Unfinished Tales - Part Three - IV - The Hunt for the Ring

[Galadriel55]

I think it's The Sil that says that those who used their heads soon figured that two of the Three were in Lorien and Rivendel. But Gandalf's was the best choice. No one would have thought. Even Ringwraiths, when feeling some power radiating from him, would not suspect a Ring, because Gandalf has his own natural power. Best hiding spot ever!

[Formendacil]

The biggest thing that comes into my mind after reading "The Hunt for the Ring" is the attention to detail that Tolkien paid to consistency in his storytelling. Obviously, this is hardly a new observation, but it's one brought back in full force reading here. Nor is it just a case of Tolkien making sure that all the actions are chronologically consistent, but he's weaving together all sorts of diverse strands: Gollum, Ringwraiths, Gladden Stoors, Saruman and pipeweed, the White Council, the orkish-spy in Bree, Dol Guldur. In many respects I think of this text as "Sauron vs. Saruman: the War for Eriador."

On the level of details in the text, the only thing that leaped out at me as comment-worthy was the fact that the Fellowship arrived in Moria at a time most fortunate for Gollum. This accords well with what Tolkien (or Gandalf) says about things "being meant to happen," since obviously the Ring would not have been destroyed so timely had Gollum perished in Moria. On top of this element of consistency (things being "meant" to happen and all), it strikes me as an excellent example of Tolkien's ability to tie loose ends together in such a way that it not only explains things, but also fits the story. In this particular case, it ties up the loose end of where Gollum was after he escaped the Elves of Mirkwood, it explains why he just happened to be in Moria when the Fellowship passed through, AND it fits with the "things are meant to happen" point-of-view of The Lord of the Rings.

Also, to address the question of the Witchking not daring to confront the power of Nenya in Lorien, it seems to me that it must have been obvious to Sauron that one of the Rings was in Lorien. The Elves would not have given them to just anyone--indeed, not to hardly anyone--and Galadriel was one of the likeliest candidates. Insofar as Sauron did not "know" that Nenya was in Lorien, it most likely means something like what Galadriel tells Frodo when he sees the Eye in her Mirror: Sauron cannot yet perceive her mind. In other words, he can't experience her possession of the Elven-Ring directly, as he would be able to with the One Ring (and as he once did, after he betrayed Celebrimbor). It seems mostly likely that it was only Narya's keeper that was truly secret from Sauron--a subject, by the by, that I suspect we will be able to address even more once we get to "The Istari."

[BGreg]

I would say this chapter reveals more than it seems at first glance.
The first thing would be the detailed description of the Ringwraiths' hunt for the Ring. In most stories, including the Lord of the Rings, you don't find that many details about the mindset of the 'bad guys', they just appear when you need them the least, and ruin the day for the heroes. However, this chapter gives a remarkable insight to the logistics and movement of the Enemy.

First, we are presented with more details about the Black Riders, including Khamul and the division of the Nazgul between Minas Morgul (7) and Dol Guldur (2). Then, with the Riders' journey towards Gladden fields, through Anorien and Rohan, which led them to Anduin at Sarn Gebir, where they got their horses and uniforms via ferry (!). Afterwards they reached the Gladden fields, but found the Stoors' villages long deserted, according to the 'version A' of the story. More interesting is the 'version B', which we can see only in fragments, which claims the Stoor settlements were not yet deserted, but the Nazgul slaughtered or drove away all the remaining Stoors that have been living there. Later in the text of 'version B', when the Nazgul finally do reach the Shire, the Witch-king finds the Shire "too large for a violent onslaught such as he had made on the Stoors", which is a very interesting concept for Tolkien to consider.

After the dealings with Saruman, which were also very interesting, the Nazgul captured some of Saruman's men and obtained maps, names and further notes about Shire and the Hobbits, crucial to their understanding of the situation. Now the Witch-king divided his group into four pairs, and sent them to scatter around the Shire and its borders. The Black Captain himself stayed at Andrath, Khamul and his companion went to find Hobbiton, and the others were dispatched to various suitable locations to block the possibility of anyone's escape. This strategic positioning of Riders was very important, since Shire was a very large country for nine men to control. Here we can view things from Witch-king's perspective, and he actually seems to have done a decent job, but it turned out that unexpected circumstances prevented him from capitalising on this hunt.

Also, we learn a great deal about Saruman's character, and his treachery of both sides, which does not go unnoticed by the Dark Lord. 'Version C' is the most interesting one, but also the least probable one; Saruman is here actually considering full submission to Gandalf, as he realizes the horror of serving Mordor. Only when he learns of Gandalf's escape, he becomes himself again, arrogant and proud, and determined to claim the Ring for himself.