[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.
[SPEAKER_00]: The show that explores the background of tokens amazing world from the very beginning.
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the benefits of taking a text like this, a novel or anything, and looking at it at such a close level, this extremely close read through very slowly, is that so much of the nuance of the writing becomes apparent.
[SPEAKER_01]: and little things of course like specific word use and the order that events have happened and character arcs and things like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But even other little details like the way the story twists and turns and the way how just a few paragraphs earlier the text was going in one direction
[SPEAKER_01]: And then all of a sudden, it takes a turn.
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course, if you're just doing a regular read through, you would notice some of this.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it gives us the time to look back and go, okay, this new section feels different.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why was the previous section necessary before we got to this section?
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, what am I talking about?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, in today's section of the text, we get to the very first time that we actually have a conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf about the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the entire time that we've been reading through this first chapter, we've been getting these stories from other people from other perspectives.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot that has been set up already to define Bilbo as a good person.
[SPEAKER_01]: How many times have we heard somebody say something that would be questionable about Bilbo?
[SPEAKER_01]: And yet somebody else, the old Gaffer, Sam, whoever, already in the text,
[SPEAKER_01]: rises to the occasion to defend Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: Even the narrator mentions multiple times that Bilbo was generous with his money, that he wasn't judgmental towards others, even though they were judgmental towards him.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, he may not have appreciated the sackville bagginses because, well, you know, they're just trying to steal the stuff, but he doesn't seek to do bad things to them, particularly.
[SPEAKER_01]: He invites them to the party and the worst thing that he ever does,
[SPEAKER_01]: is disappear.
[SPEAKER_01]: And make everybody surprised and feel like he played a joke on them.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's as terrible a person as Bilbo is.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is important because Tolkien has to establish the story and the characters for new readers, along with those of us who have already read the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: If we've read the Hobbit, we know that Bilbo is a stand-up guy that he comes into his own, that he's brave, that he's conscientious, and he's willing to do things
[SPEAKER_01]: That seemed dangerous for the better of other people.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is a genuinely good person.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so why is this important?
[SPEAKER_01]: We've established that if you've read the Hobbit, you know he's a good person.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're reading through the beginning of this chapter, you come to realize that he may be a little bit odd, but he's actually a good guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, it's because this section of the chapter talks about the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we see firsthand that the ring that we knew in the Hobbit is affecting him differently than anything else we saw in that story.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you weren't paying attention, you may not notice that this is the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: You might just think Bill Bo's being selfish.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't want to give it away.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a price possession.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's something that he gained from his travels under great dress and great difficulty.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, of course, he would value it.
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's more going on here.
[SPEAKER_01]: Put yourself in the shoes of somebody who was a fan of the Hobbit before the Lord of the Rings was published.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you find out, oh, he wrote another book.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, it continues Bilbo's story.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you pick it up and you read through the first chapter.
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you surprised that the ring is not exactly what you thought it was before?
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably.
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't imagine how this kind of decision would play out in today's world with social media and a bunch of, well, fans of things who actually hate everything about the series that they thought they loved complaining online about stuff because that's just kind of how things go right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would imagine that a number of people were surprised that this is not the story they expected.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, potentially not, and there's good reason for that.
[SPEAKER_01]: In the Hobbit, when they were in the Shire, when Bilbo was in the Shire, when Gandalf and Dwarves show up, there is no glimpse of danger at all.
[SPEAKER_01]: The dwarves are a little bit frustrating for Bilbo to deal with us house guests, but there's no real danger.
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't see the dangers of the wild until the party travels to the wilds, yet here in the very first chapter, there's something very
[SPEAKER_01]: The Shire does not feel safe.
[SPEAKER_01]: The tone is not that of a fairy tale, and Gandalf is concerned.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's actually kind of interesting how much this is telegraphed to us, implied foreshadowed that this decision with the ring is going to be the centerpiece of the entire story.
[SPEAKER_01]: And maybe the title gives it away a little bit, the Lord of the Rings, so you're going to assume that there's something going on with this ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: But isn't it interesting how much this book immediately in the first chapter implies that the dangers of the world have now encroached in on the Shire?
[SPEAKER_01]: And they will continue to.
[SPEAKER_01]: So just some fun stuff to keep in mind as we get through this section this week.
[SPEAKER_01]: Alright, let's get into it.
[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_01]: stepped down and vanished.
[SPEAKER_01]: There was a blinding flash of light in the guest's blinked.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now first off, this is addressed in a little bit because Gandalf mentions that he specifically added the blinding flash of light because he wanted to help cover what Bilbo was doing and not add suspicion about a ring being put on or something like that, which makes a lot of sense and remember
[SPEAKER_01]: He can create blinding flashes of light.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's not something beyond Gandalf's ability.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, he may have even used a manufactured firecracker of some sort in order to do this, rather than just casting a spell.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it shows right here how much Gandalf is actually aware of what Bilbo is doing.
[SPEAKER_01]: And yet, still trying to sway things in certain directions.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's adjusting the course of history more or less by adjusting other people's decisions.
[SPEAKER_01]: in ways that don't add to more conflict.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, that doesn't mean that there's not conflict that happens here.
[SPEAKER_01]: 144 flabbergasted hobbits sat back speechless.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I love that Tolkien here uses the word flabbergasted.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's such a great word.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then the pace of the story as it came to this apex,
[SPEAKER_01]: on the last episode, as we talked about that, speeds up again, and the text discusses all of the different groups of habits, and mentions them again in order.
[SPEAKER_01]: Every baggins buffin took Brandy Buck grub, Chub, Burroughs, Bulger, or Bulger, not sure about that one, still.
[SPEAKER_01]: A brace girdle, Brockhouse, good body, horn blower, and proud foot began to talk at once.
[SPEAKER_01]: And they were extremely upset.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a piece of this that feels like it's, and I mentioned this before, this is Tolkien taking a jab at polite British society and the idea that if something were to happen like this, and on front of a stage at a big, important get together like this, while everyone would be so flustered and upset and insulted.
[SPEAKER_01]: It kind of reminds me of the line from the radio had song No Alarm's in no surprises.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know who's going to get that reference, but there you go.
[SPEAKER_01]: So of course they start talking bad about him again and he's called Mad and old Rory Brandy Buck seems to be the only one who is actually putting two and two together here.
[SPEAKER_01]: And notice this is old Rory Brandy Buck.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not just one of the other older hobbits, but also a brandy book, somebody that we've already seen is labeled as odd and different from the other hobbits, and see what Tolkien does here.
[SPEAKER_01]: He makes him the voice of reason.
[SPEAKER_01]: The people who stand out from the majority are the ones who are wiser and more reasonable.
[SPEAKER_01]: Isn't that odd?
[SPEAKER_01]: And he says to his daughter, and law, as Morelda, there's something fishing in this idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe that Mad Baggins is off again.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, he's still clearly interested in what's going to be left behind, like so many of these other habits, but we know that Frodo's going to be there, so nobody else is going to be claiming back-end or things that he leaves because they'll go to Frodo, but notice that Rory Brandy Buck seems to understand what's happening, and maybe that's because there's a piece of him that is like Bilbo, adventurous, and willing to see more than just what's in front of his eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we also get Frodo's response to this, which is one of the first times we get any insight about Frodo's personality here.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it mentions that he enjoyed the joke, he knew it was going to happen, and he had a hard time keeping from laughing because he thought everyone's reactions of course were ridiculous because he's of a similar mindset as Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then, at the same time, he felt deeply troubled.
[SPEAKER_01]: He realized suddenly that he loved the old Hobbit dearly.
[SPEAKER_01]: it was this moment that really solidified for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: What was about to happen?
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo was about to leave, and Frodo didn't know if he'd ever see him again.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not only is this a real thing, it takes a moment for things to hit us sometimes, but also Frodo is caring.
[SPEAKER_01]: He cares about Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: He cares about his connections and his friendships, and he's just now come of age and not really sure what's going to happen with the rest of his life.
[SPEAKER_01]: And as most of us go through a situation like this where your mentor, the person that you looked up to for all these years, all of a sudden disappears that kind of leaves you questioning things.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now in the previous section that we talked about last week, I mentioned that it specifically said Bilba had one hand in his pocket and here we find out why it confirms that he was actually
[SPEAKER_01]: Playing with the ring has kept on touching it with his fingers.
[SPEAKER_01]: And notice that Tolkien builds this up.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a subtle little thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: At first, it was just a mention about a hand in a pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then secondly, now it's him touching the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now is this because he's nervous?
[SPEAKER_01]: Is this a, like, a stimming kind of thing that he just does, like so many of us do?
[SPEAKER_01]: or is there more to it?
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we're given total in complete confirmation that once he slipped the ring on his finger, he was never seen by any Hobbit in Hobbitin again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I mentioned this a lot as we went through the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: Tolkien, heck, in the Silmarillion.
[SPEAKER_01]: Tolkien has this habit of telling us the things that are going to happen before they happen.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this isn't exactly a thing that's going to happen.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's basically a thing that doesn't happen.
[SPEAKER_01]: The other Hobbits don't see him again.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's kind of,
[SPEAKER_01]: doing that again here.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's basically like, here is a monumental moment, and this is why it's important.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: You're not going to have to wait to find out if Bilbo ever is seen by any other Hobbits, again, in Hobbiton.
[SPEAKER_01]: But also notice, the actual phrasing here is by any Hobbit in Hobbiton, again, not by any Hobbit ever, because eventually, as we know the story plays out.
[SPEAKER_01]: they end up in Rivendell and there are four Hobbits who see him again.
[SPEAKER_01]: So maybe it was a play by him to make us unsure if we would see Bilbo later in the story and yet the specifics of the statement make it possible.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he goes home and gets ready for his journey because he's going to leave immediately.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then we get some fun details here.
[SPEAKER_01]: He folds up and wraps into you paper his embroidered silk waistcoat.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess this is a thing people used to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't think of any time I've wrapped any clothing in tissue paper before, but maybe that's a way to keep it preserved, or I don't know, in better condition.
[SPEAKER_01]: Comment, let me know about that one, because I'm not familiar with it, but he also then puts on some old untidy garments and fastened a worn leather belt around his waist.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is getting ready to head out into the wilds, and he doesn't want to ruin his nice clothes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's putting on his traveling clothes.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so many of these are probably from his original adventure decades ago, and yet they still fit.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hasn't really changed that much.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a short sword with a battered black leather scabbard and old cloak and hood.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's weather stained and patched, and yet you could hardly have guessed that it might have been a dark green.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is Dewellen's cloak.
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember when Bilbo left in the Hobbit and he needed a cloak and Dewellen gave him his extra cloak.
[SPEAKER_01]: And even then, it was kind of this faded color.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was used to be dark green, but it was already worn.
[SPEAKER_01]: He kept to that cloak.
[SPEAKER_01]: And in fact, he got a different cloak when he traveled back through Rivendil at the end of the story.
[SPEAKER_01]: and he doesn't bring that one.
[SPEAKER_01]: He brings the weather stained what maybe was dark green at some point.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm guessing maybe it's just kind of a gray or brown at this point.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's even more confirmation that this is the case because Tolkien writes that they were too large for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: These were designed for dwarves enough for hobbits.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then as he's wrapping this all up, he pulls out an envelope and a manuscript and he decides that he's going to take the ring and the chain that is connected to it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is the first time that's brought up.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's got a chain around it, so it's easier for him to not lose it.
[SPEAKER_01]: and then he puts it in a sealed envelope, addresses it to Frodo, puts it on the mantle piece, but suddenly removes it and sticks it in his pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that seems odd, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: He went to go do a thing and then decided not to do it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why go through all the steps of doing that?
[SPEAKER_01]: What is going on here?
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's exactly at that moment that Gandalf shows up.
[SPEAKER_01]: And for the second half of this episode, we're going to go back and forth between everything they say to each other and check how this plays out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Hello, notice he says hello, not hello, hello, said Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wondered if you would turn up.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am glad to find you visible, replied the wizard, sitting down in a chair.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to catch you and have a few final words.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now notice the first thing he says here is I'm glad to have found you visible.
[SPEAKER_01]: First of all, you would assume that it's simply because he wanted to be able to talk to him again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if he was invisible, he may not have noticed where he was.
[SPEAKER_01]: And been able to have the conversation and Bilbo would have left.
[SPEAKER_01]: But that would mean that he left with the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf is implying that I am here because of the ring, and yet he didn't specifically say it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is something Gandalf does a lot where he kind of hints at things.
[SPEAKER_01]: He goes on and says, I suppose you feel that everything has gone off splendidly in according to plan.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he checks in with Bilbo and's like, okay, did you joke play out?
[SPEAKER_01]: Is everything, but also is everything going to plan?
[SPEAKER_01]: Meaning you're going to leave your ring, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo responds, yes I do.
[SPEAKER_01]: Though that flash was surprising, it quite startled me, let alone the others.
[SPEAKER_01]: A little addition of your own, I suppose.
[SPEAKER_01]: And again, I've confirmed this.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, it was, and pick close attention to this.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, you have wisely kept that ring secret all these years, and it seemed to me necessary to give your guests something else that would seem to explain your sudden
[SPEAKER_01]: Now we know that Gandalf doesn't really know what this ring is yet, but he's starting to become suspicious of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Enough time has passed, and enough interesting things have happened with the way it seems to be affecting Bilbo that he's got his antennas up.
[SPEAKER_01]: And in retrospect, looking back on this as somebody who's read the story, watch the movies, all of that stuff, it seems kind of obvious, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like this isn't just some magical ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's clearly doing the one ring types of things in the fact that it has such an influence over Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that Gandalf, in this moment, hasn't really seen the full extent of that yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: until this conversation, but he didn't need this conversation, which is about to happen, the stuff that hasn't happened yet, to know that keeping a magic ring secret is almost always the best thing to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, think just how poorly the rest of Hobbit Society responded to Bilbo and the things they did know about him, adding the fact that he has a magic ring and is able to turn invisible, and the rumors would have escalated.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I lost my silverware.
[SPEAKER_01]: Where did it go?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, that Bilba Baggins probably stole it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was invisible at the time.
[SPEAKER_01]: Everybody knows he has a magic ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: That kind of stuff could have spread.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it makes sense to keep this private because Gandalf knows Bilba's not thief.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not going to use it for bad reasons, at least when he's under his own control.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Bilbo didn't really appreciate it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, uh, and would spoil my joke, he or in interfering old busy body, laughed Bilbo, but I expect you know the best is usual.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this plays into the fact that they are old friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: They can throw insults and be grumpy with each other, but they really know they have each other's best interests at heart.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is another one of those ways that token uses these conversations and really adds life to these characters to make them feel like real people.
[SPEAKER_01]: When you are good friends with somebody, especially men, you kind of kind of jab at each other a little bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: You kind of pick on each other a little bit because it's just kind of fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it also means that you genuinely care and you don't really mean the things that you say most of the time.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's just kind of how it goes.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf responds, I do when I know anything.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I don't feel too sure about this whole affair.
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice he implies here that there are things he doesn't know.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would he do that?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, first of all, if you're a new reader, you don't know much about Gandalf, so you would assume he's a wizard, and so maybe he knows lots of things of the rest of us don't know.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he does, but he's not infinitely knowledgeable.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not just the solution to every puzzle that this book is going to give us.
[SPEAKER_01]: We also, if we're coming from the Hobbit, understand that Gandalf is extremely capable and knowledgeable, but there is still something he doesn't know.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's unsure about this whole affair.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then he says, it has now come to the final point.
[SPEAKER_01]: You have had your joke and alarmed or offended most of your relations and given the whole shire something to talk about for nine days or ninety nine more likely.
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going any further?
[SPEAKER_01]: He's seeking to get a sense of what Bill Boes' intentions here are.
[SPEAKER_01]: And they've talked about this before, his decision to leave and have the party and all of that, but he goes into more detail here and maybe a way that Gandalf hadn't heard from him yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bill Boes says, yes, I am.
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel I need a holiday, a very long holiday, as I have told you before.
[SPEAKER_01]: right because they've had this conversation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably a permanent holiday.
[SPEAKER_01]: This feels maybe like new information for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't expect I shall return.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, I don't mean to.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I have made all arrangements.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am old Gandalf and this is one of those classic lines that the movies
[SPEAKER_01]: nailed.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there are a number of lines in the books that the movies take almost word for word, and sometimes word for word, and they put them on the screen, and they just work perfectly.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this shows how good Tolkien's writing is.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, I am old Gandalf.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well preserved indeed, he snorted.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why I feel all thin, sort of stretched.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you know what I mean, like butter, that's been scraped over too much bread.
[SPEAKER_01]: that can't be right.
[SPEAKER_01]: I need a change or something.
[SPEAKER_01]: So this gives us a few things.
[SPEAKER_01]: We know Bilbo is unhappy.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's something that feels wrong.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's trying to figure out what that is.
[SPEAKER_01]: He thinks that he just needs a vacation.
[SPEAKER_01]: He needs to get out of the shire.
[SPEAKER_01]: He needs...
[SPEAKER_01]: At the end of his life, he knows he only, at least he's assuming, he'll only leave so long without the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't know about that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he needs to go see stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: He needs to see elves again in mountains.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wants one last adventure.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wants to live his life in his retirement in a way that he wasn't capable of previously.
[SPEAKER_01]: That sort of thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: thinking that that might solve the problem.
[SPEAKER_01]: We also get this wonderful analogy that makes sense coming from a hobbit, but are scraped over too much bread, because of course they think about food a lot, so that makes sense.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf looked curiously and closely at him.
[SPEAKER_01]: No, it does not seem right, he said thoughtfully.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, after all, I believe your plan is probably the best.
[SPEAKER_01]: This feels like Gandalf putting the pieces together, and going, nope, this is even more confirmation that you need to
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo responds, well, I've made up my mind anyway, I want to see mountains again, Gandalf mountains, and then find somewhere where I can rest, in peace, and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around in a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell, I might find somewhere where I can finish my book.
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought of a nice ending for it, and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.
[SPEAKER_01]: And you can see now that Bilba was longing for something that he was not longing for previously.
[SPEAKER_01]: In the Hobbit, he keeps longing for home.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wants to be back in the Shire and he doesn't mind the visitors hanging on the bell and people prying about the relatives because he hasn't spent it.
[SPEAKER_01]: 100 plus years dealing with that yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: But here he's now tired and he's looking for something else.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's also looking for a good conclusion to his own story.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what's implied here.
[SPEAKER_01]: The book he's writing is the book about his life.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he wants to end it happily ever after.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a strong sense here that if he stays in the shire, it will not end that way.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf left, I hope he will, but nobody will read the book however it ends.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now this is a funny line, nobody will read the book, and it's, well, I think what he's saying here is, if you leave the Shire, who are you going to leave the book to?
[SPEAKER_01]: There won't be any hobbits where you're going to read the book.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, we find out, of course, that he goes to Rivendell, and that he lives with the elves, and of course, chances are some of the elves are going to read his book.
[SPEAKER_01]: But that's not the point.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf is just kind of bouncing his words back at him to see what he does, I think.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, Bilba says, oh, they may in years to come.
[SPEAKER_01]: Frodo has read some already, as far as it has gone.
[SPEAKER_01]: You'll keep an eye on Frodo, won't you?
[SPEAKER_01]: And I have a feeling that more than that line from Gandalf saying, like, oh, but you're not going to get anyone to read your book.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was more about
[SPEAKER_01]: taking the dialogue and landing it on Frodo by Bilbo being of the respond and say, Well Frodo has read some already, but it also gives us some insight into Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: Frodo is interested in Bilbo's story.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's interested in Bilbo's adventures and wants to know more of this.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf responds, yes I will, two eyes as often as I can spare them, which is another one of those lines directly from the movie, then the conversation centers around Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilba says, he would come with me, of course, if I asked him, in fact he offered to once just before the party, but he does not really want to, yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice the foreshadowing here, we now know what Frodo longs for, but is not quite ready for yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to see the wild country again before I die, and the mountains, but he is still in love with the shire, with woods and fields and little rivers, he ought to be comfortable here.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am leaving everything to him, of course, except a few oddments.
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope he will be happy, when he gets used to being on his own.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's time he was his own master now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that line in retrospect feels really dark.
[SPEAKER_01]: His own master, what does the ring do?
[SPEAKER_01]: It takes people over.
[SPEAKER_01]: It becomes their master.
[SPEAKER_01]: But also notice the parallels here with Frodo, a younger hobbit, just about to enter into his adulthood and his prime and all of that, who still loves the shire.
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves the woods and the rivers and the fields.
[SPEAKER_01]: much like Bilbo did during the events of the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is where things turn to the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf says everything, the ring as well, you agreed to that, you remember.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, or yes, I suppose so, stammered Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the first time other than him putting it back in his pocket that we get a real sense that Bilbo is struggling with actually doing this.
[SPEAKER_01]: He seems to be of two minds.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would he put it on the mantelpiece and then put it back in his pocket?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would Gandalf bring up something that they agreed to previously?
[SPEAKER_01]: And he is now stammering, well, yeah, I suppose so.
[SPEAKER_01]: Where is it, says Gandalf?
[SPEAKER_01]: In an envelope, if you must know, said Bilbo impatiently, they're on the mantle piece.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, no, here in my pocket, he hesitated.
[SPEAKER_01]: Isn't that odd now?
[SPEAKER_01]: He said softly to himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yet after all, why not?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why shouldn't it stay here?
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice this text in particular.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo is confused about his own actions as if somebody else was pulling the strings or something else.
[SPEAKER_01]: He seems confused that he's of two minds.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, he doesn't even realize in some way that he even took it and put it back in his pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then there's a voice that comes out of his mouth that doesn't feel like his.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yet after all, why not?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why shouldn't it stay there?
[SPEAKER_01]: The tone of this passage is becoming dark and mysterious.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf looked again very hard at Bilbo, and there was a gleam in his eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think Bilbo, he said quietly, I should leave it behind.
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't you want to?
[SPEAKER_01]: Now notice he asks, doesn't he want to?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well yes, and no, now it comes to it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't like parting with it at all, I may say, and I don't really see why I should.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why do you want me to?
[SPEAKER_01]: He asked.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now notice, in this moment, it turns from
[SPEAKER_01]: There is a force that is controlling him at this point.
[SPEAKER_01]: You're always badgering me about the ring, and you have never bothered me about the other things that I got on my journey.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's starting to turn aggressively towards Gandalf in order to deflect
[SPEAKER_01]: and accuse Gandalf of doing a bad thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, this is something that happens.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a rhetorical tool that people use.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if I point it out here and you've never noticed this before, you will notice it, especially with people in power or the people in your life who are more manipulative, but look at politicians, look at
[SPEAKER_01]: corporations, individuals who want to deflect and accuse oftentimes when somebody is guilty of something, this will be the tactic they take, and a redirection of that guilt is a sign of guilt and talking new this.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf responds, no, but I had to badger you.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted the truth.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was important.
[SPEAKER_01]: Magic rings are, well, magical, and they are rare and curious.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was professionally interested in your ring, you may say, and I still am.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, notice Gandalf's defending himself here, and he's being honest, he's professionally interested in his ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: What is Gandalf's profession?
[SPEAKER_01]: It is to look over middle earth and make sure that it's safe.
[SPEAKER_01]: I should like to know where it is if you go wandering again.
[SPEAKER_01]: You won't need it anymore, Bilbo, unless I'm quite mistaken.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he defended himself and now he's rationalizing with him.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Bilbo is usually pretty good at rationalizing stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's somebody that can take these conversations and takes into consideration Bilbo's thoughts and reasons for things and oftentimes he'll go with people even if he's not sure because they gave a good argument, but Bilbo responds differently here.
[SPEAKER_01]: He flushed and there was an angry light in his eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: notice angry light in his eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: His kindly face grew hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why not, he cried?
[SPEAKER_01]: And what business is it of yours anyway to know what I do with my own things?
[SPEAKER_01]: It is my own.
[SPEAKER_01]: I found it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It came to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now we will see the tone of this reflected later on when we see a glimpse of what smiggle went through.
[SPEAKER_01]: But this feels intentionally exactly like the kinds of things
[SPEAKER_01]: And Gandalf responds and he says, yes, yes, but there is no need to get angry.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this again was in the movie.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilba responds, if I am, it's your fault.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is mine, I tell you, my own, my precious.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, my precious.
[SPEAKER_01]: And notice, the use of the word precious.
[SPEAKER_01]: This happens again and again in the story.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I believe there's a reason for this.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just that these characters come to...
[SPEAKER_01]: love and obsess, maybe love's not even the right word, the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: But the ring seems to give them the words to use sometimes.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is just head-can and I don't think that there's any real confirmation out there that the ring is physically putting words in their mouths.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's more implied that it's a general change and perspective and attitude and mood and all of that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But the fact
[SPEAKER_01]: Precious is used over and over when talking about the ring makes me think that the origins of that word were Salron himself, because what does Salron care about more than anything else himself and how did he make the ring he deposited aspects of his own spirit in the ring?
[SPEAKER_01]: The ring is Sauron, Sauron is the ring, and when Sauron wielded the ring, he probably called it his precious, because it was him talking about himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: The thing he loves more than anything else.
[SPEAKER_01]: In all of Middle-earth, Gandalf's face turns grave and he says, it has been called that before, but not by you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, how does Gandalf know this?
[SPEAKER_01]: Chances are, Bill Bo told him the story and we know we told him the story about Gaulim and all of that and that he would have said, we'll go and call it his precious and so yes.
[SPEAKER_01]: And notice how Bill Bo handles this.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, but I see it now and why not?
[SPEAKER_01]: Even if Gaulim said the same once, it's not his now, but mine and I shall keep it, I say.
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice all the language about I, me, mine, me, mine, I, I, me,
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to keep saying it that way, but that's funny.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf stands up and sternly says, you will be a fool if you do billbow.
[SPEAKER_01]: You make that clear with every word you say.
[SPEAKER_01]: It has got far too much hold on you, let it go, and then you can go yourself and be free.
[SPEAKER_01]: These words from Gandalf are spot on, but they do leave some room for us to be unsure.
[SPEAKER_01]: The ring has got a hold of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: It would be something that you could say to somebody when they just care too much about something and obsess over it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or you could say about the one ring controlling somebody.
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice how it feels very similar.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo responds, I'll do as I choose and go as I please.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf says, now now my dear Hobbit, all your long life we have been friends, and you owe me something come, do as you promised, give it up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice Gandalf is going through a few different ways of trying to influence Bilbo here.
[SPEAKER_01]: He addresses it rationally.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now he addresses it emotionally.
[SPEAKER_01]: We've been old friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know you can trust me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Trust me here.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, if you want my ring yourself, say so.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's crybobos, again, suspicious.
[SPEAKER_01]: But you won't get it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I won't give my precious away, I tell you.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then his hand strayed to the hilt of his small sword.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a little minor detail, but it shows how close Bilba was to acting exactly like Smiggled it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, Smiggled when they found the ring in the river didn't have a sword, he was fishing.
[SPEAKER_01]: But the willingness to kill somebody in order to defend the ring, that feels extreme.
[SPEAKER_01]: and Gandalf changes.
[SPEAKER_01]: It will be my turn to get angry soon.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you say that again, I shall.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then you will see Gandalf the great uncloaked.
[SPEAKER_01]: He took a step toward the Hobbit, and he seemed to grow tall and menacing his shadow filled with the little room.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is Gandalf realizing that all the other methods were not working, so he needed to put effectively the fear of God in him.
[SPEAKER_01]: Basically, hey, you're a little hobbit, and I'm a very powerful angelic like a being.
[SPEAKER_01]: Do what you need to do here, or you're going to have to deal with me, or, or another way to consider this is that little sword isn't going to age you here.
[SPEAKER_01]: You kind of cornered, and Bilba backs away into the wall, literally being cornered, clutching at his pocket, breathing hard, and Gandalf stares him down.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there might be a piece of this that's more than just Gandalf using intimidation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf's words, his gaze, have a certain power to them.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's able to influence other people's minds, but only towards good ends.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what has come over you, Gandalf.
[SPEAKER_01]: He said, you have never been like this before.
[SPEAKER_01]: What is it all about?
[SPEAKER_01]: It is mine, isn't it?
[SPEAKER_01]: I found it, and Galam would have killed me if I hadn't kept it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not a thief, whatever you say.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not a thief.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo is deflating here.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if that's the right way to say it, but the words feel less like the ring talking and more like Bilbo retreating back into his own awareness of the situation.
[SPEAKER_01]: And again, I'll respond.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've never called you one.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I am not one either.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not trying to rob you, but to help you.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wish you would trust me as you used.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he turns away the shadow passes and he's an old man bent and troubled again.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's wonderful.
[SPEAKER_01]: And they do a good representation of this in the movie.
[SPEAKER_01]: And you might wonder, this might bring up other questions about like when Gandalf shows his power or in the movies when Galadriel shows her power.
[SPEAKER_01]: Those kinds of things.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that there's some deeper wisdom in this representation of power.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this may connect to Tolkien's Catholic background in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, when anybody approaches God or is able to get a glimpse of some sort of divine communication or God's face or those kinds of things.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's always terrifying.
[SPEAKER_01]: power unsheafed in the raw is scary and even though Gandalf is good even though God in the Old Testament is good doesn't mean that in comparison to us when you are put face to face with something that much more powerful than you.
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't find it intimidating and scary.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then Bilbo's next line is even more interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, I'm sorry, but I felt so queer and yet it would be a relief in a way not to be bothered with it anymore.
[SPEAKER_01]: He starts to understand a little bit more about what's going on with this.
[SPEAKER_01]: And seems to take back control of the situation and I have a feeling here that's partially due to Gandalf's influence, but also the fact that Hobbits aren't as influenced by the ring because they don't naturally seek power in control.
[SPEAKER_01]: It has been so growing on my mind lately.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I felt it was like an eye looking at me.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the first time we get a sense that the eye of Sauron is seeking the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it doesn't specifically say it here, just kind of hints at it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm always wanting to put it on and disappear.
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't you know, or wondering if it's safe than pulling it out to make sure.
[SPEAKER_01]: I tried locking it up, but I found I couldn't rest without it in my pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know why, and I don't seem able to make up my mind.
[SPEAKER_01]: After the previous altercation, this is Bilbo being a hundred percent transparent and truthful.
[SPEAKER_01]: We are now fully back in Bilbo being control of himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf says then, trust mine.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is quite made up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Go away and leave it behind, stop possessing it, give it to Frodo, and I will look after him."
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, he said, I will.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then he shrugged his shoulders and smiled rather roofily.
[SPEAKER_01]: After all, that's what this party business was all about, really, to give away lots of birthday presents and somehow make it easier to give it away at the same time, and which is interesting in retrospect.
[SPEAKER_01]: This idea that the party wasn't about playing a joke, it wasn't really about saying goodbye to everybody, although that was part of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: But the main point was to make giving things away easier.
[SPEAKER_01]: It hasn't made it any easier in the end, but it would be a pity to waste all my preparations.
[SPEAKER_01]: It would quite spoil the joke.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Bilbo now is fully in control of himself again.
[SPEAKER_01]: Indeed, it would take away the only point I ever saw in the affair.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf doesn't care about the rest of the opinions of the rest of the hobbits, so much about Bilbo and all of that.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's really this one thing that seems most important to him now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Very well.
[SPEAKER_01]: It goes to Frodo with all the rest.
[SPEAKER_01]: And now I really must be starting, or somebody else will catch me.
[SPEAKER_01]: I have said goodbye, and I couldn't bear to do it all over again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he picks up his bag and heads to the door, and of course, Gandalf notices that he didn't put the ring on the mantle.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, so I have, cried Bilbo, and my will and all the other documents, too.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like this is a last-ditch effort of the ring to still control him a little bit, because he doesn't notice that this is what he does.
[SPEAKER_01]: You had better take it and deliver it for me.
[SPEAKER_01]: That will be safest.
[SPEAKER_01]: No, don't give me the ring, said Gandalf.
[SPEAKER_01]: Put it on the mantle piece.
[SPEAKER_01]: It will be safe enough there.
[SPEAKER_01]: So Frodo comes.
[SPEAKER_01]: I shall wait for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now notice Gandalf doesn't want to pick up the ring and Gandalf ends up picking the envelope with the ring in it and puts it on the mantelpiece.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he doesn't actually come in physical contact with the ring, but I am a little surprised by this and the fact that Tolkien allows Gandalf to get that close to actually touching and controlling the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's controlling a thing that is controlling the ring by carrying the envelope, but it is a little odd to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I'd maybe re-enforces the point that you have to come in direct physical contact with the ring for it to fully affect you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, Gandalf probably has a little bit more ability to resist this than anyone else.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does put it on the mantle and leaves it there for Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: This section wraps up like this.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo took out the envelope, but just as he was about to set it by the clock, his hand jerked back, and the packet fell on the floor.
[SPEAKER_01]: Before he could pick it up, the wizard stooped and seized it, and said it in its place.
[SPEAKER_01]: A spasm of anger passed swiftly over the Hobbit's face again.
[SPEAKER_01]: Suddenly, it gave way to a look of relief, and the laugh.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's that.
[SPEAKER_01]: He said.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm off.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks again for tuning in.
[SPEAKER_01]: This week's bonus episode will be digging more into the different villages, towns and cities in the Shire.
[SPEAKER_01]: We went through the first five or six of them last week and there's so much detail talking to spend so much time figuring out how the logistics of the Shire might work and all the different places in it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll be getting further into that this week in the bonus episode.
[SPEAKER_01]: Come join us, patreon.com slash lord of the ring's lore cast.
[SPEAKER_01]: And you can be one of our new members, like Silverstar, who gets a shout out for joining us.
[SPEAKER_01]: And as also now a VIP member, so we'll get a shout out also on this list of everybody on the VIP.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Who on is my hero?
[SPEAKER_01]: Al-Darion was right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Avariel.
[SPEAKER_01]: Party snacks, single-end-looking for end-wives, melt, nor are we genius.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just going to shorten both of those.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for your continued support.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's going to do it for this episode.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, if you find that you have a wizard giving you very stern advice and then gets big and scary, maybe take their advice.
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably a good idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, have a wonderful rest of your week.
[SPEAKER_01]: And stay safe out there.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for listening to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.
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