"A Short Rest" | JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit chapter 3 | Archives 226

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[SPEAKER_00]: The nature of evil, the nature of elves, and a briefing counter with El Rond, curiously not called half-elven.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We follow Bilbo and the dwarves on their adventure to the lonely mountain in chapter three of J.R.R.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Tolkien's Children's Classic, the Hobbit, or there and back again.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's wander.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's take a look at the map.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We are exploring J.R.R.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Tolkien's The Hobbit, where Bilbo Baggins, A Hobbit, has joined a party of dwarves to reclaim their homeland.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They've narrowly escaped being eaten by trolls, and are now a need of a place to regroup before attempting to cross the Misty Mountains.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Which leads us to chapter three, a short rest.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In this chapter, we get one of those rare instances in which the storyteller has a moment of self-awareness and reflects on the craft of storytelling.

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[SPEAKER_00]: These self-reflections pop up occasionally throughout Lord of the Rings, much like Erragorn, speaking out of the grass in Rohan.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Here's what the Hobbit narrator has to say.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Quote, now it is a strange thing when things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about and not much to listen to while things uncomfortable palpitating or even gruesome may make a good tale and take a deal of telling anyway.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is one of the ironies of stories.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Stories about good things are often bad, and good stories are often about bad things, or at least good characters who experience bad things.

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[SPEAKER_00]: However, in this small comment about storytelling, I see a hint to two themes of Tolkien, comfort versus uncomfort, and a little on the role of evil and Tolkien's mythology.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Tolkien's word choice is deliberate, I think, when he says that, things uncomfortable make a good tale.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you remember, Bilbo's descent from comfort to uncomfort is the foundation of the Hobbit book.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And even in this chapter, we see Bilbo pining for comfort.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He's tired and thinks of his comfortable chair at home.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Gandalf's advice to seek for Rivendale sounds comforting, and the tree is in the Alvin Valley provide a, quote, comfortable feeling.

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[SPEAKER_00]: These subtle clues suggest us that Rivendell is a comfortable place.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And in case we miss it, the narrator straight-up says that Rivendell quote, was perfect, whether you liked food or sleep or work or storytelling or singing or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.

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[SPEAKER_00]: To me, that sounds like the most comfortable place ever.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But we'll see in a moment that Bilbo is not entirely comfortable with elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: However, as the ironic reflection about good things making bad stories suggest, our time in Ruvendell is rather short in the Hobbit.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it ties with two or three other chapters as the shortest chapter in terms of page count.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But contrast that with Ruvendell in the Fellowship of the Rings, which gets more than two chapters, including the Council of Elrond, which is one of the longest chapters in Lord of the Rings.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Besides comfort versus uncomfort, I think the description of good and bad stories also hints at a deeper theme.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The role that evil has in Tolkien's mythology.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In Tolkien's world, good and evil emerged from a luvitar the creator God.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We learned in the story of creation that Morgoth, the first evil being, was necessary to make good things even more beautiful.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Through excessive heat, water is turned to beautiful clouds.

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[SPEAKER_00]: and through excessive colds, water is turned to beautiful snow.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This theme is well said in a conversation from Tokens at the Silmarillion, where two of the Valar discuss the impact of evil.

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[SPEAKER_00]: One says, quote, thus even as a levatar spoke to us, Shabbudi not before conceived be brought into the world, and evil yet be good to have been.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But another response, quote, and yet remain evil.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So bad or evil forces have a way of shaping the good.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Of causing good to grow and expand, to exert all of its efforts and strength in its attempt to overcome evil, that is what makes a good story.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So far in the Hobbit, Tolkien has methodically introduced us to fantastical creatures, brought to life out of legend.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Hobbits, dwarves, wizards, and dragons in chapter one, and trolls in chapter two.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, we have yet to meet a human on this journey.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Chapter three is no exception, where Tolkien invites us deeper into his imagination by showing us elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you are familiar only with Peter Jackson's movies, then your image of elves in Middle-earth is likely somber, serious and sorrowful, with complex haughty fathers, that's haughty as in Prideful, all of you the Pace as Thrandwell fans, and excellent archers before the likes of Hawkeye or the Arrow.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you're familiar only with rings of power elves, then you might think that elves are deceitful politicians, or amazingly awesome fighters who can survive volcanic blasts.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you've listened to my previous episodes exploring the Silmarillion, then perhaps your image of elves is of complex, prideful creatures who are capable of doing more harm than good.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And if this is your first full ray into the Hobbits, I'm warning you now.

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[SPEAKER_00]: These are not the elves you're looking for.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Nope, because these elves are happy.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Or to use Tolkien's word, Mary.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Before we are introduced to elves, Bilbo is a bit drowsy.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The warm air and pine tree smell are lolling Bilbo into a dreamlike state.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is the first clue about the nature of elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They are the stuff of dreams, not necessarily the waking world.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But notice all the senses that Bilbo expresses when we are introduced to elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It smells like elves, thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They were burning bright and blue.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Just then there came a burst of song like laughter in the trees.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's pause and look at this for a moment.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Bobo knows he is close to elves first by the smell.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not sure what elves smell like, but I hope it's something pleasant, given that the scent of pine trees is in the air, I'll go with elves having a somewhat earthy smell like flowers.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But more importantly, notice what Bilbo does as he thinks about elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He looked up at the stars.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Ah, the stars, beloved by the elves, were the first source of light that the elves knew when they first awoke, long before the moon or sun were created.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, Bilbo's gaze upward and outward indicates that elves are somewhat not from this world.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And finally, the elves are fully revealed not through sight, but through song.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And not just any song, a song of laughter.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Put, there came a burst of song like laughter in the trees.

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[SPEAKER_00]: After a use, no less than four times to describe the elves, and the song that Tolkien provided is rather silly in its meaning and rhymes.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Complete with made-op wards like Trial Little Lolli.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They even have a joke about the dwarves' beards in their song.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And we're told later that, quote, some elves tease the dwarves and laugh at them, and most of all, at their beards.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Interesting to note, the dwarves were so proud of their many colored beards, tucking them into their belts and draping them over their shoulders in chapter one of the Hobbit.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But here, their beards are the subject of jokes, because elves don't have beards.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Only the very, very oldest of elves, here down the ship right, has a beard.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo has complicated feelings about elves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He can hear them, and the laughter and songs, he can smell them, but he can catch only, quote, glimpses of them as the darkness deepened.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The elves are simultaneously revealing yet elusive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Close, yet out of reach.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This paradox continues, quote, he loved the elves, but he was a little frightened of them too.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In Fellowship, Sam has a similar experience to Bilbo, when he and Frodo and Pippin meet some elves at night in the Shire, quote, Sam walked along at Frodo's side as if in a dream, with an expression on his face half a fear and half of a stoneish joy.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Even the journey to find the elves is not what one would expect.

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[SPEAKER_00]: On the surface, Bilbo sees a seemingly empty land right up to the mountains.

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[SPEAKER_00]: but all over our hidden valleys, yet in which of these hidden valleys is Riftendell.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It seems to come out of nowhere.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Unexpectedly, almost as if the elves will only let you find them, if they will it so.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All of these hints suggest to me that elves are a distinct race, creatures who are somewhat set apart from the other races of Middle-Earth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They have an aura of other worldlyness about them, something uncanny that draws us to them, but at the same time leaves us feeling unsettled.

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[SPEAKER_00]: As a side note, I think Peter Jackson's elves in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy do have this other worldlyness about them.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They may not be merry, laughing or singing, but there's something that separates them from the other races of Middle-Earth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But for all of this, the elves are also closely associated with music and singing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Quote, tired as he was, Bilbo would have liked to stay a while.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Elvis singing is not a thing to miss, in June, under the stars.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Elves love their songs.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This can be explained by going back to the creation story for Tolkien's mythology.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The world was created through singing, and the music of a Louvitar permeates all through nature.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The elves are known as the Louvitar's first born, the Eldar, and his music lives within them.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Contrast that to a Louvitar's second born, the Race of Men, who live outside of the music of a Louvitar, and as such have a greater agency to live according to their own wills.

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[SPEAKER_00]: One elf is named in this chapter, El Rond, the master of Rivendell.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll explore his story and his contribution to the quest right after this break.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're not done yet.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you like this episode, please leave a review and share with your friends.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And remember to subscribe if you haven't already.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll be right back.

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[SPEAKER_00]: El Rond, master of the house of Rivendale, is, quote, as noble and as fair and face as an elf Lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The narrator tells us that his part in Bilbo's tale is rather small, yet still important.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at this role in Bilbo's tale.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The first role Elron has is not overtly stated, but rather shown through the effects on Bilbo and the dwarves, and even their ponies.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Elron has a healing power.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is shown even more poignantly in fellowship, but in the Hobbit it's very subtle.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yet if you look, you can see how the company is healed physically, mentally, and we might even say spiritually, quote, all of them, the ponies as well, who refreshed and strong in a few days there.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Their clothes and bruises are minted, their food back stuffed, their plans are improved.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Elron also hints at his backstory.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He reads the runes on the swords that were picked from the troll cave, calling Thorens or Kist, the goblin cleaver, and Gandalf's glam drink, foe hammer.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Elrond even references his family history that the swords were made by his distant kin in Gondolin.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Taking a step away from the Hobbit book, the tale of Gondolin had been on Tolkien's mind for at least twenty years by the time he wrote The Hobbit.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The fall of Gondolin was one of the first tales Tolkien began to record.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Even dating back to nineteen seventeen, and possibly the trenches of European battles in World War I. We've covered Gondolin in a number of episodes on the show, but one important detail to remember.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Gondolin was overrun by an army of orcs, ball rocks, and even dragons.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That detail adds weight to what the narrator of the Hobbit tells us, quote, he hated dragons, and their cruel wickedness.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, perhaps the more important role that Elron has in Bilbo's tail is his ability to read moon letters.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Moon letters, we are told, are invisible rooms that can be seen only by the moon, which is in the same shape and season as the moon when the rooms were written.

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[SPEAKER_00]: These moon letters are written using a substance called ethylene, which is an ink-like substance that is derived from material, the true silver that was mined in Moria.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You've seen ethylene writing before.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The best example is the inscriptions and images on the doors of Moria, through which the fellowship gain access to Kaza Doom.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That writing was revealed by Starlight and Moonlight.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Only the more sophisticated writings like those on Thorin's map were revealed by the exact same type of moon.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But here in lies another Tolkien theme, the theme of chance.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Chance, it seems, was what brought Gandalf and Thorin together to kick off this little quest, coupled with an unlikely chance that a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins would find his courage and come on the adventure.

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[SPEAKER_00]: What are the chances then?

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[SPEAKER_00]: That the dwarves would pass through Rivendell.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The one place in Middle-earth with a loremaster who could read Moonletters.

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[SPEAKER_00]: At exactly the right time of year and under the right type of moon, so that they could decipher this hidden message.

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[SPEAKER_00]: When you start to layer all of these unlikely chances on top of each other, it's clear that some other force is orchestrating these events.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Some will or power is being made manifest to counter the growing evil in Middle-earth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But I digress.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The moon letters reveal exact yet cryptic instructions for how to open the hidden door on the lonely mountain.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And provide a timeline.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The doors have just a few months to race to the mountain and open the door.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Or else face the dragon head on.

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[SPEAKER_00]: While eventually Bilbo's dream-like days in Rivendale come to an end, with a quote, morning as fair and fresh as could be dreamed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The dwarves, the wizard and the Hobbit, right away, quote, amid songs of farewell and good speed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: To start the next stage of their adventure, we'll get to that next week.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Join me in the next episode where we'll contrast this chapter with Peter Jackson's Hobbit movie.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for wandering Middle-earth with me today.

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[SPEAKER_00]: My friends, if you enjoyed this episode, let me know by subscribing, leaving your review and sharing with your friends.

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[SPEAKER_00]: For feedback on the show, please email me using the link in the show news.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Until next Thursday, remember, at all those who want to, are lost.