I've been waiting for this chapter for awhile--in no small part because there is no cinematic equivalent to compete with or override my imagination! The rise of the Hobbits, the Battle of Bywater, the slaughter of the ruffians and the final defeat of Saruman, exists solely on the pages of the text and in the stirrings of my imagination. There is consequently a sort of intimacy associated with this chapter, a private little portion of the Lord of the Rings trilogy that only I can see in my head--and that every other of its millions of readers can only see in their heads, as well. In a strange sort of way, the absence of a film version of "The Scouring of the Shire" simultaneously helps me feel like the series belongs solely to me, but also helps me feel connected to every other LoTR reader out there.
It's also just a fantastic little chapter in and of itself. It is not inappropriate to discuss Christ-analogues in LoTR, particularly given Tolkien's devout Catholicism; Gandalf's resurrection and Aragorn's messianic ascension to the throne have been the most obvious types. But here back at the entrance of the Shire, I now find myself considering if the Hobbits themselves are a sort of Christ-type as well: it is reminiscent of the parable found in Matthew 21, wherein the usurping husbandmen slay each of the representatives of the Lord of the Vineyard while he is away. "When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh," asks Christ, "what will he do unto those husbandmen?" "He will miserably destroy those wicked men," his inquisitors confess.
It is a parable for the Second Coming of Christ, who will hold to account all who have tyranically misused and misruled the vineyard of the world. Perhaps if Gandalf represents Christ's resurrection, and Aragorn represents Christ's ascension, then the scouring of the Shire represents Christ cleansing the world of wickedness. Like Christ returning in a robe dyed red in the blood of the Atonement, Frodo and company return to redeem their people. The Return of the King maybe refers not just to the Return to the throne of Gondor, but the Return to the Shire.
This chapter also shows the Hobbits as a community coming into their own. Previously, it was only individual Hobbits--Bilbo, Frodo, etc.--who were venturing outside their comfort zone, learning courage, becoming more than they were. But now it is the Shire entire that has learned to rise up, resist, to be stronger than they thought they could be. They aren't just saved from ruffians and interlopers, but are also saved from their own complacency and timidity. As C.S. Lewis might claim, what is most important isn't just what the Hobbits do, but what they become. To quote the Apostle Paul, Weak things have been made Strong.
Also like Christ: Frodo urges against killing whenever possible--even against the murderous ruffians, even against traitorous Lotho, even against Saruman himself, remembering that he too was once good before he turned to darkness, like Lucifer, Son of the Morning. "Have I any pleasure that the wicked should die? saith the LORD" (Ezekial 18:23), and Frodo asks the same rhetorical question.
Saruman's death fits in with that of Sauron and the Witch-King, in that they all make the exact same mistake: they completely disregard the Hobbits until it is too late. You would think after Merry provided the assist that allowed Eowyn to slay the Nazgul, and especially after Frodo and Sam finish off Sauron once and for all, that Saruman would be a little more on his guard. But no, his pride would no more allow him to respect the Hobbits than it would allow him to submit to Gandalf. That same spiteful pride is also what causes him to kick Wormtongue one time too many, resulting in his own immediate and ignominious murder. Pride not only goeth before the fall, but before an especially humiliating fall, defeated not in glorious combat with those mighty wizards whom he considered his peers, but by the very people he despised the most.
Even with the rather dull denouement chapters, Book VI overall has featured an embarrassment of riches, and "The Scouring of the Shire" is one of them! It rates right up their with "Mount Doom," in my humble opinion! We'd previously discussed how each Book seemed to have one chapter, that one chapter that made the whole journey worthwhile. Book V didn't really have any such chapter (though it still had its moments), while Book VI has had at least two so far! Tolkein sure knows how to finish strong.
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