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[The Hobbit] The Longest Post in History, pg 48
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Oh, wow. I never got that far because, frankly, I was exhausted just from reading the three or four The History of Middle Earth books that I did read. Especially since eventually the unfinished, draft versions of The Silmarillion started bleeding into my memories of the published version, and that gets REALLY confusing REALLY quickly (the Noldor are called "Gnomes"! Beren and Luthien fight Tevildo, the giant, monstrous king of cats! Numenor was literally Atlantis and Arda is literally Earth! A Middle-Ages Englishman named Ælfwine visited Tol Eressëa!).
Man, so how was Fellowship of the Ring supposed to even work if the ring wasn't Sauron's ring? Like, what was the endgame? Was it just "Hobbits bring a dinky magical ring to Rivendell, eat pie, go home"?
Unwin & Allen asked Tolkien to write a sequel to The Hobbit. So that's what he started doing.
It's been a long time since I looked at The Return of the Shadow, but IIRC Tolkien began with Bilbo's birthday and going away party, and then he wrote a bunch of little episodes of Bilbo's nephew "Bingo" getting lost in the Old Forest, meeting Tom Bombadil, finding the statues of Bilbo's trolls, and so on, all the way until they got to Rivendell. There was no "Shadow of the Past" chapter involving Gandalf revealing what he knew about Gollum and the Ring, not even any hints that the ring was a big deal at all. But there was a mysterious hobbit named "Trotter" that they meet in the inn at Bree, as well as a Black Rider who chases them out of the Shire. But there's no hint that this Black Rider is anything more than just a faceless antagonist. It's just a bunch of unconnected vignettes, and it's crystal clear that Tolkien had no overarching plot in mind beyond "it's got to have hobbits in it."
The following quote sums it up:
There's more information here, but for the whole experience, you really should find and flip through a copy of The Return of the Shadow.
Hedgethorn, does knowing how shaky a framework LotR was built on dispel some of its magic for you, or does it actually make things more interesting?
Yes, he would write a draft up to a certain point. In review of said draft if he didn't like something he'd scrap it and start again from scratch. Chris also points this out in Children of Hurin (the tragedy of Turin Tarembar), thus why I pointed it out. From what I have book-wise I think I've read 3 different accounts of the tale.
Because he is the best.
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He's a happy dude and a pretty snazzy dresser. What's not to love?
"Hey, little dudes, yeah, I know this ring has no effect on me, but I really really can't help you because I'm, like, forgetful and stuff and might lose it and then where would we be? So long now, don't get eaten by ghosts or trees."
(Tom and Goldberry are the only characters that Tolkien left the readers with no real idea of "what" they are. Their backgrounds/origins are a complete mystery.)
I always assumed they were basically Father and Mother nature, or some such equivalent.
I see a Robot Chicken skit where they give the Ring to Tom, and Sauron just follows him around waiting for him to set it down for a hundred years.
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They also mention that course of action was pretty much just delaying the inevitable anyway. Tom's little patch of forest might be the last bit of the world to be conquered but when all else had fallen he would most likely be overrun as well.
indeed. Christopher has done a freaking huge amount of work on that set.
It's all pre-deceasing. The History of Middle-Earth books are shitloads of JRRT's notes and drafts that have been collected, edited, and feature a lot of commentary added by Christopher Tolkien.
You have to remember that JRRT had been writing at least sketches of his Middle-Earth stories since being in the trenches of WWI back in 1916. He died in 1973, that's 57 years of writing. He concentrated on his legendarium so much that it reduced his academic output to a mere fraction of what his contemporaries at Oxford did, so there is whole lot there.
C.S. Lewis would like to have a word with you.
You are right, I am just being smug
Also, Harold Bloom's criticism (another Oxford professor) is one of the few academics whose work I see read outside of the academic field. There's nothing wrong with this though; these works are created for vastly different audiences, and much of the intellectual effort they put forth in their academic writing can pay dividends in their popular prose. So, it's not like it's wasted or anything (not that you are saying it is), but that different audiences will be more receptive to one over the other.
It's actually not a complete mystery. There are a lot of little clues and hints that point to Tom Bombadil being the physical manifestation of Aulë, The Smith. He makes mention a couple of times of him being the earth, and the earth being him. Since there was no concept of "mother and father nature" in Middle Earth, those conceptual mantles are worn by the Vala, and to a lesser extent the Maiar. Aulë is certainly the closest thing to a "nature god" you're going to find, since JRRT was very clear that only Eru Ilúvatar was an actual deity. The Vala and Maiar were much more like arch-angels and angels, respectively.
It would also be a strong reason that he couldn't take the ring. The Vala were expressly forbidden from medling with the affairs of mortals directly. Eru Ilúvatar passed down that decree after the binding of Melkor. Only through their Maiar were the Vala allowed to interfere. Since Gandalf was a Maiar, and Elrond was aware of this and in tune with the Ainur himself, they would have needed a reason Tom Bombadil couldn't keep the ring when asked.
It's all complete speculation of course, because as Kruite says, JRRT himself was never specific...but it's the best thesis I've seen on the subject so far.
Edit: This is in response to @valhalla130
OMG, learn what IP is for fuck's sake.
The difference between IP and regular property is not tenuous at all. It's fucking HUGE. IP is itself so hugely different from normal property they aren't even the same kind of law.
If you don't get this, you have no business even talking about this. Jesus christ...
Christopher Tolkien also owns LOTR and The Hobbit and the only reason we got adaptations of those is because JRRT sold the rights to those before he died when he needed some cash. His son has always said he wished he could take it back.
Also, the Silmarillion officially credits JRRT as the author and was mostly just compiled by his son. (although he did fill in some gaps)
Because IP is not property. It's intellectual property. These are completely different.
Intellectual Property, at it's most basic, is exclusive rights to the distribution/publication/etc of a specific intangible thing for a set period of time based on specific factors. It is limited, subject to many conditions and often only temporary. And it is also distinct from actual property laws.
In this specific case, since it's a book, you are talking about copyright which is explicitly limited in duration. Of course, Disney uses a literal fleet of lawyers to extend that duration over and over and over again because, you know, fuck the public.
It's also important to understand that copyright is expressly supposed to be limited. It only exists to encourage the production of more art and such by allowing artists to derive profits from intangible creations. This right is only temporary because it is balanced against the public good in distributing art to the public. This is the foundation of copyright law.
But that's cool.
Shelob, the last daughter of Ungoliant. Basically makes her older than Galadriel (I believe), who happens to be the oldest elf in all Middle earth. (wait...Cirdan MAY be older...but that's it)
Yeah, Shelob is crazy old.
I haven't read the Silmarillion in a few years, I should track down a copy.
Well, they're essentially the elven version of Genesis.
Not sure if I agree, Genesis is relatively easy to read through. It's Deuteronomy that's a nightmare to read.
But given your analogy, 1st age is to Genesis and the ravings of Ezekiel is to the entirety of the Tom Bombadil chapters of FotR
I was just going by the whole ,"The angel guys sing creation, then one dude, Morgoth, is dissonant and wants to be the chief, then he gets cast out..."
Which isn't in Genesis.
It's more an Elven Paradise Lost.
Revelation, too, then.
I'm using Genesis as a synonym for creation story/myth. Maybe that wasn't specific.
Paradise Lost is awesome though
I got it, but I can't give up a chance to be pedantic on the internet.
I still want to see a fantasia style adaptation of the book, that'd be sweet.