of what is to come. We see the limited sight here that becomes obvious in the Shire later, with far-away events seeming too storylike to be really interesting to the local people.

There are clues that foreshadow the following chapter – the lack of pipeweed, for example. Now that is something that has always had me wondering – why on earth did Saruman need so much of it?! Not even a chain-smoking wizard could have consumed all of the Shire’s production, could he? With whom did he share it? Then the deaths – how unusual an event it was to have people killed is obvious from Butterbur’s way of saying “killed, killed dead!”

Tolkien’s love of detail and of closure is shown by the fact that even the fate of Bill the pony is shown. That’s another one of the positive things that happens for Sam. Another detail I noticed this time – the White Wizard is wearing a blue cloak, later described as seeming like clouds covering his radiance. Any ideas on the reason for that colour discrepancy?

Butterbur’s words echo a theme that we have seen in the Druadan Forest and will later see in the King’s laws concerning visitors to the Shire: “We want to be let alone.” Tolkien’s love for a form of healthy anarchy comes up here! However, it is seen that evil persons misuse the self-rule of the people and a King is needed to restore peace and order to the lands.

One of the passages I greatly enjoy in this chapter is Butterbur’s slow realization of Strider’s true identity! It puts a smile on my face every time I read it.

The changes in the Shire at which the innkeeper hints are paralleled by the changes in the hobbits themselves. Butterbur recognizes their ability to deal with the upcoming trouble, and Gandalf’s statements not only agree with that, but tell them (and us) that their matters are no longer his concern. The quest was important not only for its own sake, but as training for them. This is indeed a coming of age story, and the hobbits have grown up.

Gandalf now has leisure time to spend in a way he enjoys – chatting with Bombadil. Wouldn’t we love to have an account of that conversation?! What do you think they talked about? Unlike other characters from the beginning of the tale, Tom Bombadil does not show up at the end. Apparently he does not need to, for he has not changed.

The contrast between Frodo and the other hobbits is sharply delineated by the remarks concerning dreaming at the end of the chapter. What makes the difference? Is Frodo already living on another plane of existence in some way?

How do you feel when you read this chapter? Do you hurry through, eager to reach the next one, or are there parts of it that make you pause to think or feel more deeply?


[This discussion thread opens on Sunday, November 6]

[davem]

This is yet another chapter about endings & departures, but also one that looks forward with some hope - Butterbur & the inhabitants of Bree feel things are getting worse by the day & have effectively lost hope, but Gandalf & the Hobbits arrive with news of the new king & the return of the Rangers. It is another example of Eucatastrophe in a sense. In the midst of darkness & hopelessness an unexpected light shines suddenly.

In this chapter, as in the last one, Frodo is present at the begining & then pretty much disappears till the end - it seems this is to be his fate - he disappears quietly into the background & is hardly noticed. Yet two of the most significant & moving lines of the book are uttered by him: 'There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. & 'Well here we are, just the four of us that started out together,' said Merry. 'We have left all the rest behind, one after another. It seems almost like a dream that has slowly faded.'
'Not to me,' said Frodo. 'To me it feels more like falling asleep again.'

‘There is no real going back’ for Frodo not just because he has been wounded, but because he has been awakened. Going back to the Shire will be going back to ‘sleep’. He tells Merry that it will be ‘like falling asleep again’ but we’re not told how he says it - is he happy to be falling asleep again, or sad?

A couple of things struck me on reading through the drafts in HoMe: first, where Frodo is telling Gandalf about the continuing pain from his wounds, he says

‘Its my shoulder, the wound aches. And my finger too, the one that is gone, but I feel pain in it, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me.’

I couldn’t help wondering whether this was meant to refer to the common experience of ‘phantom limbs’ experienced by amputees, or whether it was meant to have greater significance in terms of symbolising Frodo’s incapability of letting go of the Ring.

Second,(& here I’m jumping ahead to the end of the chapter) when Gandalf tells the Hobbits he is not coming to the Shire with them, Tolkien notes:

Gandalf should stay at Bree. He should say ‘You may find trouble, but I want you to settle it for yourselves. Wizards should not interfere in such things. Don’t crack nuts with a sledgehammer, or you’ll crack the kernels. And many times over anyway. I’ll be along sometime’.

Many of us wonder why Gandalf leaves the Hobbits to face the dangers of the Shire alone. His reasons sound good from one perspective - if he doesn’t know that Saruman is in the Shire then its a Hobbit problem, & not one for Wizards to meddle in. Certainly, at the time of writing the above note Saruman was not ‘Sharkey’ (in fact ‘Ruffian Sharkey’ was an orc-man dispatched by Frodo with Sting). But by the final version it is Saruman who is at the heart of the darkness in the Shire, & Gandalf knows something is wrong with the Shire (& whatever that ‘something’ is it is more than the rumour that Butterbur tells him. He knows about the Gate that will be locked to the returning Hobbits) - can it be that he has no idea that Saruman is in the Shire, or is it that he realises that Frodo has grown while Saruman has ‘shrunk’, & that even if Frodo has to confront the Wizard in the end it is the Hobbit who will gain the victory?

Its interesting that in the end Frodo will confront ‘Sharkey’ but that in the early version Frodo will kill Sharkey the orc-man, while in the final one he will attempt to save the life of Sharkey/Saruman. Anyway, that’s the next chapter.

Things get darker, the mood more uneasy for the Hobbits. Its as if, while their news brings relief to Butterbur (its the ‘nicest chat he’s had in a month of Mondays’), his news news brings them new uncertainty & fear. They realise that while there may be a king again he is a long way away. The peaceful, bucolic dream of the Shire & Bree has turned nightmare while they’ve been away ‘saving the world’.

The Hobbits turn for home - once again they leave Bree heading into danger - & say their final Goodbye - to Gandalf. The fantastical ‘dream’ of Wizards, Elves & monsters, & heroes with magic swords is (for most of them) over. They are waking up to ‘real’ life, & its going to prove nasty, cruel, dirty & painful for all of them.

I said the fantastical ‘dream’ was over for most of them. For Frodo it isn’t, because he hasn’t left behind that world of Wizards & Elves, of magic & mystery. He actually became a part of it. In a way that none of the others did he became an ‘archetype’, a figure of story. His place is in that world of legend. The waking world of the Shire will be for him from now on a dark dream from which he will struggle impotently for years to awaken himself. When he succeeds in doing so, he will re-enter the mythic world forever.

For now though, he will have to return to the world he was born in & finish his book. That book will be the record of a world gone forever. That, even more than that final chance of repentance (& thus of salvation) he offers Saruman, is why he couldn’t either stay at Rivendell with Bilbo, or go with Gandalf to visit Bombadil.

Oh, & Sam gets his Bill back.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Another detail I noticed this time – the White Wizard is wearing a blue cloak, later described as seeming like clouds covering his radiance. Any ideas on the reason for that colour discrepancy?

Gandalf's wearing of this blue cloak reminds me of his wearing of "dirty grey rags" as Gimli put it, in Fangorn.

As Gandalf the White, even after the successful completion of his task, does he perhaps still need to cloak his power before the people of Middle-earth? If so, is the fine blue cloak an indication that his task is done, a reward so to speak. No longer does he need to go about dressed in rags...

A funny thing about this cloak is that the description of it reminds me of the cloak that Finduilas wore, and that Faramir gave Eowyn.

Gandalf's Cloak:

And Gandalf, too, was now riding on his tall grey horse, all clad in white with a great mantle of blue and silver overl all, and the long sword Glamdring at his side.

Eowyn's Cloak:

They were clad in warm raiment and heavy cloaks , and over all the Lady Eowyn wore a great blue mantle of the colour of deep summer-night, and it was set with silver stars about hem and throat.

Although not directly implied in these two descriptive passages, I've always imagined these two cloaks as fairly similar...

[davem]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

As Gandalf the White, even after the successful completion of his task, does he perhaps still need to cloak his power before the people of Middle-earth? If so, is the fine blue cloak an indication that his task is done, a reward so to speak. No longer does he need to go about dressed in rags...

I wonder if the blue cloak like clouds covering his radiance has anything to do with the fact that as Olorin he was one of the Maiar who served Manwe & Varda - both of whom are associated with the colour blue (as in the heavens) & with winds & clouds? Maybe now that his task in Middle-earth is done he is 'shifting back into Olorin mode'. After all, white is the colour of the chief wizard in Middle-earth & indicates Gandalf's rank/role in the fight against Sauron. Once Sauron was defeated maybe he felt he could return to 'civies'.

[Lalwendë]

'Are you in pain, Frodo?' said Gandalf quietly as he rode by Frodo's side.
'Well, yes I am,' said Frodo. 'It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.'
'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,' said Gandalf.
'I fear it may be so with mine,' said Frodo. 'There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?'
Gandalf did not answer.

Were this real life, Gandalf’s answer may have been just as non-existent, as what Frodo is suffering from is incredibly difficult to cure. I’ve written about it before, but I have to say again that I think he is clearly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; I recognise the symptoms he is displaying in myself.

This exchange takes place on the anniversary of Frodo’s wounding, and he experiences the pain all over again; it is common for the pain of an old wound to resurface when memories of the original trauma are prompted. In addition, the date is of great significance to Frodo and he mentions “the memory of darkness”. It is the psychological damage that has affected him the most.

Later, he finds it difficult to travel past Weathertop. Had he been alone, I am certain he would have gone out of his way to avoid the place; I feel the same way about the place where I met with disaster. It might seem odd that Frodo quickly forgets how he had been in a depressed mood and yet remembers that it is the anniversary of his wounding, but this is yet another symptom of the condition, having little short term memory through long periods focussing on memories of the initial trauma.

Frodo’s distress quickly clears, but just as quickly descends once again as another memory is triggered by Weathertop. Again this is a classic symptom of PTSD; emotions can suddenly rise or decline according to trigger points.

What is most sad about Frodo’s condition is that he sees no end to it. The phrase “there is no real going back” is incredibly accurate, as there really is no going back from a condition like that; the initial trauma is amplified in the mind as a turning point, as an unwanted epiphany. The whole personality can do an about turn after such events, even for those who do not end up with PTSD (which thankfully does not affect all who go through trauma).

One of the ways of combating the condition is said to be talking about the trauma as much as possible immediately afterwards, as this helps to avoid the events being internalised and surfacing a few months down the line as a real psychological illness. Frodo is notably quiet about what happened to him, and not only that, but he keeps on at his mission and meets up with more traumatic incidents, only serving to deepen his troubles. The burden he has carried has not just been the Ring, it has not just been the responsibility of the future of Middle-earth, or the responsibility for Sam (and Gollum), it has been his own trauma which he has never had the chance to work through. It is not surprising that he made off alone after what happened at Amon Hen.

There is no real cure for all who suffer from this. Therapy can work in some cases, in others only time heals the wounds. Some are never the same again. So when Gandalf does not answer, it may be that instead of thinking about the Grey Havens, he genuinely does not have an answer at that time. When Frodo does eventually go to the Grey Havens, it seems he may be about to get some peace from his suffering, but I wonder whether he is running away from the pain?

Do I think Tolkien intended it to appear that Frodo had PTSD? No. Tolkien probably did not know of the condition in terms of the definition it has today; but he will certainly have seen all the symptoms displayed in colleagues who suffered ”shell shock” (aka PTSD) during WWI.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

In an odd way this chapter has always been one of my very favourites. It provides so many satisfying resolutions – in a way, I’m more disappointed by the film’s exclusion of this movement toward home than the loss of the scouring itself. I think it makes perfect sense for Tolkien to spend so much timed detailing the return home as a journey insofar as it reinforces how ‘far’ the hobbits have traveled in far more than mere geography. Every time I read of Frodo’s re-encounter with Weathertop, or the conversation with Barliman, it really does feel as though a year of my own life has passed, even if in terms of the reading time it’s only been a few days. Testimony to the power of narrative indeed.

But to get back on point: it seems that to regard these chapters as transitional is to perhaps miss the point, for it assumes that they are ‘in between’ states or times – incomplete even. This would be to assume that the ‘real’ events or states of being are represented by those high points of adventure and excitement and joy which come before and after them: the Fall of Sauron, the Marriage of Arwen and Aragorn on the one side and the Scouring and rebirth of the Shire on the other. But of course, life is not lived in these high moments, but in the spaces between them – and these chapters of moving slowly away from the events of the War and toward the Scouring really reinforces that I think. In a real way I think we can see those great events on either side of this journey as bookends rather than defining centres: that is, the Return of the King and the Scouring of the Shire are striking moments of joy and terror that interrupt the usual course of life. For the most part, life is about traveling down the Road with one’s friends and family, saying goodbye, saying hello, seeing things again, realizing how far one has traveled, looking ahead to how far one still has to go, talking about the future, remembering the past, looking for a place to sleep, food to eat, telling stories, waking up, mending shoes, and on. It’s like the man said: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

One of the hobbits, I can’t remember which (shame upon me), makes this point himself: “We were not meant to live upon such heights” (I think it was Frodo to Sam). And these chapters are the best dramatization of that. Hobbits properly do not ‘belong’ either at the Return of the King, nor at the Scouring (the former being too high for them, the latter being too low) but somewhere between these states: somewhere that is comfortable but not indolent, safe but not stagnant, aware of the greater world beyond the Shire but firmly pointed toward Home.

The other thing I would like to say about these chapters is that in addition to being the end of one Story, they mark the beginnings of a number of other, new stories. In a way, the near-obsessive attention paid in them to story-telling and narrative highlights how Middle-Earth is finally emerging from the tyranny of a single Story. For far too long, the West has been in the grip of the story told in the Silmarillion, of the struggle between the Dark Powers and the Elves. Sure, there were lots of little stories along the way but all of them found their place within this larger fabric. But with the defeat of Sauron and, just as important, the passing of the Elves that Story – Ages old – is coming to an end and for the first time in Ages there’s the chance for other stories to begin, free of that overarching narrative: the Fourth Age of Men; the hobbits in the Shire; the Rohirrim, etc.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Excellent thoughts, Fordim! You're right - "transitional" is the wrong word for the events of this chapter.

The quote you mentioned is spoken by Pippin to Merry in "The Houses of Healing":

We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can't live long on the heights.

I'd say that applies not only to those families and not only to Hobbits!

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Excellent thoughts, Fordim! You're right - "transitional" is the wrong word for the events of this chapter.

The quote you mentioned is spoken by Pippin to Merry in "The Houses of Healing": I'd say that applies not only to those families and not only to Hobbits!

Thanks for locating that quote for me...and how interesting that it's Pippin who comes to such a sage and important recognition. We've spent so much time remarking on Merry's remarkable growth into wisdom by way of contrast to Pippin's more 'organic' maturation (that is, he grows in experience rather than apprehension) but perhaps here he shows that he too is able to learn and, more importantly, express a piece of real Wisdom.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I apologise for serial posting but just as I finished the last post I noticed the chapter title and something in there tweaked for me:

"Homeward Bound" as in heading home, but could it not also be: bound to one's home? Not just going there, but bound to it, tied to it irrevocably? In both these chapters all the hobbits have moments in which they articulate the ways in which they are bound to/tied to the Shire...

And perhaps there's even another facet to the title, insofar as the journey to the Shire is but a stage on the longer journey that Frodo is on into the West. He is "homeward bound" via the Shire, but no longer "bound to his home" (i.e. the Shire) as are the other hobbits...

[Estelyn Telcontar]

No apology necessary - what fascinating thoughts on the meaning(s) of "bound"!

[Formendacil]

"Homeward Bound" is quite short--even by the standards of denouement RotK (is it the shortest? I'm typing on my phone in the car, so I'm not sure). It's not quite the farewell tour of "Many Partings," but it does extend the trend of working our way backward: this time all the way through Book I to the edge of the Shire, focussing mostly on Bree and sliding right past Tom Bombadil.

The chapter does two things structurally, each of which prepares us for the coming chapters. First, it prepares us for "The Scouring od the Shire" by showing us Bree, whose troubles prefigure what they'll find across the Brandywine. Second, it shows us Frodo's PTSD, preparing us for "The Grey Havens" and his final decision. In both these respects, it's a bittersweet chapter, the first that has a dominant non-joyful note since before the Ring was destroyed. In this respect, it marks a return to normalcy, though the Hobbits carry with them the marks of change. They return to the Shire, but they are not the same.