The flaw of this chapter is the sheer volume of names and irrelevant detail. Tolkien used this chapter to information-dump his mythology. Names never heard before by the reader sprout up, never heard of again (if I remember correctly) for the rest of the story, unless the reader reads the appendices and the Similarion (which when Tolkien published LOTR was not yet available).
As a result, I began to skim. Who are all these elf-lords? Elendil who? Keep in mind a first-time reader still hasn't even met Boromir or Legolas or Gimli. Just a ton of new names, even for one who long ago read the Similarion and recently the Hobbit. Reading this chapter was similar to reading through War and Peace, when the sheer mind-boggling amount of names in the first chapter overwhelms. Now, about 200 pages into War and Peace you finally start to figure out who is who, but still, no reader likes to be confused. Modern authors know better to slowly introduce one character at a time, especially if the character will prove important later on.
Now, something I was considering when reading was whether there is any benefit to all of this folklore. On some level, the large amount of backstory and material shoves the reader's face into the dirt and forces them to accept that this fantasy-world is real. By boring readers with the genealogy, ironically enough I think it increases the realism of the story. You certainly feel that this Ring business has been a lengthy affair by the end of the Council. But I still think cutting the fluff and lineage stuff would have been for the best. Readers at this point believe in the story, so I think the benefit derived from lineage and history just ultimately detracts. Reference a name or two, and maybe a little backstory, but what occurred here was overly excessive.
Another lingering question that "we" (maybe I just posed the question?) posed earlier on is whether Gandalf is an idiot. Letting Hobbits be chased by Dark riders certainly almost cost the good guys everything. So now we hear the explanation--that Gandalf ran off to Saruman instead of personally warning Frodo.
I still take the opinion that Gandalf was an idiot--on some level he concedes this, as he regrets his decision to go to Saruman. Trusting in a "fat-inkeeper's" letter to get Frodo going just doesn't make any sense. He suspects the black riders are hunting Frodo yet relies on a letter. We don't have a USPS post office yet with first-class certified mail, and so warning Frodo would be my first priority, and then I would go to Saruman for help. Of course, had Gandalf done the smart thing, we wouldn't have had a high stakes chase scene. So structurally it was important to eliminate Gandalf. I get it. But I still think Gandalf showed very poor judgment!
The confrontation between Saruman and Gandalf is delightful. Especially when Gandalf describes, just as summary, how Saruman went on and on about how the ends are what are important, not the means. And Gandalf retorts by asking tiredly whether Saruman dragged him all the way out here just to here that Mordor-drivel. Brilliant.
I read Jacob's post about how this chapter serves as a logical proof as to why the ring needs to go to Mordor. I agree that that's what this chapter is. The text states they can either hide it or destroy it. They eliminate the throwing-it-into-the-sea possibility by noting that it will only delay the problem. Boromir foreshadows his coming fall by suggesting that there was wisdom in Saruman by utilizing the ring to win. Elrond and Gandalf knock that possibility out of the park by pointing out it will only create a dark lord. Therefore, the only possibility is to destroy the ring.
A pretty ambitious plan. A lot of things could go wrong. I almost wonder if there wasn't wisdom in how Tolkien draws this chapter out so that the reader's wits feel tired from all of the names, and so that when the characters suggest taking it to Mordor, the reader is too tired at this point to put on this thinking cap and point out that that is a very stupid plan. By this point, the reader is willing to accept any plan just to escape from this chapter.
Hmm… while I certainly agree that this chapter has a lot of bloat in it, I think you're a bit harsh on Tolkien here. A novel shouldn't just entertain a reader the first time through and then bore to tears on subsequent reads (and I've certainly read novels like that). It should contain gems that delight on second, third, fourth reads and beyond. Even without reading the Silmarillion or the Appendicies, the tidbits dropped about the backstory of Aragorn's lineage or the Dwarven houses provide these gems and are the foundation of why LOTR has endured for so long and is so foundational as a fantasy text. Just sayin'.
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