[Galadriel55]

Thanks to Formendacil's regular and methodical CbC impressions I started reading odd chapters again and actually posting thoughts instead of putting them away in a mental drawer. I'm jumping the gun on your read here, Form, because I know I will forget this before you get to this chapter, and I'd like to have a conversation happen once you do.

Interestingly, the stuff that pinged me from skimming the thread was the same stuff I responded to 7 years ago (makes me wonder how predictable my mind is). But I would add something to my response:

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

It's too easy to see Frodo as some kind of passive guy, worrying and fretting about killing that's necessary -- but he only prevents the killing that's unnecessary, he laments that there will be death, and tries to mitigate that quite heroically. I'm always struck in this chapter by how little Merry and Pippin seem to have learned from their journeys in comparison: you'd think that they'd know how empty bravado is, and yet they undertake a battle with light hearts. You'd think that they would be more wary of those who seek to become leaders, even in the best of causes, but they set about ordering other hobbits around, organising things and generally 'taking charge' of the situation. I'm not saying that they are wrong to do what they do, but they are so unreflective about it -- so unaware of the potential implications and dangers of putting themselves forward as the Warrior Heroes come to save the Shire. They look much more like Boromir in this chapter than like Aragorn.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I wouldn't say that they learned little - they learned a great deal! However, most of what they learned just flew out of their heads after the "world crisis" came to an end. Frodo's change was much more permanent - to such extent that he actually leaves ME.

To add to that: a leader's job is to inspire as well as to restrain, and that includes acting and preaching action. Merry/Pippin, Sam, and Frodo represent different sides of military leadership. Merry and Pippin are the flame, the inspiration, the plan. Frodo, of course, is the philosophy. Sam is the grounding force to the people - he is most closely tied with the locals and serves as a sort of bridge between the generals and members of the public like Farmer Cotton and the Gaffer. If Merry and Pippin did become like Boromir rather than Faramir or Aragorn, it is to shrug off the sadness of the past a little too much after the Shire has been relatively restored.


But the thought that really prompted me to look up this thread was triggered by this:

‘Fight?’ said Frodo. ‘Well, I suppose it may come to that. But remember: there is to be no slaying of hobbits, not even if they have gone over to the other side. Really gone over, I mean; not just obeying ruffians’ orders because they are frightened. No hobbit has ever killed another on purpose in the Shire, and it is not to begin now. And nobody is to be killed at all, if it can be helped. Keep your tempers and hold your hands to the last possible moment!’

This is the first time there is real talk of fighting and killing, and the wording stuck in my mind. Frodo's reasons for preventing bloodshed are ample and obvious, but an additional point has occurred to me. I think at this point he is still desperately hoping that he can return back to his Shire to rest his mind and soul after his journey. Seeing his home ruined is just as painful and more disappointing to him than to his companions, simply because it is the destruction of his hope for an abode and a utopic corner, the ideal that kept him going. Of course introducing war to the Shire is terrible - and that is recognized by all - but it is also recognized as inevitable. But such a drastic change to the character of the Shire wounds Frodo as much as the physical blemishes, and he might be clinging to the idea that the people can be saved from the change. This certainly is not the main reason he preaches peace, mercy, and forgiveness, but more of a Freudian interpretation of his wording.

Thing is, the fighting and even the killing has been in hobbits all along - it was the Tooks who opened the body count, as we later learn. So the Travelers aren't introducing something new to the Shire, they are merely inspiring and catalyzing the emergence of this previously dormant trait, and use their rich battle experience to direct it into productive routes; the importance of this is that previous manifestations were not absent, just unproductive.

Aaaand it's midnight rambling again on this forum. I don't even remember where I was heading with this. Why does my inspiration for writing posts always come when my ability to formulate thoughts is out of stock for the day?