LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 02 - The Shadow of the Past

[Estelyn Telcontar]

In this chapter, the story takes a crucial turn - the true nature of the Ring is revealed, along with its history, and Frodo's adventures begin. The iconic poem - probably the first one we all memorized when reading the book! - makes its appearance. Gandalf is shown to have a central role in the unfolding plot, and the goal of the journey, the Cracks of Doom, is made clear.

As I see it, this is where the LotR ceases to be merely a sequel to The Hobbit and becomes mythological. What are your thoughts upon reading this chapter?

[HerenIstarion]

It always struck me as (especially, when considered on the scope of the whole book) as expression of simmetry in the composition of the book. To explain myself, exerpt from the contents of my edition:


Book I

Chapter 1 A Long-expected Party
Chapter 2 The Shadow of the Past
Chapter 3 Three is Company
etc

to be compared with:

Book II

Chapter 1 Many Meetings
Chapter 2 The Council of Elrond
Chapter 3 The Ring Goes South
etc


Not only names are somehow interrelated, but the context is neatly up to match what happens in each book. So to say, in the first chapter of each book all is relatively peacefull, but inner tension builds up, in relative second chapters nothing much happens (not a feat often seen in modern writing!), just people talk(in retrospective), the third relative chapters deal with conclusions following retrospective conversation in second chapters and the rest of each book is the quest itself.

very neat, I should say!

[Guinevere]

Just a detail which struck me already in the first chapter, and in the beginning of chapter 2 again, is that Bilbo and Frodo's friends are all much younger.
about Bilbo :

But he had no close friends, until some of his younger cousins began to grow up. The eldest of these, and Bilbo's favourite, was young Frodo Baggins

Frodo is in fact 78 years younger than Bilbo !
About Frodo:

He lived alone, as Bilbo had done: but he had a great many friends, especially among the younger hobbits (mostly descendants of the old Took) who had as children been fond of Bilbo and often in and out of Bag End. (.....)
Frodo went tramping all over the Shire with them

I realized just recently that Pippin was only 11 years old at the time of Bilbo's party!! (one tends to forget that when one has movie-Pippin in one's mind... )
I've looked at the genealogies:
Pippin is 22 years younger than Frodo, Merry 14 and Fatty 12 years younger, and Sam either 12 or 15 years younger.

Now why is that so ? Perhaps because the grown up hobbits were too staid, too narrowminded and had no imagination left ? I guess it was only the children that still had a sense for wonder who listened to Bilbo's tales with relish, and appreciated and admired him.
Frodo too chose his companions for "tramping around the Shire" among the adolescent hobbits. Probably they were more openminded, still more adventurous and lively than the grown-ups. When I read the conversation in the "Green Dragon" and Ted Sandymans' "No nonsense" attitude., I don't wonder.

"Ah," said Ted, "(....)But I can hear fireside-tales and children's stories at home, if I want to."
"No doubt you can," retorted Sam,"and I daresay there's more truth in some of them than you reckon. Who invented the stories anyway? Take dragons now."

This statement relates to the conversation but I think it is one of the timeless truths one finds all over the books. Anyhow, it reminds me of what Tolkien wrote in "On Fairy-stories" .

[Kuruharan]

I wonder what Gandalf expected Frodo to do. Gandalf said that he hardly expected that Frodo would volunteer to take the Ring and leave the Shire. Was he planning to persuade Frodo to do so or did he have something else in mind?

[Orofaniel]

In this chapter, the story takes a crucial turn - the true nature of the Ring is revealed, along with its history, and Frodo's adventures begin.

For me, The Shadow of the Past is where the book really begins. I've always thought of it as the beginning of a great plot. The chapter itself has a great title, don't you think? Some way, the readers just know something exciting is about to come. It's an adventure that we are going to have a minor part in. (Only as a reader though – unfortuantly )

Guinevere- I too, find that quite fascinating.

He lived alone, as Bilbo had done: but he had a great many friends, especially among the younger hobbits (mostly descendants of the old Took) who had as children been fond of Bilbo and often in and out of Bag End. (.....)

I think this quote says a whole lot about why Bilbo was attached to younger Hobbits. First of all, the younger Hobbits liked him, I think: More or less because Bilbo probably was the one Hobbit who actually was a "bit adventures", if you see my point; he old stories about his days where he had gone on his own adventures and paths, which were very exciting for the young Hobbit lads and lasses.

Just as you stated;

I guess it was only the children that still had a sense for wonder who listened to Bilbo's tales with relish, and appreciated and admired him.

I definitely think that is the main thing. I also think that Bilbo saw his "equal" in the children somehow; they were just as adventures as him. (Or at least I am of that opinion.)

Cheers,
Orofaniel

[The Saucepan Man]

Having been a perennial latecomer so far, I thought that I would get my thoughts in early this time round.

In this chapter, the story takes a crucial turn - the true nature of the Ring is revealed, along with its history … (Estelyn Telcontar)

Indeed. Readers who have read the Foreword will already have had it highlighted for them that this is a crucial chapter. The dark tone that underpinned the otherwise light-hearted opening chapter becomes more prevalent as Gandalf reveals the history of the Ring to Frodo (much of which he has only learned himself in the intervening years). Indeed, the only “light-hearted” moments are those which involve Sam, first in The Green Dragon and subsequently when his “eavesdropping” is discovered. (I will return to the development of Sam’s character in this chapter at the end of this post.)

Gandalf’s exposition of history of Ring builds on what we learned of it in the previous chapter, making explicit what was only implicit there (concerning its preserving qualities and corruptive power). Tolkien uses Frodo in this chapter to ask all of the questions which occur to us as readers:

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with Bilbo, myself, and our ring.”

“This ring!” he stammered, “How, how on earth did it come to me?”

“O Gandalf, best of friends, what am I to do?”

“But why not destroy it, as you say should have been done long ago?”

“You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?”

So, having led the reader to identify with Hobbits in general in the Prologue and the preceding chapter, Tolkien here puts us in the (metaphorical) shoes of Frodo, our central character, who, like Bilbo, is portrayed as “different” from your average Hobbit.

Frodo’s questions and comments, and Gandalf’s replies to them, also touch upon issues which go the very heart of the story. For example:

“I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?

“Such questions cannot be answered,” said Gandalf. “You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits that you have.”

And

“What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!”

“Pity?” It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.”

“I am sorry,” said Frodo. “But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum.”

…

“Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death”.

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or for ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many – yours not least.”

Contrast Frodo’s attitude here with his approach to Gollum when they finally meet (which is informed by Gandalf’s wise words here) and the pity which he displays to Saruman in The Scouring of the Shire. Gandalf’s words, of course, also foreshadow the role that Gollum ultimately plays with regard to the fate of the Ring, which would not have been possible without Bilbo’s (and Frodo’s) pity.

I like the way that, as this chapter unfolds, we come to regard the Ring as another character in the story. Gandalf’s words give it a persona. He tells Frodo (and us):

“A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. It may slip off treacherously, but its keeper never abandons it.”

This is the most obvious reference, but almost every reference to the Ring portrays it as something which has its own will and its own agenda (to get back to its master). Interestingly in this regard, it became apparent to me as I searched for quotes to post above that it starts out the chapter being referred to as the ring but that, as we (and Frodo) learn more about it, it becomes the Ring, ie with the first letter capitalised as if it were the name of a character (which, of course, it is).

For me, however, the key passage in this chapter comes when Gandalf suggests that Frodo himself tries to do away with the Ring:

Frodo drew the Ring out of his pocket again and looked at it. It now appeared plain and smooth, without mark or device that he could see. The gold looked very fair and pure, and Frodo thought how rich and beautiful was its colour, how perfect its roundness. It was an admirable thing and altogether precious. When he took it out he had intended to fling it from him into the very hottest part of the fire. But he found that he could not now do so, not without great struggle. He weighed the Ring in his hand, hesitating, and forcing himself to remember all that Gandalf had told him; and then with an effort of will he made a movement, as if to cast it away – but he found that he had put it back in his pocket.

What a fantastic piece of writing! Starting out with a simple description of the Ring, the passage gradually builds on Frodo’s regard of it to the point of obsession, culminating with the second reference in two chapters to it, by a character other than Gollum, as “precious”. Here we can clearly and explicitly see the beguiling effect of the Ring on its bearer and we can, perhaps, begin to understand just what went through Smeagol’s mind when he first set eyes on it. The device of having Frodo attempt to throw the Ring away, only to put it back in his pocket (echoing Bilbo’s attempts to leave the Ring behind in the previous chapter) is brilliantly conceived. These few sentences speak volumes of the nature and the power of the Ring. This passage, of course, foreshadows Frodo’s ultimate “failure” at Sammath Naur. And, reading it again, it suggests to me the inevitability of that “failure”, although I wonder how many of us had that sense when we first read the book.

Finally, a few words on the development of Sam’s character in this chapter. I like the way that he is portrayed sympathetically in his conversation with Ted Sandyman in The Green Dragon. Although Ted Sandyman appears to have the upper hand in the conversation, and as far as the Hobbit onlookers are concerned “scores points” off Sam, we know that it is in fact Sam who is speaking sense here. We already have the impression that there is danger afoot outside the cosy confines of the Shire, and Gandalf later starkly confirms this for us in his discussion with Frodo.

Later, when discovered outside the window by Gandalf, Sam's humorous response helps to relieve the tension which has built up throughout most of the chapter. Even Frodo is hardly able to keep from laughing, despite the horror of all that he has learned. However, I must say that I am not (and have never been) all that keen on the “There ain’t no eaves at Bag End, and that’s a fact” line. Personally, I suspect that this line is single-handedly responsible for the dreadful characterisation of Sam in the Bakshi animated film. In any event, while we later see him as the repository of earthy wisdom and unlikely hero that he really is, I do tend to think that this foolish (albeit humorous) comment starts us out on the wrong footing with Sam (if you take my meaning ). Nevertheless, his otherwise sympathetic portrayal in the previous chapter and earlier in this chapter (which do suggest that there are hidden depths to him) do, I think, reassure us that Frodo has a suitable companion for his coming journey.

[davem]

(Edit: cross-posted with Saucepanman)

What struck me most re-reading the chapter was Frodo's attitude:

'Gollum!' Cried Frodo. 'Gollum? Do you mean that this is the very Gollum-creature that Bilbo met? How loathsome!'

'I think it is a sad story.' said the wizard, 'and it might have happened to others, even some hobbits I have known.'

'I can't believe that Gollum was connected with hobbits, however distantly,' said Frodo with some heat. 'What an abominable notion!'

Later he interupts Gandalf, accuses him of inaction, demands to know why Bilbo didn't stab to death an unarmed opponent at a disadvantage, & why Gandalf doesn't make him destroy or throw away the Ring. He then tries to make Gandalf take it.

Finally, when he accepts the task, what does he give as his motivation?

I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid & dull for words, & have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them'

I suppose my memory of Frodo is of a selfless individual willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. But reading this chapter I don't get that impression. He seems selfish, judgemental, cowardly - the very things he condemns his fellow hobbits for. Maybe he's the one who needs to be confronted with earthquakes & dragons! His first response when confronted with the danger he is in is to try & get Gandalf to take the Ring - but why should Gandalf take it? Frodo doesn't know Gandalf's nature or role. Frodo has something dangerous in his possesion, & instantly he tries to get his 'friend' to take the dangerous thing away from him. He would even rather Bilbo had commited murder if that had meant he could have continued with his safe little life.

Then, the 'flip' - he will accept his burden - because he wants to save the Shire!. He's flipped from a coward to a meglomaniac, or at least a 'messiah'!

Now in all this do we see the influence of the Ring on an innocent hobbit, or do we see a 'selfish, judgemental coward'?

I think all this is deliberate on Tolkien's part - he wants us to see Frodo as being like ourselves. Frodo is certainly not a hero at first, not even admirable. Recalling my first reading, it took me a while to get to like Frodo - I read LotR straight after The Hobbit, & I liked Bilbo much more for a good part of the first book. I think the way Tolkien shows the growth of Frodo's character is wonderful, & it will be interesting to see how much he changes, & how he is 'purged of the gross' as the story progresses. And to see how much of the original Frodo is left by the end.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

One of my favourite chapters in the whole book. I shall attempt to be as brief as possible, and contain myself to two passages only, both of which develop the nature of the Ring, and highlight how it will be the centre of the narrative to follow.

’Three Rings for the Elven kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in the halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and the darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie.’

The famous poem: certainly Tolkien’s best bit of verse (I think). And it clearly sets up a number of very important ideas about the Ring and its relation to other peoples, as well as its nature. First, there’s the resonating and insistent beat of the “One, One, One, One” of the Ring and Sauron versus the multiplicity of the other rings/peoples (three, seven, nine). Where the list of Rings that are associated with the free folk goes up in number (implying increase and diversity?) the Ring of Sauron is singular and one and remains one throughout the poem.

Another aspect of the poem is how it gives us a glimpse into then natures of the free folk: Elves live “under the sky” (beneath the protection/guidance of the Valar? As signified by the presence of Earendil and the other stars that they ‘worship’?); the Dwarves live under the earth where they are walled off from others “in their halls of stone”; and Men who are “doomed to die” – this is both good and bad: death is not nice, nor is having a “doom”, but doom in its fullest sense does not necessarily mean something bad, but “fated”. So in this sense, the Men are contrasted to the Elves (who are ‘trapped’ forever by their immortality “under” the sky like the Dwarves under the earth). Unlike them, Men die and find the gift of Eru.

The words associated with the Ring are extraordinarily telling: “rule, find, bring, bind”. I love the order of the words here – the Ring ‘begins’ with the desire to Rule, which necessitates ‘finding’ how and who to rule, which then leads to ‘bringing’ those people under rule, and brining to bear upon them the methods of rule, and it all ends with ‘binding’ them into that singular Rule. It’s a wonderfully brief and telling description/exploration of how power works.

There’s also two puns in the poem that speak volumes about the Ring. First, it’s from a place where “Shadows lie.” I love this: not just where shadows are, but where the Shadows deceive – this is how Sauron works, and this is how the Ring works: it’s a think of shadows and shadowy lies as it promises power that it will not bring; most importantly it tells the greatest lie of all: that by claiming it, one will find fulfilment of one’s desires, not the emptying of the will. The Ring is the ultimate lie: “take me and rule” when what it’s really all about is “be taken by me and be ruled.”

The second pun is the name of Mordor itself – it’s always looked to me a lot like the Anglo-Saxon word for murder morðor (pronounced “morthor”). I think this contrasts to the “Mortal Men doomed to die” – it is in the nature of humanity to die, it is our fate; the Ring is from a place that perverts that fate through unnatural death (that is, the murder/loss of our very mortality by enslavement to Sauron becoming Wraiths).

[Frodo] unfastened [the Ring] and handed it slowly to the wizard. It felt suddenly very heavy, as if either it or Frodo himself was in some way reluctant for Gandalf to touch it.

The ambiguity of this moment is crucial to any understanding of the Ring, I think. Already, Frodo is unsure of where he ends and the Ring begins: who is the reluctant party here? Is the Ring overmastering his will, or is his will being turned to the point where he can’t give up the precious object. This is an ambiguity that I would suggest lasts through the whole novel – is Frodo being enslaved by the Ring or seduced? This idea of the Ring’s weight is a good way to make this point, for is it getting heavier and thus overpowering Frodo, or is he getting weaker and thus no longer able to bear the weight of the Ring?

One more note: I think we have a slight hint here of what Gandalf might (if pressed by Elrond, for example) have admitted was at the back of his mind for the quest ahead: he is the one who casts the Ring into the fire when Frodo is not able to. As Saucepan Man has already pointed out, Frodo is here at the beginning of his quest already completely incapable of throwing the Ring into his own little “fire,” so from that perspective he’s doomed to fail from the outset. But we’ve got this moment where Gandalf is able to convince Frodo to hand over the Ring, and then he does the deed himself. . . I’m not making any claims, I just think that it’s a reason to pause for thought.

[Firefoot]

Davem:

His first thought on finding that the Ring is dangerous is to try to pass it on to someone he is supposed to care about.

The way that I see this is not that Frodo is self-centered; just confused, and surprised. He sees Gandalf as someone who understands the ring much better than he does, and feels that Gandalf would know what to do with it better than himself. He doesn't want the Ring, but who would? He understands just enough of it to know what it is, and he would probably feel intimidated by it, and feel Gandalf as someone wise and powerful would know what to do with it.

He'd rather Bilbo, the one who has given him the luxurious lifestyle & the wealth he enjoys, had killed Gollum

Of course he would: all Frodo has heard of Gollum is vile and dishonest deeds, and what's more, Gollum was the one who took news of hobbits, the Shire, and the name of Baggins to Sauron. He says, "For now I am really afraid. What am I to do? What a pity that Bilbo did not stab the vile creature when he had the chance!" Frodo is, self-admittably, afraid, and probably desperate for some solution. He has lived a mostly peaceful hobbit lifestyle, and all of a sudden within a few hours he learns that he has an evil Ring that belongs to Sauron, Sauron is looking for him, and the vile creature Gollum is the one that brought the news to Sauron!

He has such contempt for the people he's grown up around that he has had fantasies of them being caught up in earthquakes, or attacked by dragons

Frodo only feels this way because he has already had a taste of something higher: Elves, dragons, and other things form the 'Outside'. He is frustrated that the other hobbits don't 'get it': they pass these things off as tales, far away things that do not concern them. He wants them to understand things that they don't get, and this is again because he is so different from them, and also why he does not take part in society with them.

[mark12_30]

"And that's when I choked, which you heard, seemingly."

Am I the only one who, at this line, falls in love with Sam all over again? To me this expression of devotion (for his boss!) is just amazing. The rest of his devotion throughout the quest is packed into this one little line. Incredible demonstration of genuine virtue.


Another favorite:

"Me go and see the elves and all! Hooray!" And then he burst into tears.

Don't you love him for that?

[Aiwendil]

A minor point:

Davem wrote:

All the magical objects can corrupt those who wield them, but only if their bearers choose to be corrupted, by giving in to their desires.

But the One Ring is fundamentally quite different from other magical objects. Others can be used for good. The One Ring never can be. The One Ring is fundamentally evil in a way that the other Rings, the Palantiri, the Silmarils, etc. are not. It may be true that, as you say, it works on the existing inclinations of its user, so that it is ultimately the user that chooses evil. But obviously in order to do this it must have a great power in itself - that is, external to the user. Gandalf wields Narya and no ill comes of it. But if Gandalf took the One Ring for his own, it would be the end of all hope for the free peoples.

Mark12_30 wrote:

Am I the only one who, at this line, falls in love with Sam all over again? To me this expression of devotion (for his boss!) is just amazing. The rest of his devotion throughout the quest is packed into this one little line. Incredible demonstration of genuine virtue.

Sam's introduction in this chapter is one of my favorite bits. I still can't fathom why Peter Jackson substituted another joke for Sam's:

"Eavesdropping Sir? I don't follow you, begging your pardon. There ain't no eaves at Bag End, and that's a fact."

[davem]

Aiwendil

But the One Ring is fundamentally quite different from other magical objects. Others can be used for good. The One Ring never can be. The One Ring is fundamentally evil in a way that the other Rings, the Palantiri, the Silmarils, etc. are not. It may be true that, as you say, it works on the existing inclinations of its user, so that it is ultimately the user that chooses evil. But obviously in order to do this it must have a great power in itself - that is, external to the user. Gandalf wields Narya and no ill comes of it. But if Gandalf took the One Ring for his own, it would be the end of all hope for the free peoples.

In that the 'official' account states that the Three can create while the One can only mar I'd agree, but I suspect that the Three could also be used to mar, if the wielders went in for that kind of thing, & we have Gandalf saying he would use the One to do good in the first instance, so I wonder how accurate that 'official' account is.

Could the One rule the others if its nature was fundamentally different? Is there no correspondence between them?

[Guinevere]

And that's when I choked, which you heard, seemingly.

I agree very much with you, Mark 12-30! Tolkien manages to make Sam very endearing with just these few words - but they speak volumes! and that Sam bursts in tears after shouting "hooray!" mirrors his inner turmoil and is very plausible.

Estelyn's excellent post #27 "Words to live by":
It is these insights that you pointed out that impressed me too. Gandalf's words of timeless wisdom stay forever in my head (and heart!). I was so glad that several of these quotes made it into the movie! (Was that only thanks to Ian mcKellen, I wonder?)

These wisdoms have proverbial quality and an innate worth that makes them timeless and applicable to my life.

Exactly! And that's why it seemed so strange to me that Tolkien stated in the foreword that "there is no inner meaning or message"!

I found it very interesting what Bethberry wrote in post #31 about the proverbial style in which these wisdoms are presented. (I've been collecting the "proverbs" in the books, as Esty knows, and often I couldn't tell which were real ancient sayings and which were "made up" by Tolkien. Needless to say that they don't sound so impressive and terse anymore when translated into another language.) (Hey, you added a new word to my vocabulary: pithy! very fitting indeed!))

[The Saucepan Man]

Davem's points concerning the corrupting effect of the Ring reminded me of a point which occurred to me when I re-read this chapter.

Gandalf tells Frodo:

A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twighlight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Ring. Yes, sooner or later - later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last - sooner or later the dark power will devour him.

At the outset of this passage, it is made very clear that it refers to the effect of the Ring on mortals. This suggests that the Ring might not have the same effect on immortals. It might even suggest that the Ring has no effect on immortals. Yet, later in the chapter, Gandalf makes it clear that it would have a corrupting effect on him, an immortal being.

This leads me to wonder whether the Ring might affect mortal and immortal beings differently. Clearly, it has the power to corrupt both, but do its "enwraithing" properties affect mortals only? The earlier drafts which davem quoted refer to 'elf-wraiths', so Tolkien clearly contemplated the possibility of immortals becoming wraiths. But these references had been removed by the final version. Is this, perhaps, because an immortal being, by his or her very nature, cannot become eternally confined to the "Wraith-world" alone? Any thoughts?

The passage quoted above also tells us that, if a mortal bears the Ring long enough, then he will inevitably become enslaved to it. Davem said:

The hope that runs through the whole Legendarium is simply, & only, that - you cannot be forced to surrender, you have to choose it.

But this passage suggests that the only choice a Ringbearer has is to cast the Ring away, or destroy it, before he becomes enslaved to it. If he does not do so, then he will be forced to surrender to it.

These wisdoms have proverbial quality and an innate worth that makes them timeless and applicable to my life. (Estelyn)

Exactly! And that's why it seemed so strange to me that Tolkien stated in the foreword that "there is no inner meaning or message"! (Guinevere)

Ah, but he accepted that it might have applicability to his readers.