"Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" - Ben's Thoughts

This certainly is a bridge chapter, linking the hobbit's desperation at the Morannon to their final journey to Kirith Ungol. It introduces Faramir, who will be an important figure in Book V -- until he is conveniently shoved under the table in the final book, but we'll leave that for another time -- and gives us more details on the Southrons, the Haradrim.

I mentioned my fond memories of this chapter at the end of my last post. Basically I remember that one of the first times, or possibly the first time that I read this chapter, it was lying on the couch in the front room of my childhood home, on a Sunday after (or possibly before?) church with the full summer sun streaming in through the window onto the couch and me lying there. It was beautifully warm, and I didn't have a care in the world, and I laughed at Sam's banter with Gollum. It's a fond memory, and one of the memories that adds up to my love of The Lord of the Rings; that feeling of peace and contentment and wonder at delving into an exciting and absorbing fantasy world.

But... today the chapter leaves something to be desired. I see less banter in Sam's little chat with Gollum and more, as Jacob put it, "casual abuse." Also, the off-handed racism of the various races and cultures at play here sticks in my craw. More on each of these topics below. Aside from that, this is a harmless chapter. We're reminded again of Frodo's otherworldly connections; his ordeal in bearing the Ring has, in a way, purified him. It's telling that the "inner light" that signifies his connection with the Valar is only switched on when he's sleeping. Most likely, his daytime battle with the opposing forces detailed in previous chapters blocks that connection too much at other times. Tolkien's descriptions of Ithilien are beautiful, as well, even though I prefer more grandiose landscapes (craggy mountains or rolling oceans), myself.

Now, on Gollum and Sam. Sam is just terribly cruel to the poor wretch here. He sends him off to find them some food, knowing full well that he will be preparing the food in a way that Gollum will be unable or at least unwilling to eat. He threatens him with physical harm when Gollum refuses to do as he asks, perhaps in a misguided dominance tactic. And finally, after his threats and verbal abuse ("you're hopeless", for example) he tries again to get Gollum to do as he asked. It's small wonder that Gollum slunk off into the brush after that exchange. Sam is just completely unwilling to see past his own cultural standards; so unable to visualize Gollum's point of view about anything. And here the hobbits are almost totally in Gollum's hands. Doesn't Sam realize that Gollum could try to kill or betray them at any opportunity? Or does he trust so implicitly the oath that Gollum made on the Ring, that he disregards all reason in belittling, disregarding, and abusing him? It baffles me. It is of course both realistic and necessary to the plot, but it's still frustrating.

Finally, the racism. It must be mentioned. The Haradrim are "dark," the Gondorians are "pale-skinned." The Haradrim are "ever ready" to serve the Enemy, the Gondorians are stalwart defenders against his evil. I suppose it could be argued that Sam's internal monologue about the dead Haradrim soldier redeems Tolkien somewhat, but unfortunately, Sam's questions about whether the man was coerced or tricked into fighting against the white good guys is not answered by the text. In the next book the racism will compound, as the Easterlings and other servants of Sauron are pervasively described as "swarthy" or otherwise dark-skinned (and let us never forget that orcs have black skins and other "good" people, like the Rohirrim, are fair-skinned Nordic knock-offs). I know, it was another time, but I just have to wonder what went through Tolkien's mind when he wrote that into the story. It jerks me out of my immersion in Middle-earth, when I read it this time around. Others have written about Tolkien's (probably unconscious) racism at length elsewhere; I don't have anything else to say about it. I just think it bears mentioning.

Looking forward to more Faramir in the next chapter. Right now all my mind summons about him is the Jackson films' true bastardization of his character in the second film.