“Not all those who wander are lost.”

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by davem

The odd thing is that Tolkien himself was someone who hardly travelled at all - well hardly at all physically.

But didn't Tolkien travel widely within the UK? It always surprises me to read of the number of different places he did visit, either on family holidays, for work, or simply for days out. You do not have to travel far to travel - speaking as one who has never had a passport and always has plenty of adventures on the old island.

I perfectly understand the pull of the Sea. Having grown up by it I miss it, and when I see it I have to get on or into it for some reason. At first it seems as though the Sea only has an irresistible attraction for Elves, but in most cases (apart from those Elves who live on the shores of Valinor) I would say it is not so much the Sea which attracts, nor the journey, but the place you can get to by making the journey over the sea. For Men, it is literally the Sea itself which attracts, as shown in the Numenorean and Gondorian mariners.

I've been thinking about the differences between the static and the mobile characters for quite a while. I noticed the differnence initially between the Rohirrim and the Gondorians. The Rohirrim in effect emigrated to their land from the North, and the parts of the story about them are relatively full of movement - going to and from Helm's Deep and travelling to Gondor. When they meet strangers such as Hobbits, they react with interest and they seem keen to expand their borders.

Originally Posted by Esty

Théoden is at first limited to his hall; his sight is dim, and he has no will of his own. By leaving it (with Gandalf’s encouragement!), he regains a broader view, giving him hope and purpose, and ultimately plays an important part to victory in the great battle of his age.

The chapter where we first meet Theoden is strangely enough one of the few moments in the book where the Rohirrim keep still!

In contrast, the Gondorians at the time of the War of the Ring seem to have stagnated, or more specifically, the residents of Minas Tirith. One of the first reactions to Pippin is one of suspicion. They also seem to be relatively unaware of what is happening outside their walls. While the stories about the Rohirrim are full of movement, those about the Gondorians are about a closing in, a shutting up shop. Yes, they are undergoing siege so this is natural, even so, this almost seems metaphorical for their state of being closed off from the world.

The actual motif of the journey is strong in Tolkien's work - not only within the plots but the Legendarium is almost a journey in itself, moving from the simple to the complex, the comic to the serious, from the eucatastrophe of LotR to the tragedy of the Sil. Journeys can be about discovery within as well as literal discovery, and the way that Tolkien melds the two always brings to mind Huckleberry Finn - as the journey is made down the river many perils and encounters are to be had, each one teaching a new lesson.

I notice how Tolkien takes care that each character who takes a literal journey also takes an internal journey of discovery, and those who do not take a journey do not change in this way. This would include even good characters, such as Galadriel or Elrond - but then they do take a journey at the end of the book. This perhaps means that they have only one more thing to learn, to relinquish power in Middle-earth and the trip to the Grey Havens teaches them to do this.

Originally Posted by Esty

We also see unwillingness to wander in a 'good' character – Tom Bombadil! In limiting himself to the small boundaries of his own land, he sets limits to his powers and influence, having withdrawn from the wider world.

Maybe Tom does not need to travel any longer? He may have already travelled far and wide and have no more or only one more lesson to learn. Or maybe one of the ideas about him is true, that he embodies Middle-earth itself and so does not need to travel? He is a traveller within his own land, and there may be many things to see in the Old Forest which are very small but nevertheless interesting.

Which brings me back to where I was, which must mean someone was reading the Road Atlas upside down...