Reading “The Lord of the Rings”: "The Great River"
The Fellowship finds itself caught at the cusp of past and present, as they confront the choices they have so long eluded.
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Welcome to Tolkien Tuesdays, where I talk about various things that I love about the lore and writings of Tolkien, whether in a chapter reading or a character study or an essay. I hope you enjoy reading these ruminations as much as I enjoy writing them and, if you have a moment, I’d love it if you’d subscribe to this newsletter. It’s free, but there are paid options, as well, if you’re of a mind to support a struggling writer. Either way, thank you for joining me!
We rejoin the Fellowship this week as they start their journey down the Anduin. As they journey down the Great River, it becomes ever more apparent that they cannot much longer delay the moment when they have to decide how to proceed, particularly since their road is growing ever more dangerous. At the same time, they also encounter the Argonath, the mighty statues that were carved to resemble the powerful kings of old. An important milestone has been reached, and it’s unclear how things will proceed.
There are some images in The Fellowship of the Ring that are so evocatively written that you can see them take shape before your mind’s eye as you read the text. One such image is, I think, the Argonath, those mighty statues of Isildur and Anárion that the Fellowship pass by as they make their way down the Anduin. These statues are reminders of the power and might that the men of Númenor once wielded and of the magnificent feats of stone that it could achieve. Indeed, it’s hard not to feel more than a little overawed by the mental imagery of these mighty edifices of stone which, as the narrator reminds us, have stood by while the ages of the world have unfolded around them. They are in some ways relics, reminders of a past that no longer exists.
The emotional experience conjured by the sight of these magnificent statues is a complicated one, particularly since their size and presence seem almost threatening to the tiny figures floating nearby. As so often in The Fellowship of the Ring one can’t help but be aware that the race of Man has fallen quite low in the intervening centuries, with the men of Minas Tirith and its allied cities constantly besieged by forces from the East. This feeling is accentuated by Legolas’ own slightly melancholic rumination on the nature of time for the Elves, and as he reminds Sam and Frodo, “Yet beneath the Sun all things must wear to an end at last.” Permanence and stability are things that can never be truly obtained–or maintained–no matter how much we might wish it were otherwise. The only thing unchanging is change itself.
There is some hope, however, that the power of ages past might come again, or at least some shadow of it anyway. Look, for example, at how Aragorn is described as he comes within sight of his ancestors: “Frodo turned and saw Strider; for the weatherworn Ranger was no longer there. In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect, guiding the boat with skillful strokes; his hood was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light was in his eyes: a king returning from exile to his own land.” It’s one of the most powerful and stirring descriptions of our beloved hero that we get in the entirety of the novel, and it’s a reminder to both Frodo and us that there is far more to him than often meets the eye. He is, indeed, the proud descendant of mighty forebears and, one day, he will claim the crown and throne that are rightfully his. (It’s worth noting that this is a very different type of Aragorn than the one we get in Peter Jackson’s film, who is much more reluctant to take up his rightful place).
Yet there is quite a long way to go before he can do that, and the Company has begun to fret about what the next stage of their journey will entail. Tolkien is a master at keeping us suspended in the midst of these uncertain moments, and even though I have read this book countless times, I still find myself wondering just which way they will decide on, whether they will strike out for Gondor and Minas Tirith and so pass into Mordor that way or whether they will take a more dangerous road. When it comes right down to it there is no truly easy answer, and there are powerful risks associated with each path.
Even as all of this is going on, The Fellowship also has to contend with a number of growing threats. On the water there is Gollum, who has managed to pick up their trail after they left the Golden Wood, while in the air there is the threat of the Ringwraith on its fell beast (though it isn’t known at that point exactly what it is). These are both timely reminders, particularly to Frodo, that the closer they draw to Mordor the more dangerous their road is going to become. It’s impossible to overstate the heavy burden that lies upon Frodo, upon whom so much depends and whose decision will come to affect the lives and fortunes of those who have traveled with him.
Just as important, however, is the fact that this chapter also includes a moment when Frodo’s old shoulder wound flares up in the presence of the winged Ringwraith. This is a potent reminder that, though Elrond succeeded in withdrawing the tip of the blade before it reached Frodo’s heart and brought him fully into the world of darkness, there is still a scar left behind that will never fully heal and that will prove to be a trouble and an additional burden for the little hobbit as he sets out on this last part of the journey. Even at this early stage, it’s clear that Frodo’s very body has begun to bear the marks of his quest. With each mile that he goes, it becomes clearer and clearer that the healing he needs will not be found in the bounds of Middle-earth but can instead only be offered up beyond the Sea.
Overall, this is a haunting and somewhat melancholy chapter, and it is also one that is yet another liminal space. As the Fellowship floats down the River we can’t help but sympathize with them as they remain poised on the cusp of something new, hardly knowing what their quest has in store for them next.