One interesting point about this chapter: I recall (though I cannot find it at the moment) Tolkien saying in
Letters that he did not think LotR perfect and offering as an example of a flaw the manner of the presentation of Gandalf's return. I have never quite understood this. What is the flaw? Is it that he did not make the most of the suspense available at this point? Probably not; Tolkien rarely thought in such terms. Is it that some other scenario for Gandalf's re-entry into the story would have been more believable or better suited to the plot? Perhaps, but it's difficult to see why his appearance in Fangorn is unsatisfactory. Is it that Gandalf's explanation of his death and return should have been stronger or clearer? But if so, then the flaw would have been quite easy to fix merely by altering Gandalf's speech.
Davem wrote:
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What could Gandalf mean - 'I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see.'? Clearly he's not claiming that his resurrection has made him 'longsighted'. Perhaps the 'things far off' are spiritual realities - ie the 'realities' of the spiritual realm, & the 'things close at hand' are the things of the world. He has 'forgotten much' - mundane, everyday things - even his own name (the one given to him by the peoples of Middle earth we must assume, not his 'true' name, Olorin). But it seems that he has re-learned his mission, & the spiritual truths which motivated it.
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This is a valid reading. But I always understood Gandalf's claim in a more mundane sense. After Gandalf's return, the chapter consists primarily of a discussion of Frodo's mission, the politics of Isengard and Mordor, and so on. Gandalf has a lot to say with regard to these big issues - yet, at first, he barely recalls the name "Gandalf". He sees (i.e. knows about or understands) things that are far off, the broad strokes of the struggle, but there are small things, things close at hand, that he does not know. It is as if he was for a time taken outside the world and allowed to look down upon it from a distance, so that he saw it as a player sees the chessboard, not as a chess-piece sees it. And indeed, from this point onward, Gandalf always seems to be thinking in very broad terms about the war and the quest.
In this connection, I have always thought that the answer to The Saucepan Man's question:
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One thing does mystify me in connection with the Three Hunters' eventual meeting with Gandalf. Although it clearly serves to heighten the tension of the moment, I do wonder why Gandalf chose to be so darn mysterious in his approach, keeping his face hooded and greeting them like strangers.
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. . . is simply that they are "close at hand" and Gandalf literally cannot at first recall them.