Tolkien's 'Smith of Wootton Major' & George MacDonald's 'Phantastes': A Comparison - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

mark12_30 · 10-13-2006, 04:44 PM

Anodos in the Faery palace

.....has his own room, in which he is served by invisible hands. There is also a set of clothes laid out for him that are Just RIght for him. (Frodo wakening in Rivendell to find a set of green clothes that fitted him excellently.)

When Anodos goes swimming in the palace, he can see forms that he had not seen before.

GM does this sometimes-- Golden Key, for one. But with Tolkien, how often does this happen? I remember only Frodo, especially after Weathertop, but generally because of the Ring.

It doesn't ring a bell with Smith of Wootton Major. lmp? I've only just begun with Smith again.

Anodos in the Faery Library reading books-- Story (after Story) within a story-- doesn't happen much in Smith, does it? Happens aplenty in LOTR, although with a different flavor, mostly in song rather than in books. If we extend the metaphor that Faery Palace is akin to Rivendell, then for Frodo it's the songs rather than the books, and they have a similar effect.

Enchantment comes to Frodo through song-- echoed by Anodos' enchantment in the Faery 'bath'. I wonder whether Bolco's love of Evendim was affected by Anodos's Faery bath. Definitely by the various baths in Golden Key.

Anodos says that, while reading a story in the Faery Library, he becomes the story, and then is startled by his environment when he gets to the end of the faery-book.

Whereas Sam & Frodo realise they are IN a story, for real. Different than becoming it as you read it only to be rudely awakened at the end.

Smith is too fuzzy in my memory...

littlemanpoet · 10-13-2006, 10:22 PM

Thanks on the sig.

I see the Smith's star and Anodos' shadow as opposites in effect, though not exactly. Whereas Smith's star allows him entry, Anodos' shadow does not take away entry, but it ruins his ability to perceive Fairy.

Which makes Anodos' shadow more comparable to the Ring, especially as Frodo gets closer to Mordor. Both are meant to be undersgood as maleficent entities with their own wills. The Ring so overwhelms Frodo's perceptions that he is blinded (as if by the sun) to everything else. The shadow merely takes away Anodo's ability to see what's really there.

The palace invisibles are also comparable to the Elves passing through the Shire. In the first section of Shadows of the Past, there is a rather important exchange between Samwise Gamgee and Ted Sandyman in which Ted doubts that Elves pass through the Shire at all, and elsewhere Tolkien describes their passage (near the end of LotR) as like shadows beneath the moonbeam, or something like that. The upshot is that those whose sight is compromised by guilt (in the case of Anodos) or disbelief (in the case of Ted Sandyman), can't see what's really there.

10-13-2006, 04:44 PM	#1
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Anodos in the Faery palace .....has his own room, in which he is served by invisible hands. There is also a set of clothes laid out for him that are Just RIght for him. (Frodo wakening in Rivendell to find a set of green clothes that fitted him excellently.) When Anodos goes swimming in the palace, he can see forms that he had not seen before. GM does this sometimes-- Golden Key, for one. But with Tolkien, how often does this happen? I remember only Frodo, especially after Weathertop, but generally because of the Ring. It doesn't ring a bell with Smith of Wootton Major. lmp? I've only just begun with Smith again. Anodos in the Faery Library reading books-- Story (after Story) within a story-- doesn't happen much in Smith, does it? Happens aplenty in LOTR, although with a different flavor, mostly in song rather than in books. If we extend the metaphor that Faery Palace is akin to Rivendell, then for Frodo it's the songs rather than the books, and they have a similar effect. Enchantment comes to Frodo through song-- echoed by Anodos' enchantment in the Faery 'bath'. I wonder whether Bolco's love of Evendim was affected by Anodos's Faery bath. Definitely by the various baths in Golden Key. Anodos says that, while reading a story in the Faery Library, he becomes the story, and then is startled by his environment when he gets to the end of the faery-book. Whereas Sam & Frodo realise they are IN a story, for real. Different than becoming it as you read it only to be rudely awakened at the end. Smith is too fuzzy in my memory... __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

10-13-2006, 10:22 PM	#2
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Thanks on the sig. I see the Smith's star and Anodos' shadow as opposites in effect, though not exactly. Whereas Smith's star allows him entry, Anodos' shadow does not take away entry, but it ruins his ability to perceive Fairy. Which makes Anodos' shadow more comparable to the Ring, especially as Frodo gets closer to Mordor. Both are meant to be undersgood as maleficent entities with their own wills. The Ring so overwhelms Frodo's perceptions that he is blinded (as if by the sun) to everything else. The shadow merely takes away Anodo's ability to see what's really there. The palace invisibles are also comparable to the Elves passing through the Shire. In the first section of Shadows of the Past, there is a rather important exchange between Samwise Gamgee and Ted Sandyman in which Ted doubts that Elves pass through the Shire at all, and elsewhere Tolkien describes their passage (near the end of LotR) as like shadows beneath the moonbeam, or something like that. The upshot is that those whose sight is compromised by guilt (in the case of Anodos) or disbelief (in the case of Ted Sandyman), can't see what's really there.