Sunday, 30 March 2025

Frodo is the only "intellectual" among Hobbits

As I was reading through Lord of the Rings this time; it struck me that Frodo's conversation with Faramir about the history of Men (in The Window on the West chapter of The Two Towers), is something that I cannot imagine occurring with any other Hobbit than Frodo. 

Of course, Bilbo and Merry are also unusually intelligent Hobbits, who were much more accomplished as scholarly authors than Frodo. 

But from what we see of them in the books, neither of these exhibited the patience and sustained concentration that Frodo does while Faramir is discoursing on the distinctive aspects of Gondor, Numenor, and comparisons with other types of Men such as the Rohirrim. 

It therefore seems that, aside from innate intelligence, which Tolkien often terns "wisdom"; Frodo is more of "an intellectual" in his tastes and behaviours than are other Hobbits that we encounter. 


Wednesday, 12 March 2025

Instead of a Dark Lord...

 


Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have A Cat! 

Beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! 

All shall love me... and despair!


H/T - My wife; for the idea.