Summary — The Taming of Sméagol
“Yess, wretched we are, precious. . .
. Misery misery! Hobbits won’t kill us, nice hobbits.”
See Important Quotations Explained
The narrative returns to Frodo and Sam on the third day
after they departed from their companions at the end of The
Fellowship of the Ring. The hobbits wander the barren slopes
of the mountains called Emyn Muir, striving to make their way to
Mordor, but frequently getting lost and having to retrace their
steps. Standing on the edge of a tall cliff, they can see the way
down into Mordor, but have no way to descend the cliff. Sam complains
to Frodo about their desperate situation. He has been lugging cooking
gear for days, but there is nothing to cook. The hobbits survive
only on old lembas cakes, and Sam yearns for a
pint of beer and a chunk of bread. He expresses his hope that they
have lost Gollum, the creature who has been pursuing them for some
time. Frodo agrees, but says that he is more troubled by the unending
hills of the landscape, which torture his feet. He observes that
there is no turning back, as Orc warriors now patrol the banks of
the river they have crossed.
Sam and Frodo continue to follow the cliff northward for
several more days, finally arriving at a spot where it appears they
might be able to climb down. Sam insists on going first, against
Frodo’s objections. Sam lowers himself down the cliff, when suddenly
a great dark shape appears overhead with a horrible wind and a crack
of thunder. Sam loses his hold on the rock and falls, but is saved
by a narrow ledge below. Frodo tries to hide his face in fear, but
he loses his foothold and falls down onto a ledge below. It begins
to rain. Sam suddenly remembers that he has a strong, thin Elf rope
in his bag. He measures it out, and finds that it is long enough
to allow the two hobbits to lower themselves to the ground below.
After descending safely, Sam and Frodo prepare to go onward
to Mordor. Sam regrets abandoning the rope, which is still attached
to a rock overhead and cannot be untied. Suddenly, as if by magic,
the rope is released and falls into his hands. Frodo suspects that
the knot was not tied well, but both wonder whether it was perhaps
enchantment that freed the rope.
As the hobbits huddle in the cold, Frodo spots a crawling
insect-like creature on a distant cliff, clinging to the wall by
its hands. Sam realizes the creature is Gollum. As the creature
draws nearer, he leaps on Sam. They wrestle. Frodo draws his knife
Sting from its sheath and thrusts it against Gollum’s neck, demanding
obedience from the creature. Gollum is suddenly subservient and
vows total servitude, but Frodo does not trust him entirely. Gollum
suddenly bounds away, attempting escape. The hobbits get him back
and harness him with the Elf rope, which causes Gollum great pain.
Gollum again vows obedience, and this time he seems sincere. The
creature leads his Hobbit masters onward to Mordor.
Analysis
A sense of frustration and hopelessness colors our first
glimpse of Frodo and Sam in The Two Towers, much
like our first glimpse of Merry and Pippin in Book III. As we have
seen frequently, the hobbits are not epic heroes who have great
powers at their disposal to solve their dilemmas. Rather, they are
shrewd and adaptable, using modest means and a bit of luck to yield
impressive results. Indeed, in virtually all of the hobbits’ dilemmas
in The Two Towers, the hobbits depend on something
stronger than themselves to extricate them from their problems.
Pippin profits from the fortunate fall of an Orc knife near his
hand bindings in Book III, much as Frodo and Sam profit from the
magic rope woven by Elves to lower themselves down the cliff in
Book IV.
This chapter returns us to the fascinating character of
Gollum, whom we have not seen up close since Bilbo’s encounter with
the creature in The Hobbit. Gollum proves to be
one of the most complex and indefinable characters in Tolkien’s
novel. He is literally a slave to the Ring, as his mind focuses
on his “Precious” at the exclusion of all else. Gollum’s moral nature
is split quite drastically, an inward reflection of the division
between Sméagol, his identity before he encountered the Ring, and
Gollum, the creature he has since become. Gollum’s long-standing
habit of talking aloud to himself, debating with himself in a near-neurotic
manner, indicates his inner conflict and his lack of a strong sense
of identity. When Gollum is subservient after Frodo tames him, he
is genuinely convincing in his proclamation that he wishes to guide
his new masters. Indeed, as we see many times in the upcoming chapters,
Gollum stays with Frodo on many occasions when he could easily escape.
Nonetheless, Gollum also proves himself treacherous on numerous
occasions. Even at the very end of the novel, we are still somewhat
divided between a view of Gollum as an innocent but selfish child
and a view of him as a depraved and evil monster.
Frodo’s taming of Gollum highlights a potential for sternness and
authority in the hobbit that we have not yet seen, as he uses the knife
in a fearless and even somewhat violent manner. As we continue to
see in the following chapters, Frodo displays a surprising and forceful
mix of suspicion and compassion in his interactions with Gollum,
fully aware of the creature’s motivation to retrieve the Ring, but
sensing that he would not do anything to harm the hobbits overtly.
This aura of suspicion and mistrust parallels, on a small scale,
the overall atmosphere of apprehension that Sauron’s evil has cast
over the whole of Middle-earth. In the character of Gollum, Tolkien
injects a significant element of uncertainty into the plot, as even
Gollum himself appears unsure of what he will do or what his goal
is. This sense of utter unpredictability and potential danger pushes
the narrative forward, keeping us in suspense throughout the entire
remainder of The Two Towers as Gollum travels with
the hobbits. Tolkien’s technique effectively places us in Frodo’s
and Sam’s shoes: much like the hobbits, though we are aware that
the wretched Gollum has selfish intentions, we have no idea when
or how he might act upon them.
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