LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 09 - At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This chapter begins with the history and description of Bree and its people, both Big and Little. Why do you think their peaceful coexistence was so unusual in Middle-earth? This section also includes the first definite information on the Rangers, this time from the point of view of the Bree-folk.

We are introduced to the Inn and Barliman Butterbur – rereading the chapter made me realize that I’d forgotten just how much that man talks! Most of the chapter is taken up with the account of the happenings in the common-room. It contains one long poem/song, ‘There is an inn’. The events end catastrophically, and we wonder (at least at first reading) which of the people are friends and which are foes.

He [Frodo] began to suspect even old Butterbur's fat face of concealing dark designs.

What's your opinion on this chapter? Do you remember your first impressions on your initial reading of the book? What did you think of the new characters introduced here?


(This thread opens a day earlier than usual because of time constraints due to my absence this coming week. If a moderator is needed during that time, please contact Legolas. )

[Kuruharan]

This is one of my favorite chapters because it is so atmospheric. (There is just this thing about me and atmospheric). In this particular case, the atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The hobbits commit just about every mistake one could think of in this chapter. They don’t stay together, Merry goes wandering off in the night, the rest of the hobbits expose themselves to unnecessary attention, and Frodo uses the Ring. Of course, the upside was that they were introduced to Aragorn, which might not have happened otherwise. Although, Aragorn might have snuck in their room later, but that would probably have been more disturbing than what actually happened.

In this chapter we also see that the outside world is aware of growing danger and many different types of peoples are trying to get out of the way. We also see that people outside the Shire (or more specifically Bree) regard those inside the Shire as being a little strange.

[davem]

There is an odd structure to this chapter in terms of the hobbits. We began a few chapters back with Frodo & Gandalf, & the other hobbits became involved with the quest one by one. Here we almost have a mirror image:
Frodo/Gandalf+Sam+Pippin +Merry. In this chapter its Merry-Sam/Pippin-Frodo/Strider.

Another odd thing, given his character so far, is that its Merry, the organised, sensible one, who does the really stupid thing (which we'll see in the next chapter).

Re-reading the relevant HoME chapters a few interesting things arise: everyone originally was to have been a hobbit - Barliman Butterbur (originally Timothy Titus, evolving into Barnabus, then Barliman), & Trotter, the hobbit with wooden shoes & broken pipe who magically transforms in the later drafts into Strider. The Pony was to have been a large hobbit hole like structure, cut into Bree Hill. Oddly enough, Trotter is a far stranger & initially more interesting character - we expect men to be strange & mysterious, but a hobbit ranger! Totally out of character for the race. Whatever made Tolkien even consider making one of his stay at home. lazy, greedy hobbits into an action man?

The Ring seems to develop into a more dangerous object in this chapter - Frodo begins to suspect it has a will of its own. This is an interesting development (in spite of the fact that Gandalf has mentioned something of the sort). Frodo now begins to suspect that he is carrying something 'conscious', whose will can perhaps overwhelm his own & make him do things he doesn't want to. And how about our quiet, introspective, sensitive hero jumping up onto a table & belting out a song! (Which, if anyone is interested, was originally to be Sam's Troll Song).

And then we have the southerner, warning all & sundry that he's likely to be the first of many 'refugees' who will be making their way north to escape the depredations 'away down south'? What point, if any, is Tolkien making about refugees, or 'incomers'? They do, obviously, have a right to a peaceful life, but what effect would a mass influx of refugees have on the settled communities of Eriador. Perhaps that nowhere is safe if there is a war going on - even of its taking place many hundreds of miles away, & so no community (or individual) can afford to shut itself off.

Finally, we see the similarities between the Bree hobbits & the hobbits of the Shire. Many place names in the Shire are simply geographical - The Hill, The River, etc, while the names of places in the Bree Land are the same - Bree is the celtic name for 'hill', Coombe=valley (cwm) & chet as in Archet & Chetwood=wood. They are so alike, yet they don't realise it, & are full of suspicion regarding each other. Its this attitude that outsiders are 'queer' which leads to their isolation, & to allowing bad things to go on in the outside world without intervening, that has caused so many problems. One wonders if that is also something the Elves have taught to the other races?

[Aiwendil]

This chapter is a splendid one - I think that, at least on a superficial level, it's one of the most enjoyable chapters Book I. That effect, I believe, arises largely from Tolkien's skillful use of various contrasts in this chapter.

First of all, there is an obvious contrast with the preceding chapters. We have emerged from Tom Bombadil's country and back into the main plot. We are back to worrying about things like Black Riders. There is almost a sense of relief on the reader's part - important threads of the plot that have been hanging quite unresolved since chapter 5 are now taken up again.

Another contrast with what has preceded is that whereas all the previous narrative consists mainly of a cycle of journey/adventure/refuge scenes, this chapter does not fit readily into that scheme.

On the surface, it could be considered a refuge, a safe-place. But there are important contrasts within the chapter as well. Despite its ostensible status as a safe haven chapter, the atmosphere here constantly contradicts that interpretation - right from the meeting with Harry the gatekeeper, who says there are "queer folk about", we know that Bree is wholly unlike Bag End, or Woody End, or Maggot's house, or Crickhollow, or Bombadil's house. Tolkien also continues to reap the benefit of his slowly wrought tension with regard to the Black Riders. When we hear that "a dark figure climbed quickly in over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street" we immediately think we know what it is - it's the same trick, of course, that he used with Merry at the end of chapter 4.

There are other contrasts here (and they carry over into chapter 10 as well). Big folk vs. little folk; merriment vs. fear of the strangers; Hobbit-like curiosity vs. suspicion; Frodo's song vs. his disappearance; Strider's ominous appearance vs. his true nature (he looks foul and feels fair). We are allowed to become comfortable, but never too comfortable. These contrasts contribute greatly to the build-up of tension. For the ominous gains something in power by being set aside the ordinary; catastrophes seem worse if they come in the midst of merriment. This is the sort of trick that Hitchcock would often use - a murder is all the more shocking if it happens in a friendly-looking little motel, in a shower (usually a safe, warm place). Similarly, Frodo's disappearance seems more catastrophic for following such a jolly song.

[Mithalwen]

I think maybe the suspicion is overstated ..... the hobbits are given a warm reception at first ... despite their outlandish cover story...... but the Breelanders are naturally nervous of the threat of mass immigration ... and given the identity of this particular Southerner... it is a pity they aren't more suspicious (UT)...

I suppose that the hobbits feel they are relaltively safe and relax their guard.... they are not alone in the wild and they expect to meet Gandalf (perhaps a smaller scale version of the feeling they have initially at Rivendell; that their part is done)..... after the horrors of the Forest and the Downs and (whether you love or hate him) the wierdness of Bombadil .they are in a "gated community".. the Pony is a relatively normal environment. Merry wandering off is perhaps is more plot than character driven since if he had been "minding" the scattier Pippin, the Frodo debacle might have been avoided .... but then Merry is (especially since Frodo is bound to be more cautious because of the ring) the most relaxed about being outside the Shire ... I don't know that he was taking a particular risk going out....although he did following the Nazgul...

I would say that the first sight of strider was one of the occasions when the film really did capture the picture in my mind......

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Some observations:

1) There is an interesting hint here of other hobbit communities and individuals otherwise not alluded to, one of JRRT's creation of a feeling of depth and barely glimpsed vistas.
"There were probably many more Outsiders scattered about the West of the World in those days than the people of the Shire imagined. Some, doubtless, were no better than tramps, ready to dig a hole an any bank and stay only as long as it suited them."

2) PJ's picture of Strider was abetted by VM, who read LOTR on the way over to New Zealand and sat in as Strider even when he wasn't being filmed.

3) Strider's introduction in Chapter 9 is well done. At first reading, you go back and forth as to whether he is a good guy or a bad guy, and it isn't really settled until the next chapter.

4) The tension is palpable at the end of the chapter:
a) Who is Strider
b) What does Barliman want to tell Frodo (and can BB really be that dense---actually, yes, although he can see through a brick wall in time)
c) Has Frodo betrayed his quest.
d) Has the Southerner been alerted to the Ring, does he even know about the Ring, is he a spy?

[Boromir88]

So I got done reading this chapter last night, and left thinking without a doubt on this reread this is my favorite chapter so far. It will probably end up being my favorite chapter from Book I too. The inn atmosphere that Tolkien describes is just wonderful. We got a small taste at the Ivy Bush and Green Dragon in the first couple chapters, but here is basically an entire chapter the hobbits spend inside an inn.

I didn't care for the Prancing Pony's depiction in the movie. Bree-hill and the town captured the right look and feel with the hobbits arriving at night and being rather gloomy. But the inn itself is a place described being abundant with light, song, and merriment. The place is hopping busy and the innkeeper is swamped busy. Did I mention Butterbur is really busy?

I think I loved this chapter so much this time, because I see a bit of myself and my job in Butterbur. I have quite a large man-bag that I'm able to keep all the papers, laptop, folders, calendar, and all sorts of stuff that I need for work in it. Without it I'd be lost and a complete mess. It keeps my days organized and basically anything important stays in my man-bag. The problem is I tend to get so busy throughout the day I'm leaving something everywhere, inside a different store, sometimes outside. Employees lovingly joke "that's our training director's he would forget his head if it wasn't attached to the neck." There are days I can definitely relate to Butterbur, being busy to the point where one new thing makes you forget something you definitely should not have forgotten!

The atmosphere of the Prancing Pony is simply lovely. There's hobbits, dwarves, and men, locals and foreigners. Who is trustworthy? Is anyone trustworthy? There's even rooms that are designed to cater to hobbits, and the food is just good plain hobbit food. It lulls them into a sense that they're back in the Shire, in the Green Dragon. To the point that they forget their own warnings before entering Bree, that they're now indeed outside the Shire. The hobbits aren't very good at keeping their secret purpose hidden for very long. Anytime you get too much food and drink in public, you'll probably end up regretting it.

Merry perhaps makes the best decision, at least when it come to not risking their secret coming out, but he makes the mistake of wandering outside at night. This time the foreshadowing comes from Pippin:

'All right!' said Pippin. 'Mind yourself! Don't get lost, and don't forget that it is safer indoors!'

Merry just warned all of them to "mind their Ps and Qs" don't forget they're supposed to be escaping in secret. It makes you think if Merry had gone in, that he could have stopped the catastrophe. But all the hobbits make a mistake in this chapter.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

This chapter is certainly nice. The Pony really feels homely, just as well as the description of the food (have I mentioned that it is one of the things I have always appreciated the most about LotR, the description of food and drink - and baths?). And good Mr. Butterbur is just a lovely character. I like him a lot, however chaotic he is. He, in my book, is the prime example of what should a "common person" on the "good side" be like.

Since Boro has mentioned his dislike for the film portrayal of the Pony, I might note that I disliked the portrayal of Butterbur. He was supposed to be "faster" (and he was not supposed to have moustache). The film Butterbur seems to have holes in his memory, but not because he is too busy, but because he seems a bit slow-witted.

I also relate a lot to Merry here. I never realised it before, but it is obvious. On the most basic level: he does not want to go to the common room, he prefers to be alone and later to take a walk outside by himself. Sounds relatable. Quite a mundane way to act, regardless of whether you are being chased by Black Riders or not...

And, one more thing, mandatory random lore-time: "There were probably more Outsiders scattered about in the West of the World in those days than the people of the Shire imagined. Some, doubtless, were no better than tramps, ready to dig a hole in any bank and stay as long as it suited them."

Very unusual information regarding Hobbits. I have always discouraged the idea of Dungeons&Dragons style "halfling thief" hailing from a random imaginary village in the wilderness, but actually, after reading this, it doesn't sound that uncanonical, does it.

[Formendacil]

Two things struck me this time:

1. What a *long* day this is for the Hobbits: they wake up in a Barrow, they get rescued by Tom Bombadil, run around naked in the grass, march all day over Arthedain's dikes to the East Road, encounter a new village, have the whole crazy adventure of Frodo putting on the Ring *in public*, have two after-hours secret conversations, lose Merry and get him back, find out that the Black Riders are back, and have to change beds (which turns out to be a good things...).

And it feels pretty long to readers too! The twenty-four hours from waking in the Barrow to leaving Bree broach four chapters--I think only the final day or so for Frodo and Sam crossing from Ithilien into Mordor even has a hope of competing.


2. Along the same lines as what Boromir88 says about not approving of the film Prancing Pony, I quite agree that Bree is far too dark and dangerous feeling in the movies--but I think I understand why it had to be that way. In the movie there is no Gildor, nor Maggot, nor Crickhollow, nor Bombadi, so the pattern of "adventure, refuge" that we've been following since Frodo left Hobbiton doesn't hold. We also haven't been away from the Shire long enough (since there's nothing between the Brandywine and Bree, apparently) to relish a return to home-like environs, even if it's not quite as 'safe' as Pippin nearly behaves.


All in all, this is one of my favourite chapters. The snippets of history in the description of Bree and the insight into the wider world of Eriador and beyond is wonderful, mixed in with one of my favourite minor characters (Barliman Butterbur) and an introduction to a favourite main character (Strider).

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

What a *long* day this is for the Hobbits: they wake up in a Barrow, they get rescued by Tom Bombadil, run around naked in the grass, march all day over Arthedain's dikes to the East Road, encounter a new village, have the whole crazy adventure of Frodo putting on the Ring *in public*, have two after-hours secret conversations, lose Merry and get him back, find out that the Black Riders are back, and have to change beds (which turns out to be a good things...).

Obviously, the imprisonment in the Barrow couldn't have lasted very long; just enough time to strip all of hobbits, except Frodo, and reclothe them in white.

You do have to feel sorry for poor Frodo, with both Strider and Butterbur wanting to talk to him before bed.

Originally Posted by Formendacil

All in all, this is one of my favourite chapters. The snippets of history in the description of Bree and the insight into the wider world of Eriador and beyond is wonderful, mixed in with one of my favourite minor characters (Barliman Butterbur) and an introduction to a favourite main character (Strider).

I like the way the description of Bree seems to momentarily revert to the earlier, more lighthearted tone used before The Shadow of the Past. Once last look at a place of order and peace, before running off into the wild.

[Boromir88]

One thing is for certain after reading this chapter...Tolkien knew how to write cliffhangers. This chapter leaves us the reminder that Frodo promised two private talks with Strider and Butterbur and Frodo wondering if he can trust anyone.

Even though I'm disappointed with how the movies depicted the atmosphere in the Prancing Pony, I understand Jackson's reasons. What I'm not disappointed in, is how he introduced Strider. Visually, it was a rare moment of perfection:

He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved...A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits.

From the gate keeper, to the "insiders" and "outsiders" passing through, to Strider and even the innkeeper's "fat face," this chapter reads like a mystery novel. It's full with a bunch of characters and everyone's concealing something. The question remains what are people hiding and is it important to Frodo? It's impossible to put down the book after reading this chapter.