Gandalf - geat or a joke of a wizard?

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Sarumian

I tend to agree with many things mentioned here, but think when Tolkien was writing The Hobbit he probably hadn't formed his idea of Gandalf-Olorin, or it could have been a bit different. We just need to compare Gandalf's encounter with wolfs in The Hobbit with the battle he gave them in LOTR near Garadhras (Journey In The Dark). The situations were quite alike, save for the fact that in LOTR Gandalf new for sure what the Ring was. But that must not have changed things much: if Gandalf had died in The Hobbit, he would also have failed fulfilling his quest.

I believe Tolkien allowed such difference not by mistake, but for a good reason. While the LOTR is "based" on the account of Frodo and other members of the Fellowship, the Hobbit is written "according to" Bilbo's notes. Gandalf could have told Bilbo that he had been afraid or the latter just assumed it as he'd been in panic himself. I would argue that Bilbo had had a limited knowledge of Gandalf's might till the time of the Council of Elrond, and he was also slightly ironic in regard of the Grey Wizard, playing a part of a well-intended hobbit. Would you agree?

The above is a good in character way of putting it. Out of character, I don't believe all Tolkien's works were intended to be in the same style, written for the same audience, or holding the same themes. Silmarillion and other First Age works are tragedies reminiscent of Wagner, with larger than life flawed characters doomed ill thought out oaths or flaws such as pride. Lord of the Rings is more Christian less Pagan. The Hobbit is a less serious work, more fun.

In a role playing game, I have had to deal with the changing styles in character development in play. The game master wouldn't tell us the year, so I wasn't sure how to play my elven minstrel. Were her songs to be merry nonsense as in The Hobbit when Bilbo passed through Rivendell, or was the mood far more somber and serious as when Frodo arrived years later. As my character was a singer quite knowledgable in the old sagas, she is most reluctant to swear oaths, her worship of the Valar is checked by knowledge of how their stubbornness and anger contributed to much turmoil.

Thus, like many, I was trying to sustain the illusion of a whole bunch of works written about one world with a single consistent history. In the game, once we learned that Mount Doom had recently burst into flame, I decided that the merry care free days at the core of the Third Age were coming to an end, that the elves had begun to see that their time was near its closing. I played Aerlinn's singing as about one third the frivolous style of The Hobbit, two thirds Lord of the Rings. I played her personality and values too as Lord of the Rings rather than Hobbit or Silmarillion.

Perhaps one shouldn't say the books are inconsistent, but that cultures change over long periods of time.

Or, one can suppose that Bilbo and Frodo were just different personalities, and their way of scribing the tale into the Red Book was distinct as the the titles they selected for the book.

At any rate, when setting the style and themes of a role playing game, there are several distinctly different styles available. The game master and players might best decide which one they are trying to work with. I find myself, when discussing the books, remaining aware of changing style and theme as well.