"Many Meetings" - Eric's Thoughts

‘Yes,’ Gandalf said, ‘I am here. And you [Mr. Frodo Baggins] are lucky to be here, too, after all the absurd things you have done since you left home.’

That’s certainly one way to put it, Mr. Gandalf.

One thing I would like to note is my visualization of Elrond before I saw the movies. In the movies, Mr. Smith from the Matrix plays the wise old elf. I always thought that part was miscast. Besides really dry acting, I envisioned a fatter, almost Santa Claus like figure with white silver hair and a curly beard. Lord of the Rings describes Elrond as neither young nor old, which I’m not sure fits the Santa Claus description, but I may have got the Elrond visage from my old days reading the Hobbit, when the description may have been less or I just imagined him differently. Who knows. So when I saw Elrond in the movies, I was like, WTF?

This chapter also reminisces the Old Hobbit days, through the dwarf-lord Gloin. We learn a little bit about what’s been going on at the Lonely Mountain, and learn hints about the disaster that precedes our story at the Mines of Moria. Indeed, Tokien writes that Bombur being so fat now that it took six young dwarves to lift him. I’m envisioning a Baron Harkonnen sort of figure, with a jolly face when I read that.

Of course, the iconic moment of this chapter is the shadow that passes between Frodo and Bilbo when Bilbo asks to see the ring. I’ve read Ben’s and Jacob’s thoughts on this moment—Jacob preferring the movie moment and Ben preferring the book. C’mon guys, can’t you see that they both work for what they are? A movie moment really couldn’t convey the shadow that came between them, that it’s Frodo’s perception of Bilbo that’s manipulated by the ring. As for the movie, I think it was a perfect moment to insert a shocker; I for one will admit that I jumped Bilbo’s face went scary.

Skipped the poem again. I have yet to read a Lord of the Rings poem all the way through. I love the poems because it makes me feel like I’m making real progress in the story when I skip them. Additionally, poems create a lore that add to the realism of the book. The effect of the poems is meta: by having characters recite poems, by having Bilbo write a book within a book, since those actions are so normal and real, it facilitates the illusion that the characters are real. It seems that poems or songs in a fantasy novel are bread and butter. Perhaps that is the reason the meme has stuck around? Readers can always skip the poem, but the fact that it’s there lends credibility to the story.

One thought I had was that the poem sessions would certainly be at home in Colorado or Washington. The text almost suggests that the Elves are merely tripping on high quality food and music, Count of Monte Cristo style.

And Frodo! Can’t you go anywhere without perving over other men’s women? It seems like you wake this young Hobbit up and the first thing he does is stare at somebody else’s wife. Is this really the person we’d trust with carrying a deadly ring to the land of Sauron himself? Frodo, son, you’ve got to have better discipline than that if you’re going to be carrying the most dangerous chattel known to man. Seriously.