The Lord of the Bible?

[littlemanpoet]

Exhibit #2.: Bilbo's Will is Not his Own

In A Long-Expected Party, after Bilbo has put on the Ring and disappeared from the party, he is confronted by Gandalf at Bag-End. Gandalf insists that he keep his promise and give up the Ring to Frodo (who is not there). Then this:

'Well, if you want my ring yourself, say so!' cried Bilbo. 'But you won't get it. I won't give my precious away, I tell you.' His hand strayed to the hilt of his small sword.

Gandalf's eyes flashed. 'It will be my turn to get angry soon,' he said. 'If you say that again, I shall. Then you will see Gandalf the Grey uncloaked.' He took a step towards the hobbit, and he seemed to grow tall and menacing; his shadow filled the little room.

Bilbo backed away to the wall, breathing hard, his hand clutching at his pocket. They stood for a while facing one another, and the air in the room tingled.

Gandalf's eyes remained bent on the hobbit. Slowly his hands relaxed, and he began to tremble.

'I don't know what has come over you, Gandalf,' he said. You have never been like this before. What is it all about? It is mine isn't it? I found it, and Gollum would have killed me, if I hadn't kept it. I'm not a thief, whatever he said.'

'I have never called you one,' Gandalf answered. 'And I am not one either. I am not trying to rob you, but to help you. I wish you would trust me, as you used.' He turned away, and the shadow passed. He seemed to dwindle again to an old grey man, bent and troubled.

Quite a few things happen here. Most are presented as facts, but two are presented as seemings. Let's take a deeper look at the action.

1. Bilbo insists on possessing the Ring and accuses Gandalf of wanting it for his own. In the passage just preceding the above quoted, it becomes apparent that as Bilbo possesses the Ring, so it possesses him. And now at the beginning of the quoted text, Bilbo is so far gone as to cast an aspersion upon the character of Gandalf; by doing so he mimicks Gollum. Where does Bilbo get the idea that Gandalf might possibly want the Ring for himself? He himself is his only indication of how another might think and be motivated. Thus, this is a very subtle and effective way of indicating that Bilbo is completely under the influence of the Ring, for he is reduced to thinking precisely how Gandalf later describes the thinking of Sauron: anybody who attempts to wrest the Ring from another must necessarily want to keep it for himself. That Bilbo is thinking this way shows that he is heavily under the influence of the Ring; of evil.

2. Bilbo's hand strays to his sword, to defend himself against Gandalf! This is either great bravery or very foolhardy; it is, in fact, foolhardy and shows just how in possession of Bilbo the Ring is.

3. Gandalf's eyes flashed. They don't seem to flash; they do flash. We can imagine what this looks like, seeing it as a flexing of the muscles around the eyes so that the whites are less covered and appear to be enlarged, then recede back under the eyelids; this indicates a mix of surprise and indignation. Or, perhaps, Gandalf's eyes literally flashed; indicating the same thing in either case. Neither way of imagining it is out of the question.

4. Gandalf warns Bilbo. So far Tolkien has used Gandalf as his means of telling the reader what's true. We are given no indication that it is different in this instance.

5. Gandalf seems to grow tall and menacing. This is the first seeming, and presents a different challenge to the reader. What appears to be happening may or may not be what really is happening. What is happening is necessarily related to what seems to be happening, for this is high poesis. The seeming has to do with height, which suggests authority; Gandalf's shadow fills the room, indicating great power.

6. Bilbo backs away, breathing hard, clutching at the pocket where the Ring is stowed. This is a defensive posture, but 'breathing hard' indicates that Bilbo is under great strain. From the Ring? No, he has already given himself up to the Ring. He is defending his possession of the Ring from Gandalf, indicated by how he is clutching at it.

7. As they face each other, Gandalf remains cloaked (for Bilbo has not repeated the onerous words thus there is no call), yet he is revealed as full of veiled power, for the air tingles. The air does not seem to tingle, but actually does so. How? We are not told. What we do know is that there are three sources of power in the room: Sting, the Ring, and Gandalf. Sting's only power is to turn blue in the presence of Orcs. The Ring's powers are well known, and causing tingling in a room is not listed among them. That leaves Gandalf. Is he making the air in the room tingle? Not directly; it is a by-product of something else that he is doing, which is to allow what he really is, to be experienced in the room, and by Bilbo. What does the reader know, at this point, about Gandalf? That he has magic powers, and that he is good (despite being menacing!). It will suffice for now.

8. Gandalf's eyes remain bent on the hobbit. This indicates a contest of wills. Gandalf's is of course the stronger.

9. Bilbo's hands slowly relax: one its grip on the Ring, the other on the sword, and he begins to tremble. Trembling could indicate various things. It could suggest fear, or weariness. In either case, Bilbo has lost the contest of wills.

10. And then Bilbo says that Gandalf is the one who is acting strangely, as if it's all Gandalf and not himself at all. This is self-deception. His next words are revealing: "I'm not a thief". His conscience has been bothering him on this point for a long, long time, and he is afraid that he did indeed steal the Ring despite the 'deal' he had made with Gollum. But Bilbo is wise enough to understand that since Gandalf is acting so menacing towards him instead of friendly, that it must somehow be important, because he does trust Gandalf.

11. Gandalf's words of reconciliation come not after, but before, he seems to dwindle. This is significant because he shows gentleness from a mien of menace and authority instead of from a worried old wizard-man.

12. Here again we have a seeming, in reverse of the previous one. We will keep watch on Tolkien's uses of 'seeming' with the understanding that Tolkien, niggler that he was, went over his word choices with a fine-tooth-comb, as it were, especially in crucial scenes like this one.

What can we summarize from Exhibit #2?

• That Bilbo is not in control of his own will; it takes Gandalf's will overpowering Bilbo's, for the hobbit to begin to come to his senses.
• That Gandalf is powerful and good; we have as yet no indication where his power comes from.

to be continued....