Who was the old man? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 12-13-2008, 06:57 AM

alatar, the detail I noticed in that quote is the cloak:

Quote:

...a great cloak, the colour of which was not easy to tell, for it changed if they moved their eyes or if he stirred.

Now that sounds more like a technicolour dream coat than a robe of white, which is what Gandalf had at this time. Granted, it is part of the ambivalence that surrounds the old man; however, Gandalf may have appeared to others cloaked in grey robes to hide the white, but I don't recall an instance of Gandalf the White appearing in a deceptive manner.

Morthoron · 12-13-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

alatar, the detail I noticed in that quote is the cloak: Now that sounds more like a technicolour dream coat than a robe of white, which is what Gandalf had at this time. Granted, it is part of the ambivalence that surrounds the old man; however, Gandalf may have appeared to others cloaked in grey robes to hide the white, but I don't recall an instance of Gandalf the White appearing in a deceptive manner.

Gandalf noticed that Saruman's cloak was no longer white while in Orthanc (just prior to his imprisonment atop the tower); it was, rather, a dazzling array of all colors.

Estelyn Telcontar · 12-13-2008, 02:41 PM

Precisely.

Morthoron · 12-13-2008, 03:13 PM

Another neat parallel in the story is that Saruman's robes actually eventually turn gray (muddy, bespattered, torn) after Gandalf's become white. Sort of mirroring one's ascension and one's decline in a literal/visual manner rather than merely figuratively.

12-13-2008, 02:41 PM	#3
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Precisely. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

12-13-2008, 03:13 PM	#4
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,515	Another neat parallel in the story is that Saruman's robes actually eventually turn gray (muddy, bespattered, torn) after Gandalf's become white. Sort of mirroring one's ascension and one's decline in a literal/visual manner rather than merely figuratively. __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.