[davem]

Originally Posted by Mark 12-30

Frodo had *not* used the Ring by the writing of this letter-- Frodo's first use of the Ring was in Tom Bombadil's house.

I don't know why Tolkien (via Gandalf) wrote 'again'.

Well, he had used it before in the early drafts - notably to play a trick on Farmer Maggot! In fact, its surprising that Tolkien didn't get more confused with the number of letters & recipients invoved in the early drafts - Trotter has a letter from Gandalf, then Butterbur, then they both have a letter from him, then neither of them does. Reading the early drafts one is truly amazed that Tolkien managed to keep the story straight & that more such slips didn't creep in.

I have to say I do like the way Strider 'plays' the hobbits - both sides are testing the other - Strider points out that he has almost been trapped by the enemy's tricks before, & we have to understand that he is also on his guard - if they are spies of the enemy then they could bring about his downfall & the end of the Northern line. We can only admire the risk he is willing to take, & the struggle he has to bring himself to trust them. There are a lot of undercurrents to this chapter, & Aragorn is taking the hobbits just as much on trust as they are taking him. When he tells them that:

The Enemy has set traps for me before now. As soon as I had made up my mind, I was ready to tell you whatever you asked. But I must admit,' he added with a queer laugh, 'that I hoped you would take to me for my own sake. A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust & longs for friendship.

I have to admit that on all my subsequent readings I feel like hugging the poor soul! (Don't know how well that would have gone down with the Chief of the Dunedain ). Its easy to forget Aragorn's story of loss, struggle, sacifice, being constantly hunted, distrusted & despised. Even here in the parlour at Bree, when all our concerns are with Frodo & his companions, Tolkien manages to evoke sympathy for this strangers - to all those who are open to it. And then the killer:

'I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; & if by life or death I can save you, I will.

(note, no exclamation mark at the end. This is not a heroic boast, it is a simple statement, & he means it. I remember reading a comment from a reader of The lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, who only picked up on the Christian allegory as an adult, along the lines of 'Jesus was just a man in a book to me, but I could have died for Aslan.' Well, at this point (though only on the second & subsequent readings, I admit) I could have died for Aragorn).

Aiwendil is correct:

Strider's character is even boiled down rather nicely to a single phrase. Frodo says that a servant of the enemy would "look fair and feel foul"; Strider really does "look foul and feel fair".

And so is Aragorn's, also with a single phrase.