Unfinished Tales - Part Three - IV - The Hunt for the Ring

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This chapter fills in some of the gaps and gives additional information on the events related at Elrond's Council. In part, we've seen this made into a short film - "The Hunt for Gollum".

I don't think the narrative gives major new information, but there are some interesting details. Sauron's mistrust of Gollum, in whom "he divined something indomitable... which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him", is a fascinating statement. Gollum is indeed a Hobbit, "tough in the fiber", and Sauron foresees his end.

Another aspect is that of the relationship between Sauron and Saruman. The former is much more aware, and sooner than the wizard thought, of the latter's deception and double-dealing. An important question is also answered - why the Nine Ringwraiths did not search more openly for the Ring. Wormtongue's role is also mentioned in the narrative.

The Nazgul's fear of water is not explained, though CRT mentions the problems involved if it had been applied consistently.

It's interesting to see that such a small matter as the "Halflings' leaf" plays a part in the story! The tension between Saruman and Gandalf is shown by their respective relationship to Hobbits and the Shire.

Which part(s) of this story interest you most? Does it enhance your understanding of the events of the LotR?


(The next chapter thread will open after the Easter weekend.)

[Galadriel55]

I suppose my favourite part of this chapter was about the Ringwraiths. It led me to really feel and understand the others' reactions to them, their fear. When I read LOTR for the first time (or, rather, when my mother read it to me for the first time), I concentrated too much on the plot and too little on everything else. So when I finally came to understand the depth and hidden dimensions of all that goes on in between the lines, the fear of Nazguls was a shrug of the shoulders. Kinda like, yeah, they all are afraid, nice fact. That's what I took from my first hearings/readings, and it continued through my later ones. This chapter was the new refreshing material that was required for me to let go of that attitude and rethink/re-feel LOTR!

[Inziladun]

Like G55, I like the extra information about the Ringwraiths. There's some good insight into the way they thought, and their relationship with their master.

I think it's amusing that Sauron let Gollum go in order to allow him to cause mischief, and maybe to lead Sauron to the Ring. Then Sauron got all in a bother when G. was captured by Aragorn, forcing Sauron to send out the Nazgûl to catch Gollum again. Gandalf described Sauron perfectly with "wise fool".

I've wondered about a particular passage for a while now.

But the Lord of Morgul...determined still to seek northward, hoping maybe to come upon Gollum as well as to discover the Shire. That this would prove to be not far from the hated land of Lórien seemed to him not unlikely, if it was not indeed within the fences of Galadriel. But the power of the White Ring he would not defy, not enter yet into Lórien.

(emphasis mine)

That leads one to believe the location of at least one of the Three, Nenya, was known to Sauron, when all indications in LOTR are that he merely had suspicions.
I guess that can be explained by supposing that the Witch-king sensed a great, dangerous power in Lórien, and wanted to avoid it for that reason, without knowing anything specific about it. That brings the question of the Nazgûl's potential to sense the Three. No, they hadn't been made by Sauron, and didn't have the portion of his power and will that called to Sauron's servants, yet the Three were still bound to the One. Is it odd that the Ringwraiths did not sense Nenya near Lórien, or Vilya when they were later near Rivendell? For that matter, Gandalf stood very close to the Witch-king at the Gate in Minas Tirith while either carrying or wielding Narya. Maybe the WK knew at that point who possessed all the Three, though he was unable to at least to give the knowledge of Narya to Sauron due to his destruction. Food for thought, anyway.

[Galadriel55]

I think it's The Sil that says that those who used their heads soon figured that two of the Three were in Lorien and Rivendel. But Gandalf's was the best choice. No one would have thought. Even Ringwraiths, when feeling some power radiating from him, would not suspect a Ring, because Gandalf has his own natural power. Best hiding spot ever!

[Formendacil]

The biggest thing that comes into my mind after reading "The Hunt for the Ring" is the attention to detail that Tolkien paid to consistency in his storytelling. Obviously, this is hardly a new observation, but it's one brought back in full force reading here. Nor is it just a case of Tolkien making sure that all the actions are chronologically consistent, but he's weaving together all sorts of diverse strands: Gollum, Ringwraiths, Gladden Stoors, Saruman and pipeweed, the White Council, the orkish-spy in Bree, Dol Guldur. In many respects I think of this text as "Sauron vs. Saruman: the War for Eriador."

On the level of details in the text, the only thing that leaped out at me as comment-worthy was the fact that the Fellowship arrived in Moria at a time most fortunate for Gollum. This accords well with what Tolkien (or Gandalf) says about things "being meant to happen," since obviously the Ring would not have been destroyed so timely had Gollum perished in Moria. On top of this element of consistency (things being "meant" to happen and all), it strikes me as an excellent example of Tolkien's ability to tie loose ends together in such a way that it not only explains things, but also fits the story. In this particular case, it ties up the loose end of where Gollum was after he escaped the Elves of Mirkwood, it explains why he just happened to be in Moria when the Fellowship passed through, AND it fits with the "things are meant to happen" point-of-view of The Lord of the Rings.

Also, to address the question of the Witchking not daring to confront the power of Nenya in Lorien, it seems to me that it must have been obvious to Sauron that one of the Rings was in Lorien. The Elves would not have given them to just anyone--indeed, not to hardly anyone--and Galadriel was one of the likeliest candidates. Insofar as Sauron did not "know" that Nenya was in Lorien, it most likely means something like what Galadriel tells Frodo when he sees the Eye in her Mirror: Sauron cannot yet perceive her mind. In other words, he can't experience her possession of the Elven-Ring directly, as he would be able to with the One Ring (and as he once did, after he betrayed Celebrimbor). It seems mostly likely that it was only Narya's keeper that was truly secret from Sauron--a subject, by the by, that I suspect we will be able to address even more once we get to "The Istari."

[BGreg]

I would say this chapter reveals more than it seems at first glance.
The first thing would be the detailed description of the Ringwraiths' hunt for the Ring. In most stories, including the Lord of the Rings, you don't find that many details about the mindset of the 'bad guys', they just appear when you need them the least, and ruin the day for the heroes. However, this chapter gives a remarkable insight to the logistics and movement of the Enemy.

First, we are presented with more details about the Black Riders, including Khamul and the division of the Nazgul between Minas Morgul (7) and Dol Guldur (2). Then, with the Riders' journey towards Gladden fields, through Anorien and Rohan, which led them to Anduin at Sarn Gebir, where they got their horses and uniforms via ferry (!). Afterwards they reached the Gladden fields, but found the Stoors' villages long deserted, according to the 'version A' of the story. More interesting is the 'version B', which we can see only in fragments, which claims the Stoor settlements were not yet deserted, but the Nazgul slaughtered or drove away all the remaining Stoors that have been living there. Later in the text of 'version B', when the Nazgul finally do reach the Shire, the Witch-king finds the Shire "too large for a violent onslaught such as he had made on the Stoors", which is a very interesting concept for Tolkien to consider.

After the dealings with Saruman, which were also very interesting, the Nazgul captured some of Saruman's men and obtained maps, names and further notes about Shire and the Hobbits, crucial to their understanding of the situation. Now the Witch-king divided his group into four pairs, and sent them to scatter around the Shire and its borders. The Black Captain himself stayed at Andrath, Khamul and his companion went to find Hobbiton, and the others were dispatched to various suitable locations to block the possibility of anyone's escape. This strategic positioning of Riders was very important, since Shire was a very large country for nine men to control. Here we can view things from Witch-king's perspective, and he actually seems to have done a decent job, but it turned out that unexpected circumstances prevented him from capitalising on this hunt.

Also, we learn a great deal about Saruman's character, and his treachery of both sides, which does not go unnoticed by the Dark Lord. 'Version C' is the most interesting one, but also the least probable one; Saruman is here actually considering full submission to Gandalf, as he realizes the horror of serving Mordor. Only when he learns of Gandalf's escape, he becomes himself again, arrogant and proud, and determined to claim the Ring for himself.