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Originally Posted by Formendacil
Malevolent, or just dangerous?
I wonder if it is exactly proper to classify the Withywindle, indeed the entire Old Forest, as evil. Certainly, it bears malice to the Hobbits (and others, it would seem), and it is self-serving, and definitely wild, but can we really call it evil?
It is much like the dark parts of Fangorn that Treebeard refers to, and I believe that the connection is even made by the old Ent. Yet does anyone ever say that parts of Fangorn are evil?
Certainly, there is danger to the Old Forest. It is not a "nice" place, or a "safe" place, and it works actively against those it does not welcome. But does this make it evil, or is it more representative of the 'wildness' of nature?
Actually, come to think about it, I'm seeing a lot of parallels between the Old Forest and Caradhras. Something to think on, anyway...
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You have a good point about how to interpret my word "malevolence",
Formendacil. I used it to mean "ill will; malice; hatred" or "ill -disposed; vindictive; harmful; injurious" (Random House College Dictionary) rather than
the kind of evil which you infer, the evil of the Enemy.
The Old Forest certainly bears a grudge against the Hobbits from the long ago destruction of trees in the Bonfire Glade and the construction of the Hedge between the Forest and the Brandybuck estate. Old Man Willow is definitely harmful and our young hobbits have fearful feelings about the place.
I wouldn't link it with Sauron or the Enemy but it is a perilous place, isn't it?