Hobbit2 - Chapter 01 - An Unexpected Party

[LadyBrooke]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Since no one else has referred to The History of the Hobbit yet, I will mention a few aspects of the book's early stages. The most significant difference is that of nomenclature. The dragon was named "Pryftan", the wizard "Bladorthin", and the chief of the dwarves was - Gandalf! The other dwarf names were as we know them, though bits of dialogue were switched. The goblin king who was killed by Bullroarer Took (simultaneously inventing the game of golf) was Fingolfin!

The different names are easily one of my favorite parts of the History of the Hobbit - especially Fingolfin as the goblin king (I especially love that one as a fanfic author). The curious thing to me is how almost all of these names show up somewhere else in Tolkien's works - Fingolfin and Gandalf are obvious, Bladorthin shows up (for one line) later in The Hobbit. Pryftan seems to be the odd one out, unless somebody else remembers somewhere I've forgotten that Tolkien used it?

Another fascinating aspect is that of magic. I discovered this when researching the dwarven instruments for my book on music. In the early version, Bombur produces a drum from nowhere and Bifur and Bofur turn their walking sticks into clarinets. Why do you think Tolkien removed all references to dwarven magic?

I think that they disappeared because even at this stage, Tolkien's mind was already turning away from such obvious instance of magic by his characters. Most of the instance in the published Hobbit that I can recall involve objects (or Gandalf making his fireworks), and not something like that. Even the instances in Mirkwood seem less in your face then that. I suppose getting a drum from nowhere would be too...I don't know the term, today I would say Harry Potterish, but Tolkien wouldn't have known that. ...and out of place with the rest of the instances in The Hobbit.

I don't know how much future events can be brought in, so I'll leave it at this - considering the other instances of "magic" in the books, I would have considered the musical instruments appearing out of nowhere to be far more elf-magic for the book's time period, and far less dwarven. After all, the main mention of the dwarves' magic in the first chapter of the published book is "...not to speak of the most marvellous and magical toys, the like of which is not to be found in the world now-a-days. So my grandfather’s halls became full of armour and jewels and carvings and cups, and the toy market of Dale was the wonder of the North." Apparently, Dwarves were Middle-earth's answer to the "First Toymaker to the King". ;p

Apologies if the above doesn't make much sense, I'm currently miles away from my copies of History of the Hobbit.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Anyone who hasn't should try to get a copy of The Annotated Hobbit c1988, by
Douglas A. Anderson. In addition to giving various published versions of the Hobbit (including the original Gollum riddle chapter) there are numerous illustrations and some blurbs/reviews from various countries. In Chapter I alone including Hungary, Russia, Portugal, Rumania, France, etc. as well as sketches by Tolkien.

Btw, "Struck by lightning! Struck by lightning!"

And wouldn't you like to know more about the land of the wild Were-worms in the last desert.

[Guinevere]

The first chapter is always such fun to read!

And I agree with Esty that the dwarves' song is the turning point in the chapter. I guess its effect on the reader is the same as on Bilbo. I am so glad that in the upcoming Hobbit movie they kept this song, and what I hear of it in the trailer even sounds quite appropriate to me!

I think Tolkien did well not to keep the dwarven magic in. The effect of "magic" is much greater when only used sparingly!

Though I haven't seen the annotated Hobbit, I read somewhere about the original names, and knew that "Gandalf" was one of the Dwarves. ("Gandalf" figures in fact in the "dvergatal" in the Völuspa)

[jallanite]

No-one has yet mentioned any similarity between the portion of this chapter where one dwarf after another unexpectedly arrives on Bilbo’s doorstep and the famous Marx Brothers Stateroom scene where person after person comes to Groucho’s stateroom with reasons why they should be admitted to the madness.

See http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/2...tate-Room.html .

Of course this film was released in 1935, more than two years after Tolkien first finished The Hobbit at the end of 1932. So Tolkien could not have been influenced by the film. Similarities must be coincidence, unless both the writers for the film and Tolkien might have been influenced by some related or identical earlier work.

Does anyone know of such a work?

When I first read the book as a child I was impressed by its authenticity, as I remembered encountering at least some of the dwarf names previously, probably remembered from some children’s book on Norse mythology which included all or part of the Eddic list of dwarf names. So I assumed that hobbits were also authentic as the word hobbit looked authentic.

Much, much later I learned that hobbits are authentic, appearing in a list of spirits in the Denham Tracts, which even Tolkien years after writing the story no longer recalled, if indeed Tolkien had not invented a word which only by coincidence already existed.

I don’t see that any magic need by assumed in respect to the musical instruments. See http://www.vintagedrum.com/barry_col..._bass_drum.htm for a collapsible bass drum patented in 1917. The dwarves had expected this to be a final party before setting off (as it was) and so naturally brought their instruments. Only Thorin’s harp and the two viols are specified as being especially large. And in the next chapter it is specified about the dwarves’ ponies:

… each pony was slung about with all kinds of baggages, packages, parcels, and paraphernalia.

I expect we should imagine that the dwarves had the instruments with them on their journey until most of their provisions were stolen when the dwarves were captured by the goblins.


What puzzles me is that Fíli and Kíli each arrive at Bag End with “a bag of tools and a spade.” What did they expect to do with those at Bag End? Perhaps they are to be understood as recent purchases which Fíli and Kíli have decided not to bother to take to Bywater before heading to Bag End.