#lotr newsletter march 5th

[so-called-quail]

The king and all his company sat silent on their horses, marvelling, perceiving that the power of Saruman was overthrown; but how they could not guess. And now they turned their eyes towards the archway and the ruined gates. There they saw close beside them a great rubble-heap; and suddenly they were aware of two small figures lying on it at their ease, grey-clad, hardly to be seen among the stones. There were bottles and bowls and platters laid beside them, as if they had just eaten well, and now rested from their labour. One seemed asleep; the other, with crossed legs and arms behind his head, leaned back against a broken rock and sent from his mouth long wisps and little rings of thin blue smoke.

MY GOD IF THAT ISN'T THE MOST OBVIOUS SIGN OF HOBBIT ACTIVITY I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS

[mariniacipher]

‘No, the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.' 'It does,' said Pippin. 'If all the seven stones were laid out before me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.' 'Good!' said Gandalf. 'That is what I hoped.' 'But I should like to know–' Pippin began. 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The names of all the stars, and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas,' laughed Pippin.

i love them so much??

and pippin being so curious now, after he neglected to learn anything back in rivendell, he really has grown and learned how big the world is, and it’s awoken his curiousity for it!! which is so lovely, and i just adore this lighter moment among the gloom

[is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer]

He held up a small pipe with a wide flattened bowl, and handed it to Gimli. 'Does that settle the score between us?' he said. 'Settle it!' cried Gimli. 'Most noble hobbit, it leaves me deep in your debt.' 'Well, I am going back into the open air, to see what the wind and sky are doing!' said Legolas.

Gimli and Pippin: gushing about pipes and pipeweed.

Legolas: y’all are weird. I’m going to get some fresh air before you make me second-hand smoke.

[so-called-quail]

Okay, I need to rant about something that entered my mind when I read TTT recently.

Flotsam and Jetsam is the name of one of the many chapters we're reading from today. It covers the section where Merry and Pippin recount to their friends their recent adventures with the Ents and the attack on Isengard.

Flotsam and Jetsam. Two words I've heard paired together, but had no idea what they meant. So I looked it up. From NOAA we get this:

Flotsam and jetsam are terms that describe two types of marine debris associated with vessels. Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load.

Overlooking the fact that there are no vessels in this part of story, the use of "flotsam" makes sense. Although the insane amount of flooding at Isengard was intentional on behalf of the Ents, the debris that ended up in the water was not deliberate. We even have the term "flotsam" used twice in the text:

We spent a busy time after that, searching the flotsam, and rummaging about.

It was through our search for man-food that Pippin discovered the prize of all the flotsam, those Hornblower barrels.

So that's resolved. However, the chapter is titled Flotsam AND Jetsam. So the question that's been on my mind is what exactly is "jetsam" referring to?

It could be something really simple. Maybe some of that debris was intentionally thrown into the water. Or perhaps you can make the argument that Wormtongue is the jetsam, because he unceremoniously gets chucked into water by Treebeard. A really amusing answer, and one I can get behind, but it still leaves something to be desired because it's not as clear-cut as the case for "flotsam". He wasn’t thrown in the water in distress from the flooding, but instead during the aftermath as a means of dealing with him.

This isn't important at all but I am still so curious about it. Reducing it down to "oh, Tolkien didn't think of that. It doesn't mean anything" feels wrong. There has to be a reason, whether Tolkien was aware of it at the time or not.

[so-called-quail]

…here he was a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world's youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom. This was an evil choice. Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice?

:(

[so-called-quail]

Slinker and Stinker

[so-called-quail]

All that is said among us is that far away, over many hills and rivers, live the halfling folk that dwell in holes in sand-dunes. But there are no legends of their deeds, for it is said that they do little, and avoid the sight of men, being able to vanish in a twinkling; and they can change their voices to resemble the piping of birds.

Hi, um, excuse me? Hobbits imitate birds? Is this ever addressed anywhere else??

[so-called-quail]

This was Orthanc, the citadel of Saruman, the name of which had (by design or chance) a twofold meaning; for in the Elvish speech orthanc signifies Mount Fang, but in the language of the Mark of old the Cunning Mind.

Love the phrasing here. Of course there's a double meaning to this name. Of course there's debate on whether it's intentional or not.

[so-called-quail]

'Are we riding far tonight, Gandalf?' asked Merry after a while. 'I don't know how you feel with small rag-tag dangling behind you; but the rag-tag is tired and will be glad to stop dangling and lie down.' 'So you heard that?' said Gandalf. 'Don't let it rankle! Be thankful no longer words were aimed at you.

Sorry, Gandalf...

Merry felt more like unneeded baggage than ever, and he wondered, if there was a fight, what he should do.

Merry got up and yawned. His few hours' sleep had not been nearly enough; he was tired and rather dismal. He missed Pippin, and felt that he was only a burden, while everybody was making plans for speed in a business that he did not fully understand.

'I am afraid I am only in everybody's way,' he stammered; 'but I should like to do anything I could, you know.'

...Merry absolutely let it rankle.

[mariniacipher]

okay, but one thing i notice more and more as the action ramps up- do these characters ever sleep anymore??? like, it just keeps going and going, and these men dont get any rest

altho i guess that’s why they’re all elves or half-elves or dwarves or wizards, bc those apparently dont need sleep?? poor hobbits, let’s hope they include some napping breaks now that they’ve rejoined the team

[mariniacipher]

'Don't leave me behind!' said Merry. 'I have not been of much use yet; but I don't want to be laid aside, like baggage to be called for when all is over. I don't think the Riders will want to be bothered with me now. Though, of course, the king did say that I was to sit by him when he came to his house and tell him all about the Shire.'

'Yes,' said Aragorn, 'and your road lies with him, I think, Merry. But do not look for mirth at the ending. It will be long, I fear, ere Théoden sits at ease again in Meduseld. Many hopes will wither in this bitter Spring.'

my HEART

how dare tolkien just stomp on it like this??

just- merry being so afraid of being useless, and just wanting to help, and damn he better get to do smth in rohan (like helping a certain Lady) #

and then aragorn, ofc bringing the angst, but honestly i cannot even begrude him that, bc that last line is so poetic and pretty and i adore it

[mariniacipher]

'See now!' said Gandalf. 'The Westfold dales are opening before us. Here we come back to the eastward road. The dark shadow yonder is the mouth of the Deeping-coomb. That way lies Aglarond and the Glittering Caves. Do not ask me about them. Ask Gimli, if you meet again, and for the first time you may get an answer longer than you wish.

how dare he??

like, you know gimli would be so wonderful to listen to, he’s so eloquent and passionate, and honestly i will just say it’s gandalf trying to be funny and cheer pippin up, bc otherwise i might have to fight him

[mariniacipher]

gollum: ‘But away down west He [Sauron] is not afraid, and there are the Silent Watchers.'

Sam: 'Just so! And so we are to walk up and knock at their gate and ask if we're on the right road for Mordor? Or are they too silent to answer? It's not sense. We might as well do it here, and save ourselves a long tramp.'

you’ve got to admit- sam can be witty and acerbic when he wants to be

[mariniacipher]

the way the nazgul reappear is so scary, and i love how this is shown by their effect upon the characters? like, we first see it on the hobbits, who cower in fear when they fly above, but that makes us more concerned for them

but now it’s all the riders of rohan, as well as even gandalf who is terrified and goes so far as to run off to his horse- which really shows the urgency here, even to the more powerful characters, and emphasizes the power the nazgul hold

[mariniacipher]

This was no assault upon the Dark Lord by the men of Gondor, risen like avenging ghosts from the graves of valour long passed away. These were Men of other race, out of the wide Eastlands, gathering to the summons of their Overlord; armies that had encamped before his Gate by night and now marched in to swell his mounting power. 

this description of the armies heading into mordor to join its collection of armies is so haunting and like- Sam still held that hope for a supernatural attack upon Gondor, and found it more likely than anyone wanting to join sauron, which i think really speaks to his hope?

he still thinks that the world is good, but this also means he is crushed when the world proves him wrong sometimes (and leaves him cruel toward those who fail to be good, aka gollum)

[mariniacipher]

okay, but- the fact that pippin even survived talking to sauron is insane, and then he’s not even- visibly traumatised??? tempted in any direction??? like, this hobbit is so fucking strong, even if he’s young and foolish

(also, gandalf thinking that sauron would assume saruman gave the palantir to pippin to torture him (hope that sentence structure makes sense) once again hightlights sauron’s cruelty, which i can appreciate)