Hobbit2 - Chapter 09 - Barrels Out of Bond

[Estelyn Telcontar]

It's unusual for Tolkien to choose a chapter title that almost gives away the end of the chapter. I wonder why he did so here? (The reason could be something so mundane as that nothing better occurred to him...)

Normally, both here and in LotR, Elven realms are safe havens for those travellers who come there. However, Dwarves are an exception - captives here, and even in Lothlorien later, Gimli's eyes had to be blindfolded. Still, I think the Dwarves' lives were saved in this case, since they escaped Mirkwood and had food and drink during their captivity.

Bilbo could have had a more enjoyable stay in other company, but since he was the only one who was able to find an escape, this episode is crucial to his personal development. I imagine the upcoming movies will make a good deal more of this chapter - it does have possibilities! His use of the ring is crucial to the plot at this point - without invisibility, he could not have helped the Dwarves.

The escape ends with a cliffhanger - did the Dwarves survive their flight alive? I won't answer - wouldn't want to spoil it for you!


The previous discussion can be found here.