Book 4, Chapter 1: the Taming of Sméagol
Nice throwback to Gandalf's speech about Gollum in Fellowship of the Ring, and showing why Frodo decides to initially spare him yet still keeping him on a metaphorical short leash.
I like how in Frodo getting Gollum to swear not to harm them, Sam starts to see a bit of an uncharacteristically authoritarian demeanor, an implied influence of the Ring.
Agreed.
Book 4, Chapter 2: the Passage of the Marshes
- I find it funny how Gollum calls the Sun the "Yellow Face."
This also somewhat parallels the language used to reference the sun in one of the riddles in The Hobbit's famous riddle game. Though in that one the sky and the earth are faces.
Bilbo:
An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
"That eye is like to this eye"
Said the first eye,
"But in low place,
Not in high place."
[The sun]
In the ancient Irish conception of the elements/parts of the world (which closely parallels the Norse creation story of what parts of Ymir were used by Odin and his brothers to make the world), the various parts of the world all correspond to parts of a person, including the sun to the face and outward aspect.
Book 4, Chapter 2: the Passage of the Marshes
I'm wondering if the lembas actually tastes that bad to Gollum, or if it's more the bad memories of being a prisoner of the elves prevents him from enjoying it. Maybe a little bit of both.
I always inferred that it's part of the Ring having unnaturally extended his life through evil magic; that his body is sufficiently physically altered by the taint of the Dark Lord's magic that elven work (which, remembering Galadriel's talk of magic, likely is a kind of magic/enchantment of its own) is inimical to him. Just as the touch of the elven rope stung him, the elven foodstuffs are foul to him.
Book 4, Chapter 4: Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
- While I am aware that Mordor itself has breadbaskets around the Sea of Nirn, I do like how the text notes that not all lands claimed by Sauron are ashy wasteland and actually have grassland, forest, and other places where agriculture is plausible. But it also still bears the telltale mark, such as pollution left behind by orcish industry. It both makes the world feel more plausible while also showing that the shape of evil is not always so obvious.
- I like the touch of Sam discovering skeletons in a burned forest, but choosing not to report back on what he saw out of concern that Gollum would disturb their graves. It shows mindfulness on his part.
- You can tell that Gollum has fallen far from his Hobbit roots when he cannot appreciate the use of a cooking fire to make meat more savory.
- For Dúnedain names, Mablung and Damrod don't have the same fancy ring to it as Aragorn.
- Interesting choice to use the term Swerting for the Haradrim/southern humans. Looking it up, it's a name from a character in Beowulf.
Yes on all of this.
Book 4, Chapter 5: The Window on the West
- Frodo's interrogation by the Rangers is very tense; he can't easily tell them the truth about Boromir, due in part because telling the Rangers of their struggle over the Ring can give suspicion that Frodo was the one who murdered him and not the orcs. And also reveal that Frodo has the Ring on him, and thus risk a similar temptation.
- With Faramir referring to Sauron as the Unnamed, and also referring to the One Ring as Isildur's Bane instead of something more direct, makes it sound like the Dúnedain have a cultural aversion in referring properly to objects and people they find distasteful. I take it this ties into the "giving a name to something gives it metaphorical power" trope that persists across many real-world cultures and folklore.
- Even despite their ill-fated last meeting, Frodo can still see in and speak good of Boromor during the breakfast with Faramar, highlighting his best moments during the Fellowship's journey.
- Tying back to point #2: Near the end of the chapter, when Faramir finds out that the hobbits have the ring and is quite understanding of it causing Boromir's fall, he mentions to Sam to not name it again: "once is enough."
Not just give the named thing power, but if it's powerful, draw its attention.
There's a folkloric precedent with naming the devil, or specific named demons. I seem to recall seeing this in some old D&D rules, where certain of the archdevils or demons had a chance of appearing, or at least of cursing the speaker, if their names were spoken aloud. I think Gary used this concept with Tharizdun too.
We see similar in British and Irish folklore, with people, for example, referring to the fae/faeries as The Fair Folk, or The Good Neighbors, or The Gentry, or The Good Folk, often somewhat euphemistically because it's both an attempt to avoid drawing their attention at all and to avoid drawing their ill-will by using complimentary honorifics.
And of course the same trope was used by Rowling with Voldemort being He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Giving legendary or important things appellations and titles like Isildur's Bane is also just an old tradition. Nowadays we mostly retain it just for cities? The Big Apple aka Gotham, The Windy City/The Second City, The Big Smoke, The City of Love... Legendary things and people having alternate names is also handy when you're telling their stories, so you don't have to just keep repeating the same name over and over.
