[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.
[SPEAKER_00]: The show that explores the background of Tolkien's amazing world, from the very beginning.
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the reasons why I enjoy doing this close read and going over like three to five or six pages at a time is that I've realized it gives me a lot more time to think about things.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just about zooming in and getting the definition of specific words, which by the way, there is a word in this week's section that was invented by Tolkien.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to discuss that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But the thing that stood out to me this week that I didn't realize was as important, I guess, maybe that's the way to say it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not that I didn't realize that going slow would reveal things that I hadn't thought about otherwise.
[SPEAKER_01]: But this week's episode, I took an extra few days, some things changed in my schedule this week, and something happened in my thinking through this text.
[SPEAKER_01]: in my subconscious one day I woke up and I realized that there are themes that match in this section.
[SPEAKER_01]: For example, Frodo picking up after Bilbo at the party is very similar to Frodo
[SPEAKER_01]: after Bilbo leaves.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, that's not the only smaller version of a bigger theme that we even see in just these few pages.
[SPEAKER_01]: Another one would be that previously in this chapter, we've seen old man Bilbo, the fact that he's so tired of dealing with all of these other hobbits and the funny ways in which he does deal with them, which we're going to get more into in this episode.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it comes across as somebody who's been doing this for a long time, who needs a vacation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, he's extremely witty, he's still very clever and very on top of things, but he's tired.
[SPEAKER_01]: In this chapter, we finally get to really get to know Frodo, and Mary as well shows up, and they come across with a very different kind of energy.
[SPEAKER_01]: So sure, Frodo is tired of dealing with all the visitors, and he takes a moment to relax and remove himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then again, when pressed, as we get to the end of this section, you notice that the hobbits respond with kind of a, I don't know, a youthful arrogance.
[SPEAKER_01]: And maybe this is age talking, because there was a time in my life where I came across more like a Frodo or a Mary, where I was extremely sure of my words and very quick witted
[SPEAKER_01]: and not really afraid to tell somebody exactly what I thought or to couch it in a joke and turn things around on them.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Bilbo, sure, he can still do those things, but he comes across more hired.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not fun anymore.
[SPEAKER_01]: But for Frodo and Mary, it feels like this is who they are.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're getting a brand new start.
[SPEAKER_01]: We have retired Bilbo, he's leaving at the beginning of the section, and the literal ring has been passed on to Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the inclusion of Mary here is very different than it is when we see the beginning of the story of the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: At the beginning of the Hobbit, it was just Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there were dwarves and Gandalf, but he was the only Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And immediately, from this moment on, this feels like a very different story.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's Frodo and others.
[SPEAKER_01]: His friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a support group.
[SPEAKER_01]: These aren't strangers that he just met and welcomed into his house for some food and some songs.
[SPEAKER_01]: These are friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: People he knows well.
[SPEAKER_01]: who have a very similar outlook on the world and will soon discover that that's very important because this is a very different story from the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: From this point on, the stakes are much more dire.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right from the beginning, the photo is going to need his friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a story not about an individual person making a difference in the world, but about friendship.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I just realized that intro was a little funny when you think about it, it is like the power of friendship, carebear, stare, or something like that, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like you can take that theme and make it very, very juvenile and kind of silly.
[SPEAKER_01]: And yet, Tolkien doesn't, it is very adult and real and important.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we'll get into that more as we get more through the story because, of course, this is going to unfurl over well, years at this rate.
[SPEAKER_01]: But here, let's get into it.
[SPEAKER_01]: At the very beginning of this section, it says, they went out into the hall.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo chose his favorite stick from the stand.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then he whistled.
[SPEAKER_01]: Three dwarves came out of different rooms where they had been busy.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I love this.
[SPEAKER_01]: The dwarves that are helping them, they're not given names.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're not specific ones that we remember from the Hobbit because that would have kind of sidetracked the events that were going on here.
[SPEAKER_01]: These were other dwarves that he had become friends with and probably had employed, and they were setting out on their adventure together.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wasn't going.
[SPEAKER_01]: alone, although he wasn't going with other hobbits again.
[SPEAKER_01]: But dwarves.
[SPEAKER_01]: He asks if everything is ready and they've helped pack up everything and they're getting ready to go.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he says, what fun, what fun to be off again, off on the road with dwarves?
[SPEAKER_01]: And he capitalizes here, road, off on the road capitalized.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, we know they're petting off probably on the east road.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're heading to Reventil, and that road leads eventually there.
[SPEAKER_01]: But capitalizing R in road implies that this is more important than just the east road.
[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't say east road.
[SPEAKER_01]: It says the road.
[SPEAKER_01]: The road itself is like its own place.
[SPEAKER_01]: it is a state of being almost.
[SPEAKER_01]: When you set out on the road, you don't know where it's going to lead.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Tolkien has all sorts of poetry, Bilbo knows this.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is talked about very regularly.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not a surprise here that the road is capitalized.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not in a specific way, but in a very general, this is a place that you are going and it is different from here.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Bilbo is so excited here, he says he's been longing for this for years, goodbye, he bows to the door, he says goodbye to Gandalf Gandalf response, goodbye for the present Bilbo, take care of yourself.
[SPEAKER_01]: Implying that we will see Bilbo again.
[SPEAKER_01]: You are old enough, and perhaps wise enough, and of course, Gandalf is always a little bit, I don't know, double edged in his comments, but he thinks Bilbo's ready for this, and he knows that Bilbo needs to do something else, that the story is moving on to somebody other than Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: and Bilbo's response to this is very interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, take care, I don't care.
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't you worry about me.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am as happy now as I've ever been and that is saying a great deal.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this isn't just Bilbo being ready to read himself of the worries and the troubles of the shire and the people being nosy with their business.
[SPEAKER_01]: This isn't just Bilbo going, you know what?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm finally setting off on this adventure and I'm so ready for it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is those things.
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's another element here that is unspoken.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has become unshackled by the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: He, for the first time in decades, is seeing the world through clean eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: You can probably make this an analogy, and it's a rough analogy, but it's probably apt of somebody who has been a heavy drinker for years and years of their life, and then they finally let that go.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then they get their mind back.
[SPEAKER_01]: It no longer feels like they are being controlled by some external force.
[SPEAKER_01]: They are themselves again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is how Bilbo feels, and it brings him great joy to be released.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he sings a song, and every time there's a poem or a song in these books, it feels like Tolkien.
[SPEAKER_01]: Leaning into his own enjoyment of writing, more so than writing something for a specific audience.
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course, the songs in the poems, as we've gone over before, have an important role in the book, and they absolutely can be seen as something beneficial to the audience.
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's this element in Tolkien's personality and in his history where he was kind of treated roughly by some of the other academicians, is that a word?
[SPEAKER_01]: Who didn't think he was the best poet?
[SPEAKER_01]: And yet he enjoyed it, he clearly enjoyed writing poetry so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he inserts it in his stories, and I think it goes a long way.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's something that sets it apart from other stories.
[SPEAKER_01]: The song goes like this.
[SPEAKER_01]: The road in capital Oregon goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now far ahead, the road, again capitalized, has gone, and I must follow if I can.
[SPEAKER_01]: Pursuing it with eager feet until it joins some larger way, where many paths and errands meet, and wither then, I cannot say.
[SPEAKER_01]: This poem has many levels.
[SPEAKER_01]: This can be very vaguely about life in general and the path of your life that could be very specifically about Bilbo and his expectations for where he's going and his interest in not knowing what the future is going to hold for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's also foreshadowing for this story, this idea that the road is a place where these little paths come in the join larger ways.
[SPEAKER_01]: Much like the Hobbits, walking on their little paths, but eventually joining a much larger, more important story, with more important individuals that they will meet along the way.
[SPEAKER_01]: Until they themselves become those very important individuals, and it makes me think of the end of the return of the King in the movie where Ergon says, my friends, you bow to no one.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I'm getting ahead of myself.
[SPEAKER_01]: So Bilbo sings his song and then he pauses silent for a moment.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I have to think that this was just one last moment to enjoy being here.
[SPEAKER_01]: Because although he's ready to leave, it is his home.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he leaves.
[SPEAKER_01]: He heads out with his companions.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this little note here about he jumped over a low place in the hedge.
[SPEAKER_01]: implies that he is four in 111-year-old Hobbit still spray enough to jump over a hedge, and then he takes to the Meadows and passes into the night like a Russell of Wind in the grass.
[SPEAKER_01]: Reminding us that Hobbits, when they want, can be very quiet.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf says, goodbye, my dear Bilbo, until our next meeting, and then he goes back indoors.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is where we get introduced, and not for the first time, Frodo has come up.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's done a few things so far, but this is the first time we get a real conversation with Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says, has he gone?
[SPEAKER_01]: Gandalf replies, yes, he has gone at last.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wish, I mean, I hoped until this evening that it was only a joke, but I knew in my heart that he really meant to go.
[SPEAKER_01]: He always used to joke about serious things.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wish I had come back sooner just to see him off.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the very first thing we learn about Frodo here is that Frodo seems to be sentimental in a way that Bilba wasn't so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilba was a bachelor, he was a loner, and until Frodo showed up in his life and he brought Frodo in, he was content with that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But Frodo is a young man who lost his family at a young age, who has built these bonds with the people around him.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to see the bond with Mary in a little bit, but especially with Bilbo.
[SPEAKER_01]: In a way, Frodo had to grow up earlier than he should have.
[SPEAKER_01]: and yet was still grasping at that, the thing that you feel when your parents are still around, that sense of safety.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this plays into what I talked about earlier.
[SPEAKER_01]: Frodo is not a loner.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is somebody who keeps his friends and family close.
[SPEAKER_01]: And as much as he's very similar to Bilbo in some aspects, he's very different in others.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Gandalf responds, I think really he preferred slipping off quietly in the end.
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't be too troubled, he'll be all right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, he left a packet for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: There it is.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we again are reminded of the envelope on the mantle piece.
[SPEAKER_01]: Frodo glances at it, but he doesn't open it, and Gandalf reveals the contents to him.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says that you'll find some other documents, along with the will, and reminds him,
[SPEAKER_01]: And you'll find a golden ring, like usual, Gandalf is building up to the thing that he found most important to say.
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, Gandalf is very careful about this.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's almost like a sales guy who knows the way to get the conversation going to get somebody in the mood to talk about the thing that you really need to talk about, which is probably harder to discuss.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Frodo responds, the ring has he left me that?
[SPEAKER_01]: I wonder why?
[SPEAKER_01]: Still, it may be useful.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: He goes through these three different sections of four.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's at first he surprised that the ring was brought up at all.
[SPEAKER_01]: And clearly, Frodo is familiar with the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: This wasn't something Bilbo kept secret from him.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wasn't worried Frodo would steal the ring from him or something like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was something that Frodo was in on.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then it turns from being surprised that this was brought up at all to the fact that he left it for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: That Bilbo left the ring for Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he starts to wonder, why?
[SPEAKER_01]: He moves on to the next step very, very quickly.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, why would he do that?
[SPEAKER_01]: This is his prized possession.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he thinks to himself, this might be useful, which is kind of curious and interesting, useful for what?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like photos wants to sneak around the shire, not being seen, but he does realize the utility of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Gamble responds, it may and it may not.
[SPEAKER_01]: I should not make use of it if I were you, but keep it secret and keep it safe.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm going to bed.
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course the keep it secret, keep it safe line, is reflected in emailing's performance in the movie, which of course is so good, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: But also notice that Gandalf isn't really sure what to do with it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Basically, he's like, okay, be careful with it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm still not really sure what's going on here.
[SPEAKER_01]: But probably a good idea not to use it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he's tired.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's ready for bed.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a long day.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we have to remember Gandalf is in a human body.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he needs sleep.
[SPEAKER_01]: He needs food.
[SPEAKER_01]: He needs to breathe.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, he's tired and goes to bed, but this also implies that he trusts Frodo with the ring, I mean, who else would he trust him with at this point?
[SPEAKER_01]: And he doesn't want to pick it up himself, but he knows Frodo well enough, to know that Frodo won't use it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So then Frodo has to deal with all the guests leaving, and it's getting late.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, it's about midnight.
[SPEAKER_01]: It says when characters came for the important folk, one by one, they've rolled away.
[SPEAKER_01]: filled with full but very unsatisfied hobbits and I love the idea of them both being fully unsatisfied in different ways, not unsatisfied by the food unsatisfied by the well, the way that the party ended.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gardeners came by arrangement and removed in wheel burrows, those that had inadvertently remained behind.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love this picture of like Sam and the
[SPEAKER_01]: In order to remove them from the field, well, it was a party and eventually the next morning comes and of course they're dealing with putting away everything from the party and there's a whole list of stuff but very specifically it notes un-eaten food which was a very small item.
[SPEAKER_01]: They didn't have to clean up too much food because the hobbits were very good at eating everything and partly because of that and just the fact that the party was such a banger in modern terms.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of the hobbits get up late, but they show up the next day.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a large crowd at Bagend, uninvited, but not unexpected.
[SPEAKER_01]: And now Frodo has to deal with the things that Bilbo leaves behind.
[SPEAKER_01]: Which here is the party, but also is the ring.
[SPEAKER_01]: And everything else that goes on from this point forward.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo tells everybody who's asking what's going on.
[SPEAKER_01]: And basically he says Mr. Bilbo Bagends has gone away as far as I know for good.
[SPEAKER_01]: Trying to just close down the story, but of course, they're all going to spread rumors and talk about this probably for weeks.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we get this wonderful section of the story.
[SPEAKER_01]: There are still more gifts for other individuals, and each of these gifts is written and explained so well.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it shows not only how clever Tolkien was, but Bilbo was.
[SPEAKER_01]: For Adalard took, for his very own, from Bilbo, on an umbrella.
[SPEAKER_01]: Adalard had carried off many unlabeled ones.
[SPEAKER_01]: We thought Bilbo had the final joke when he disappeared at the end of the party, but no.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's giving presents that are calling out individuals in his life for their bad behavior, in a way that is giving.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's such a backhanded that I don't even know the way to explain this, but it's so clever and pointed of him to just point out the terrible things that other people did by being nice to them.
[SPEAKER_01]: For Dora Baggins, in memory of a long correspondence with love from Bilbo, on a large waste paper basket, Dora was Drogo's sister and the eldest surviving family relative of Bilbo and Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: She was 99 and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century,
[SPEAKER_01]: Now is this a waste basket for her advice because he didn't think it was very good or was he implying that in order to come up with good advice, you have to come up with a lot of bad advice along the way?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd like your takes on this one.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me know what you think that one actually means.
[SPEAKER_01]: For Milo Burrows, hoping it will be useful from BB.
[SPEAKER_01]: on a gold pen in ink bottle.
[SPEAKER_01]: My low never answered letters.
[SPEAKER_01]: They give them an ink bottle in a pen because he doesn't write letters.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, hey, maybe you should write me back sometime.
[SPEAKER_01]: For Angelica's use from Uncle Bilbo, on a round convex mirror, she was a young baggins and two obviously considered her face shapeally.
[SPEAKER_01]: Somebody who liked to look at themselves in the mirror a lot and it was round because she had a round hobbit face.
[SPEAKER_01]: For the collection of Hugo Bracegurtle from a contributor on an empty bookcase, Hugo was a great borrower of books and worse than usual at returning them.
[SPEAKER_01]: Basically saying, like, hey, you've collected a lot of my books, maybe you need a bookcase to put them all on.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, for La Belleia,
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you remember how the Hobbit ended, you're going to see this one coming.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo believed that she had acquired a good many of his spoons while he was away on his former journey.
[SPEAKER_01]: LaBella knew that quite well.
[SPEAKER_01]: When she arrived, later in the day she took the point at once, but she also took the spoons.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love the injection of humor here in the fact that Bilbo and in in place Frodo 2 are able to see people for who they really are and there's a certain level of not being afraid to call them out on that.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a certain bravery in that and if you think about it, think about the things that Bilbo has gone through in his life on his adventure.
[SPEAKER_01]: He took the
[SPEAKER_01]: If he's able to do that in order to try to help build better negotiations at the end of the Hobbit, then he's not worried about giving somebody an empty bookshelf because they're going to get upset because they kept too many books.
[SPEAKER_01]: Plus, he's not there anymore to deal with the fallout.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is something Frodo's going to have to deal with.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then we learned a little bit more about hobbit holes, and the fact that they get cluttered up with things, and it had been a long life, he had a lot of stuff, but this was a common tendency.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is also partly to do with the fact that hobbits give presents on their birthday, so more presents were being given out than were being received.
[SPEAKER_01]: So eventually, people collect a bunch of stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like this is another commentary on modern day, Britain, or something like that from Tokings perspective as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then he goes on to explain that not every present was new.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they were things that were re-gifted or valuable items that were given away to somebody else, kind of like the ring, and he gives this a word.
[SPEAKER_01]: He says there were one or two old mathams, M-A-T-H-O-M-S.
[SPEAKER_01]: of forgotten uses that it circulated all around the district.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a word invented by Tolkien himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: It describes any object that the Hobbits have no immediate use for, but are unwilling to throw away.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's derived from the old English, M-A-O-M, but the A and the O are weird with weird lines and things.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know how to say that, but basically it meant treasure or gift.
[SPEAKER_01]: These could be things like trinkets or curios
[SPEAKER_01]: And there is some sense that this word took some, got some legs.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if that's the best way to say that, but is still in usage sometimes.
[SPEAKER_01]: But typically more used for things like knick knacks or junk, brick a bracket, things that you can't will yourself to discard that you just kind of keep around for some reason usually sentimental.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is another wonderful example of how Tolkien had such a understanding, such a strong understanding of old words and old language that he was able to then infer what the modern version of that word would be to resurrect these old words for modern usage.
[SPEAKER_01]: And although we just got the whole section of the offensive gifts, we'll call them that, I guess.
[SPEAKER_01]: We have now a section that reminds us how generous Bilba was.
[SPEAKER_01]: The poor hobbits, especially of
[SPEAKER_01]: He treated his tenants well.
[SPEAKER_01]: The old Gaffer got two sacks of potatoes, a new spade, a woolen waistcoat, and a bottle of ointment for creaking joints.
[SPEAKER_01]: Things that he knew the old Gaffer would enjoy would use because he knew him well.
[SPEAKER_01]: Old Rory Brandy Buck, in return for much hospitality, got a dozen bottles of old vineyards, a strong red wine from the Southfarthing, and now quite mature, as it had been laid down by Bilbo's father.
[SPEAKER_01]: a long time ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Rory quite forgave Bilbo and voted him a capital fellow after the first bottle.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love that little insight into his response to this, but again, showing that he truly did know people, even though he wasn't super engaged with a lot of the people in his life, he was aware of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: He knew who they were, and he was a good judge of character, and for the good people in his life, especially those who happened to be poorer, he was very generous to them.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lesson here.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you want to understand if somebody's truly a good person, consider how they use their money, especially in regard to people who are less well off than they are.
[SPEAKER_01]: So then we're reminded that although he's giving away a lot of stuff, there is a lot that was left to throw to books and pictures, lots of furniture, and interestingly it says there was however no sign nor mention of money or jewelry, not a penny piece or a glass bead was given away.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this runs right in the face of the expectations of so much of the shire that he had these hordes of gold and treasure just under the hill, which were of course blown out of proportion.
[SPEAKER_01]: We know that he shows up with just a few chests of treasure at the end of the Hobbit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Fredo has to deal with a false rumor that the entire household is being given away and all these hobbits show up, the labels are torn off of things and things get mixed up and corals break out because of course.
[SPEAKER_01]: So many of these hobbits are just looking for a handout or anything they can get from wealthy old Bilbo baggons.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this of course wears Frodo out.
[SPEAKER_01]: He retires to a back room.
[SPEAKER_01]: And leaves Mary there.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the first time we get to know Mary a little bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is right at the moment that the sackville baggons is show up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Although loudly demands to see Frodo.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the first thing we see Mary do is he politely bowels.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he says he is into spost.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is resting.
[SPEAKER_01]: Hiding, you mean, said Lebelia.
[SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, we want to see him and we mean to see him, just go and tell him so.
[SPEAKER_01]: How many people do you know exactly like this?
[SPEAKER_01]: So Mary leaves them and goes to find Frodo and they find the spoons.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we find that Frodo was in the study.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's sitting at a table and there's a bunch of papers in front of him.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're told that he looks in disposed, he's busy, he's concentrating, he's doing something here.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he stands up and he fidgets with something in his pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: When was the last time we heard about something in a pocket that somebody's hand went to?
[SPEAKER_01]: The ring, maybe?
[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't say it here, but it seems like that might already be what's happening.
[SPEAKER_01]: The ring is in his pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: and it's already reaching out to him.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then he speaks politely, in direct contrast, with the sack filled baggons as who are rather offensive.
[SPEAKER_01]: And they begin to start bartering with him, trying to give him these bargain level prices for the things in the house.
[SPEAKER_01]: Frodo replied that the only things specially directed by Bilbo were being given away, and they said the whole affair was very fishy.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're jealous, because Frodo is inheriting everything, and they felt like they were the ones who should have it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course, they care more about things than they do people in relationships.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the Notho says, only one thing is clear to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that is that you are doing exceedingly well out of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I insist on seeing the will.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're given a brief little insight into the way that Hobbits deal with legal stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: The will was 100% up to SPAC.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if that's the right way to say that.
[SPEAKER_01]: And had seven signatures of witnesses in red ink.
[SPEAKER_01]: Bilbo had done everything exactly according to the way it should happen in order to make sure that Frodo was taken care of here.
[SPEAKER_01]: then Othos says, foiled again to his wife, and after waiting 60 years, spoons, fiddle sticks, and Othos says fiddle sticks.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then he snapped his fingers under Frodo's nose, and this is another one of those old-timey things that has more meaning than we would have expected.
[SPEAKER_01]: When was the last time you snapped a finger under somebody's nose?
[SPEAKER_01]: But it actually means something.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a 19th century English etiquette thing, snapping your fingers under someone's nose is a gesture of utter contempt.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is the Victorian or Edwardian equivalent of saying, I don't give a damn about you.
[SPEAKER_01]: you are worth less than the sound of this snap or I have zero respect for your authority or presence.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a whole history of this that goes way back to the 16th century.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was called the Philip, the act of flicking a finger against a thumb.
[SPEAKER_01]: In Shakespeare's time, this was a signal that something was trivial.
[SPEAKER_01]: Eventually it became the not-a-snap expression, which is a funny thing to say, but think about any time that you've heard anyone say something like, I don't care
[SPEAKER_01]: that's what this is referring to.
[SPEAKER_01]: And on top of it, the fact that the snap was under someone's nose was invading their personal space.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was as if to say that I don't care, you are worthless and your personal spaces of no value to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot more going on here underneath this symbolic gesture than you might assume.
[SPEAKER_01]: So Otho leaves, but LaBella sticks around and she starts
[SPEAKER_01]: and the nooks and crannies and tapping the floor, maybe looking for loose floor boards with other things hidden.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he has to escort her off the premises and relieve her of several small but rather valuable articles that had somehow fallen inside her umbrella.
[SPEAKER_01]: Funny that she puts them in her umbrella not on her person and I love the way this ends and it ends with a snide remark and of course Frodo and Mary's response to it, which goes back to the intro.
[SPEAKER_01]: It shows that they are these young smart asses is probably the right word to use here, but they're confident in their young and they're full of life and able to respond to these difficult situations.
[SPEAKER_01]: These
[SPEAKER_01]: enemies, these evil people, and a way that will continue to develop over this entire story.
[SPEAKER_01]: Her face looked as if she was in the throes of thinking out a really crushing partying remark, but all she found to say, turning around on the step was, you'll live to regret it, young fellow, why didn't you go to?
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't belong here, you're no baggins, you, you're a brandy buck.
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you hear that, Mary?
[SPEAKER_01]: That was an insult if you like, said Frodo, as he shut the door on her.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a compliment, said Mary Brandy Buck.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, of course, not true.
[SPEAKER_01]: This week's Patreon episode, we will be talking more about different towns and villages in the Shire.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been so fun to go over each of these and even just the names of them and how they're laid out is so interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I hope you can join me for that patreon.com slash lotr lorecast, and you can sign up like holy moly, all of these people who have signed up in the last week.
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you are all enjoying the bonus episodes.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I also realized that this is episode 200, which means
[SPEAKER_01]: There are roughly 200.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's slightly less than that because there are some weeks where I did extra long episodes that just went out for everybody.
[SPEAKER_01]: But there are almost 200 episodes of bonus episodes, which means that there are about 20 minutes long each.
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you sign up on the Patreon and just pay for one month, you will get.
[SPEAKER_01]: Roughly 4,000 minutes of bonus episode content.
[SPEAKER_01]: That is crazy to think about.
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, lots of stuff that you can join and get on the Patreon.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you to all of our new members, including these are some great names.
[SPEAKER_01]: Grumper Supreme, love that.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sammy Robotmoth, Rabina Kiss, Amy D. and Claude.
[SPEAKER_01]: Straith.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much to all of you.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I got a note from Robot Moth and Claude Straith who said that they gifted each other.
[SPEAKER_01]: Memberships for their 15th anniversary.
[SPEAKER_01]: So happy anniversary to both of you.
[SPEAKER_01]: And thank you for your support.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll read out all the VIP members in just a second.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just wanted to highlight this other review that came in on Apple podcast.
[SPEAKER_01]: Leave a five star review.
[SPEAKER_01]: I will read it out on a future episode.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is from Abigail Joyride who says five stars more like 500.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is my first podcast.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've ever listened to N-WOW.
[SPEAKER_01]: You make the lore of the Summer Alien and the Lord of the Rings so easy to understand and entertaining.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love your interpretation in the connections you make to real-world problems and realities.
[SPEAKER_01]: Please, please, please keep up the good work.
[SPEAKER_01]: PS, what do you think Tolkien would
[SPEAKER_01]: think of the Rings of Power series would he have approved?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why or why not?
[SPEAKER_01]: PPS, I would so enjoy an episode where you dive into different Lord of the Rings conspiracy theories.
[SPEAKER_01]: Please consider doing something like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, keep up the extraordinary work and then a whole bunch of stars at the bottom, just rows and rows of stars.
[SPEAKER_01]: So first of all, the conspiracy theory ideas seems like a really fun idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll keep that in the back of my mind.
[SPEAKER_01]: And just consider how I would approach that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like that would be a really fun kind of one-off episode.
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe transitioning between books or something like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So fun idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: Please send me your ideas.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love these.
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, what do I think Tolkien would think about the rings of power series?
[SPEAKER_01]: Would he have approved?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why or why not?
[SPEAKER_01]: In short.
[SPEAKER_01]: he wouldn't have approved of anything.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was very against the turning of his books into movies and TV shows of those sorts of things.
[SPEAKER_01]: And as good as we think the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies are, in particular, some of the best movies ever made, he still would have had problems with it because it changed the story in ways that he was not happy with.
[SPEAKER_01]: Every time his editors suggested making changes to his books, he would push back.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he would say that doesn't
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything holds together in this cohesive framework, and to change any piece of it, even just to make it more palatable for the big screen, would have been a problem to him.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he would have been flattered that people loved the work, but the side of him that was a stickler for consistency and authenticity to the original works would have been upset with every form of adaptation of his books to other things.
[SPEAKER_01]: chances are if he had lived longer, these things never would have come to be movies and TV shows.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, take that for what it is, but there you go.
[SPEAKER_01]: But thank you for taking the time to leave five star review.
[SPEAKER_01]: Also shout out to all of our VIP patrons.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's see if I can get through the list.
[SPEAKER_01]: Full Chrome, David S, Daniel Knight, Weaver, Kepena, Richard J. TJT,
[SPEAKER_01]: A.K.
[SPEAKER_01]: musical lover, Barney D. Asle Rezzel, Laurie B. Mason, Weathertop, Jezor, Gimli, a break, Divine Madman, Rosie Rose, a ginger fury.
[SPEAKER_01]: Who on is my hero, Aldorian was right, a burial, party snacks, single-end-looking friendwives, Malts and Norwegianies, Bruce, W.R. Tamis, Kira C. Doss, S, Robot Moth, Silverstar, and Claude, Stray, thank you so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, that's going to do it for this week.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to go do a bonus episode about some cool Hobbit places.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I hope you can enjoy that if you've signed up for that.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if not, have a wonderful rest of your week.
[SPEAKER_01]: And until next time, hide your spoons because everybody knows a lobella sackville baggins in their own life, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll see you next time.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for listening to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you'd like to learn more about other fantasy worlds, check out my other podcasts.
[SPEAKER_01]: The Elder Scrolls lorecast, the Witcher lorecast, and more at robotsradio.net.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you'd like to reach out, I'd love to hear from you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Send me a note on Twitter at robots underscore radio, or join our amazing community on the robots radio discord.
[SPEAKER_01]: Their links in the show notes, or just search robotsradio discord, or find the link on robotsradio.net.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll see you next time.