Radagast Did Nothing Wrong

Middle-earth sideblog, mostly LOTR with a side of The Hobbit (haven't read Silmarillion or Tolkien's other writing yet). Bookverse generally. Will reblog quotes, fanart, and fan opinions, and hopefully write text posts of my own. Picture is "Treebeard" by Juliana Pinho.

[enchantedbook]

From Tolkien's illustration by Roman Pisarev

[frodo-with-glasses]

R.I.P. Frodo Baggins, cause of death: cuteness overload

[ohdorotheabrooke]

book legolas is sooo much and I love him so dearly. endearing weird comic relief! strange! speaks in epic dialect!! has no impactful role whatsoever in the story!! he’s just there to be a melancholy little remnant of a culture half faded but in this light fond way that is soooo tolkien. when you’re a mouthpiece for themes and fun moments but in a spirit of narrative economy, you get a little partner and you’re the fun deconstruction of the noble elf and he’s the noble poetic deconstruction of the silly dwarf and because the story is racing to its conclusion you both sit in the outskirts of it being fun and meaningful in this very inadvertent way

[tolkien-feels]

Okay, so this is just a very quick word search that is ignoring synonyms and descriptions, but I thought it might be fun (if not particularly accurate) to count who kisses who in Tolkien’s books because I strongly associate kissing with platonic affection in the legendarium, and I wanted to see if it holds up

Silmarillion

Luthien: 1 (Beren)

Nienor: 1 (Turin)

Hobbit

No kissies :/

LotR

Aragorn: 5 = 2 (Eowyn) + Arwen (1) + 1 (Boromir) + 1 (Merry)

Sam: 4.5 =  4.5 (Frodo - counting 0.5 because it says he “did not kiss” his hand, which feels weird to ignore or to count, so half a point it is)

Faramir: 4 = 2 (Eowyn) + 1 (Frodo) + 1 (Sam)

Merry: 4 = 2 (Theoden) + 1 (Aragorn) + 1 (Eowyn)

Frodo: 3 = 1 (Merry) + 1 (Pippin) + 1 (Sam) << these all happen in the same scene

Beregond: 1 (Aragorn)

So we have a total of 23.5 kisses, only 5 of which happen between people who are romantically involved, so you can totally go ahead and assume platonic kisses are very much a thing in Arda

Also another fun breakdown:

Hand: 9.5 (Sam → Frodo x2.5, Merry → Theoden x2, Merry → Aragorn, Merry → Eowyn, Aragorn → Eowyn, Aragorn → Arwen, Beregond → Aragorn)

Brow/forehead: 8 (Sam → Frodo x2, Aragorn → Boromir, Aragorn → Eowyn, Aragorn → Merry, Faramir → Eowyn, Faramir → Frodo, Faramir → Sam)

Unspecified (”kissed him/her” sentences): 3 (Luthien → Beren, Nienor → Turin, Faramir → Eowyn, Frodo → Merry, Frodo → Pippin, Frodo → Sam)

[incomingalbatross]

People make jokes about “haha Tolkien based Treebeard on C. S. Lewis” like it’s some kind of burn, and I suppose I get the joke, but also… Have you met Treebeard?? We should all be so lucky as to have someone out there who thinks that highly of us.

[ent-admirer]

It’s so hard not to be That Guy when people post “Tolkien quotes” that were invented for movie adaptations. But at least “everyday deeds of ordinary folk keep the darkness at bay” and “even the smallest person can change the course of history” are similar to some ideas he had, just phrased in a more generic, soundbitey way. “A single dream is worth a thousand realities” is just ... anti-Tolkien. Sure he was an escapist, but he didn’t really see himself as escaping into nonsense - he thought fairytales were important because they remind us of parts of reality we tend to forget in day-to-day living in an inhumane society. He liked myths for what he thought was true in their themes. The idea that “dream” is the opposite of “reality” (and better) is not Tolkien at all.

[tolkien-feels]

I never know what to make of this. Is Gollum coldly attempting to do what he thinks Frodo wants in an attempt to manipulate him? Is he so terrified that some harm will come to the Ring that he’s desperate to please Frodo but doesn’t know how and his best guess is pitiful and weird? Is the Ring compelling him in some way? Is he reenacting how he was taught to act in Mordor? Is he just so painfully lonely that part or the whole of this performance is actually genuine? I could make a case for any of these and I’m not sure I know for sure what the likeliest option is

[ach-sss-no]

I’ve wondered about this too! I have no real idea what’s going on with him but when I first read it, I thought it was probably a mix of all of these, with

Is he so terrified that some harm will come to the Ring that he’s desperate to please Frodo but doesn’t know how and his best guess is pitiful and weird?

being the predominant factor

I never got the sense that Gollum was able to convincingly fake strong emotion (or suppress it to much of a degree, either, because he frequently has flashes of anger that he would surely know aren’t helping his cause). And I also got an impression that he’s not really a very confident liar, no matter how much he lies anyway- because there are times where the ‘right’ answer to a question is obvious but he just won’t answer. He just won’t answer when asked ‘Is Cirith Ungol guarded?’ even though it’s quite suspicious that he doesn’t just say ‘no’ or even ‘yes but I can get you past the guards’ or- anything? He just sits there and does ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ until he’s badgered into going ‘PROOOOBABLYYY… Mordor is dangerous and all… mAAAaaaAaaaAybe its guarded’ Instead of saying ‘well there isn’t a big spider there or anything hahahhaha’ So he probably can’t sell that lie and he probably knows he can’t sell it. 

Also I think he does desire socialization to some extent. If you look at riddles in the dark, while bilbo does have a sword, there’s really no reason for gollum to address that issue by chatting with him and starting up a riddle-game instead of immediately going to get the Ring, which he thinks he still has at that point. 

Also of note! Gollum clearly had real Emotions™ about having the elf rope taken off because later he’s talking to himself about that when he thinks no one is observing him (and therefore he has no reason to be dishonest). Some of this awkward display is probably from relief! (Consider: Aragorn recently drove him quite a ways while tied on a rope, presumably he did not take the rope off when gollum complained, although i’m certain he did complain)

Is he reenacting how he was taught to act in Mordor?

I WISH i knew enough about what happened to him there to answer that 

TL;DR who knows! but it’s super funny that sam is just watching him and going ‘Yuck. Disapprove’

edit: Oh, also of note, Sméagol refers to himself as ‘I’ when he makes his promise, which Frodo later remarks internally is a sign that he’s being honest.

[ach-sss-no]

No one asked but I keep making posts like these in my drafts so for some reason I apparently care about this

Gollum hot take: I don’t think the character as written in the books has a sharply delineated jekyll & hyde thing going on. 

Keep reading

[incomingalbatross]

Actually another thing LotR does really well is making it clear that absolutely anyone CAN be redeemed, they just CHOOSE not to be.

Gollum's the biggest example, of course--he's so repellant but also so pitiable and you SEE that he still has the road to goodness open, but he doesn't QUITE take it, but he COULD, and you WANT him to. But it's true of everyone here.

Grima is offered like five second chances at various points, but he keeps going back to Saruman because that's what he knows and it is, in a twisted way, easier even when it makes him miserable. Saruman is asked by Gandalf to return to them, and it's a genuine offer of reconciliation, and we feel the tragedy when he wavers and then rejects it. Denethor is also given a path back to the light by Gandalf, who tells him he can do his duty by leading his people and dying in battle against the Darkness--and, again, although he refuses, we can imagine him accepting and regaining his honor.

And to accentuate this, we see people who fall and ARE redeemed! Boromir falls to the Ring, and attacks Frodo--but he repents, rejects what he has done, and takes up the right task set before him even though it kills him. Theoden is corrupted by Grima, and spurns Gandalf and the rest--but then he listens to Gandalf, takes up his duties as ruler, and goes to lead his people even though he expects to die doing it.

We SEE, in LotR, that mercy and reconcilation are available to every character, even the most despicable. We also see that some people won't take it, even when freely offered, due to the obstacles that have built up in their souls--but that they COULD, even if it would be very difficult. And--most importantly, imo--we feel bad whenever a villain ISN'T redeemed. Not because they "deserve" it, but because it would have been good for them.

[prismatic-bell]

Gonna ask because I am genuinely not conversant enough with LOTR to know this (sorry, Stephen Colbert): was Sauron ever given this choice?

This is a fascinating point, I’m just curious if he saw it all the way through,

[incomingalbatross]

Good question!

Sauron is not given this choice in LotR itself; however, I'm pretty sure he was given it at the end of the First Age, when his boss Morgoth had just been defeated by the rest of the Powers. Sauron asked for mercy, and was given a chance for it, but he had to submit himself to his unfallen brethren first for formal judgement. That was too hard for him, so he stayed in Middle-Earth and doubled down on being evil instead. By the time we see him in LotR, he's spent two Ages being evil and is an active threat to all of Middle-Earth; there's no discussion of trying to reason with him.

...It's also worth noting, now that I think of it, that the good guys in LotR do NOT offer the guilty mercy at the expense of the innocent. Denethor, Saruman, Grima and Gollum are all asked to HELP the people they've hurt, and there's no idea of them being left in a position of power that they're abusing; the closest we get is Gandalf and Frodo letting Saruman free, at different times, but in neither case is he an active threat to anyone (as far as they know).

This is also shown in the fact that they do not offer mercy to enemy combatants unless they've surrended--it is, after all, a war. This is presumably the reason we also never see mercy offered to Orcs, the Nazgul, or the Balrog, none of whom ever show any hesitancy in going for their enemies' throats.

(It's also unclear whether or not Orcs HAVE the necessary free will to choose good, honestly, and I believe Tolkien never quite resolved that to his own satisfaction. And the Nazgul are somewhat undead, and the Balrog is basically a demon, so... potentially already damned? But again, the "active threat" category applies regardless.)

[ent-admirer]

Not only does Gimli describe the Glittering Caves in a way that makes Legolas interested, he gets Eomer (who’s suspicious of anything elvish and uncanny) to become such a fan of elves he eventually marries a woman with elf ancestry! That’s charisma.

Gimli, every day waking up: I’m going to love things so hard it’ll be contagious to everyone around me

[tolkien-feels]

Okay two things about this

1) "Our whole life for months has been one long meddling in the affairs of Wizards" is a very funny and accurate line

2) Please tell me Sam was using this saying for all sorts of situations because he's so excited to have a real elvish saying to his collection of folk wisdom. I'm picturing like... Someone saying "Good morning Gandalf how are you today?" and Sam immediately quoting Gildor under his breath

[tolkien-feels]

Don't mind me, I'm just crying over how Treebeard sort of takes Pippin's suggestion but makes the lines about hobbits so much more affectionate. He's so eager to make sure all ents know the little hobbit children are friend-shaped 🥺

[tolkien-feels]

Assigned simple-minded clown by Gandalf 😬

[ent-admirer]

Sickest burn in the entire book - “Understand one another? I fear I am beyond your comprehension.”

[tolkien-feels]

Generally speaking, Flotsam and Jetsam is one of the most serotonin-filled chapters imho

[ent-admirer]

Along with the last scene in “The Road to Isengard” where Merry and Pippin greet Theoden and comically delay greeting their friends until Gimli breaks composure and has to rant about how mad at them he is and how much he loves them. So many of the happy moments in Lord of the Rings are bittersweet, and this may be the biggest moment of unmixed happiness in the whole thing (along with any Treebeard scene lol). As a kid I actually felt like I had to be secret about reading this chapter because how could I deserve something that gave me so much of what I wanted? It was a treasure I’d never have dared to ask for and I had to protect it. While Frodo and Sam’s story is my favorite, its themes are much more emotionally challenging - which is partly why they’re my favorite, but Book III is unmatched for pure serotonin.

[berensreverie]

“In my own land, in the country of Fangorn, Where the roots are long, And the years lie thicker than the leaves”

Tolkientober day 4 : Forest

[ent-admirer]

What’s your favorite underrated Lord of the Rings friendship? Right now mine is Arwen and Frodo. They have no scene in the movies and only one scene in the book but fortunately that scene’s a banger, especially when you read what Tolkien said about it in Letter 246 (the part involving Arwen starts in the last paragraph of page 3).

Arwen in her grief for her father is the first one to notice the signs of Frodo’s lingering trauma, and she knows it’s only a little while before he goes home and then Elsewhere while she stays in Gondor, but she determines to do her best to help this little fellow mortal and fellow mourner. She gives him a jewel (classic Arwen) that she hopes will remind Frodo of her and Aragorn and comfort him “when the memory of the fear and darkness troubles you.” When. Aragorn has been well-meaningly trying to talk around it, but Arwen is the first to acknowledge that the memory will keep troubling Frodo; she knows, as a fellow sufferer, and by not euphemizing she connects with him.

And then:

“A gift I will give you. For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him now when he departs to the Havens; for mine is the choice of Lúthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter. But in my stead you shall go, Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you then desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed.”

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment gift. In letter 246 Tolkien says she consulted with Gandalf and Elrond, because a place in Valinor isn’t something you can just decide to give. She had to have thought deeply about it, and realized that though her and Frodo’s sufferings were parallel they were also complementary, and that what she’d given up, Frodo could have for his healing.

Arwen’s barely in the book, yet I’ve fallen in love with the little Tolkien shows of her. The way she deals with her own grief is by helping out fellow grievers, and I feel so sad for her and admire her so much.

[ent-admirer]

Arwen’s love language is definitely gift-giving. She makes Galadriel give Aragorn the brooch with the Elfstone in it, she gives Aragorn a horse (which he calls Roheryn, meaning “the lady’s horse”), and she weaves his banner herself. Later she befriends Frodo, realizing his grief parallels hers (losing the world you grew up thinking you would live in forever), and she gives him her white necklace AND her place on the boat to Valinor. It’d take forever to go shopping with her because she’d always be going “Hey I know it’s not on the list but this would be great to give to [person], since [non-obvious but deeply sensical reason that shows a surprising knowledge of person’s needs and interests]. Also this scarf would look great on you.”

And you know where she gets it from.