Summary — The Ring Goes South
Elrond sends out his scouts to determine the movements
of the Enemy. Meanwhile, the hobbits bide their time. Bilbo asks
Frodo to help him finish a book recounting the elder hobbit’s adventures,
and start the next book, which will describe Frodo’s. Elrond chooses
the company that will set out with the Ring-bearer. All told, there
will be nine in the Fellowship: Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn,
Boromir, Merry, and Pippin. Elrond is hesitant to send the last
two, as he is unsure of what they could contribute. However, he consents
after Gandalf points out that not even an Elf-lord’s power would
be able to guarantee success, and that Merry’s and Pippin’s feelings
of loyalty to Frodo count for much.
The Company prepares to depart after Elrond’s scouts return two
months later. As a parting gift, Bilbo gives Frodo a beautifully crafted
coat of mail and the short sword, Sting, that Bilbo used on his
own adventures. Aragorn has his broken sword reforged, and he renames
the sword Andúril. Finally, the group takes along the old pony the
hobbits bought from Bill Ferny, whom Sam has named Bill and who
now looks healthy and strong. After quick goodbyes, the Fellowship
sets off.
The Company heads south out of Rivendell, along the foothills of
the Misty Mountains. One day, they see a suspicious flock of birds
flying overhead, which Aragorn fears are servants of Mordor sent
to spy on them. The group tries to decide how to cross the Misty Mountains,
which impede their path. They settle on the pass of Caradhras, which
enables passage beside one of the range’s tallest peaks. Caradhras
is Aragorn’s choice, although Gandalf fears the pass may be watched.
The wizard mentions a darker and more secret path—one that Aragorn
is loath to try.
As the group climbs higher, the road becomes a treacherous
path along a cliff face. Snow begins to fall. Only Legolas remains
undeterred, for as an Elf he can walk lightly over the snow, leaving
hardly a footprint. The farther the group goes, the heavier the
snow falls. Before long, boulders start to tumble down the mountain
all around them as well. Eventually, they are forced to turn back.
The snow has built up many feet deep behind them, so the men must
burrow a way out for the hobbits. The snow stops soon after they
retreat. As Gimli notes, evidently some force in Caradhras—the mountain
has a reputation for evil—does not want them to pass.
Analysis
The Fellowship of the Ring is chosen to represent all
the Free Peoples of Middle-earth: Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and Men.
Such an assembly of races in cooperation—now one of the most common, staple
elements of the fantasy genre—emerged in large part because of Tolkien’s
works. Although Tolkien never considered himself a fantasy writer—in
fact, he spoke of the genre with disdain—an enormous amount of fantasy
literature and gaming is derived from his writing. Tolkien thought
of his work, with its concern for the origins of mankind and the
fullness of its scope, as far more than fantasy; he envisioned it
as something between fiction and mythology. On a narrative level,
this cooperation of races allows Tolkien to act out in miniature
some of the historical conflicts of Middle-earth, such as the traditional
animosity between Elves and Dwarves, which we see in the early interactions
of Legolas and Gimli. The diversity of the Fellowship also allows
Tolkien to personify some of the traits he earlier describes only
on a more general, archetypal level: the lightness and quickness
of the Legolas the elf, the stolid determination of Gimli the dwarf,
and so on. Some readers may find this stereotyping a bit limiting,
but Tolkien does flesh out his characters beyond the stock traits
of their particular races.
This chapter reminds us that nature is not merely a neutral
backdrop to the adventures recounted in The Lord of the
Rings, but is an active participant in them. Nature is
endowed with moral qualities in the novel—sometimes good, sometimes
evil. We see in the second volume, The Two Towers, a
powerful example of nature’s goodness: the Ents, a tribe of treelike
beings who rouse themselves from dormancy to aid the Fellowship.
Within The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam’s pony,
Gwaihir the Windlord, and Shadowfax are smaller examples of how
the world of nature can offer aid. But this chapter also offers
potent examples of how evil nature can be. The sinister birds flying
overhead are not just a part of the landscape, but a suspicious
reminder that Sauron is spying on the Fellowship, suggesting that
nature itself may be a secret agent. The heavy snowfall encountered
here, which at first seems like mere bad luck as it impedes the
group’s progress through the pass of Caradhras, is finally judged
by Gimli to be an evil influence. The clouds above the pass are,
in effect, snowing on purpose, in order to keep the Fellowship from
passing through Caradhras. Everything in Tolkien’s world is part
of the central saga of good opposing evil.
