Day Four: The Shadow Falls on the Shire

Poor Frodo. It was frightening enough to learn that the ring was the One Ring (note the capital letters Tolkien uses) and that it had come into his possession. How much worse is it to find out that the Enemy has wormed information out of Gollum, information that has brought the name of hobbit, Shire, and perhaps even Baggins to the attention of evil?

I love the way Frodo surprises Gandalf in this scene, with his quiet resolve to do the right thing in leaving the Shire with the ring. You can tell that this decision comes less from fear (though understandably there is an element of that) and more from a motivation to protect all those he loves in the Shire, and to fulfill his responsibility as the owner of the ring.

Of course, Frodo has no way yet of knowing just how heavy that ring-bearing responsibility will ultimately be. Near the end of this second chapter, he tries to give it away to Gandalf, an action that horrifies the old wizard because it throws so much temptation in his path. He knows the ring is much safer in Frodo’s hands, partly because Frodo still doesn’t fully understand its power (though he’s beginning to grasp its near indestructibility) and partly because Frodo doesn’t have a desire for power.

I find it fascinating that Gandalf sees a power behind Bilbo’s coming upon the ring – a strong power that is different form the evil power involved in the making of the ring, the power that tries to draw the ring back. The fact that Gandalf sees this as “encouraging” shows he believes it to be a good power, working for good – and working for good through these small and unlikely chosen hobbits. It’s really our first glimpse at providence in the story.

Aragorn gets his first mention here, as the gifted huntsman and tracker who helps Gandalf find Gollum after the wizard loses track of him. And Sam gets a wonderful scene where he’s literally pulled into the room through the window to be glowered at by a bristly Gandalf who ends up laughing over Sam’s eavesdropping (perhaps catching yet another glimpse of providence? though he doesn’t say so) and deciding to send him along with Frodo. One of the wisest decisions he makes in the entire series, though it’s made in a moment of merriment. Perhaps that should tell us something about merry moments.

Oh, and I think I found my Sam voice last night. A little rushed, a little country bumpkin, excited and enthused. “Me, sir!...Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!”