Catholic Thought discussion

Summary

Book 2, Chapter 5: The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

The company standing in shock of finding that Balin had died and was reposed there in Moria, silently looked about and construed the bones of dead and their weapons dispersed in the cave. Gandalf found an old book that was falling apart besides the tomb. The writing had deteriorated and was hard to read but they could make out that it was a the journal of the last days and of a battle with orcs that ended badly for the dwarves. The book also revealed where they were in Moria and from that Gandalf knew the direct to the exit.

Large booming sounds were now coming from below, and suddenly a group of orcs tried to barge through the door of the chamber. The company drew their weapons, slew a number of them until the orcs retreated, and then they made a run for it. All the while they could hear a rhythmic doom-boom sound from below. The further they ran downward, the hotter the temperature was getting. They rested in a chamber but were attacked by a Balrog, a demonic monster and named Durin’s Bane. They fled the Balrog.

Finally they came to a great chasm that could only be crossed by a flimsy bridge, known as the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. With the Balrog now ready to strike, the company scrambled onto the bridge. Durin’s Bane also climbed onto the bridge and approached them. Gandalf turned to face him while urging the rest of the company to run forward. A great battle ensued between Gandalf and the Balrog. Gandalf raised his staff and rammed it to the floor of the bridge. The bridge cracked and collapsed under the Balrog, dropping him into the chasm, but the Balrog’s whip caught a hold of Gandalf and was also pulled into the chasm.

In tears, the company made it across the bridge and out the gate of Moria.


Book 2, Chapter 6: Lothlórien

In despair the company made their way through the east side of the mountains, through the Dimrill Dale, by a stream called Silverlode, and to the woods of Lothlórien, the fairest of the Elves’ land. The company pressed on into the woods, but both Sam and Frodo had been wounded from the fighting in Moria and lagged behind. They made camp and Aragorn tended to their wounds, and the next day they all continued on.

The next night with another camp, Frodo heard rumblings about. Legolas told them they were now in the Golden Wood, where the leaves during the summer turn golden. Into the forest, Legolas identified Nimrodel, a stream that has provided healing to those who bathe in it. They followed Legolas and they all bathed their feet in the water and then made camp. Legolas at dinner sang an ancient Elves song of the maiden of Nimrodel.

Back moving through the woods, the company came upon a cluster of great large trees with grey trunks. They heard a sound which they thought might be orcs but as it turned out it was a few local elves who lived in high mounted platforms in those trees. They bid Legolas and Frodo to come up, and rope ladder came down. They spoke of who was in the company and Haldir, the chief of the local Elves, shocked that the company included a dwarf, invited the four hobbits to the top to spend the night. In the middle of the night, Frodo awoke to see two eyes of some creature who had climbed up to spy on them, a creature that Haldir, who had also spotted him, had never seen before.

The next morning Haldir offered to guide the hobbits through Lothlórien, but once they got to a heart of the region Haldir announced that here the Dwarf must be blindfolded or he cannot pass. Gimili was insulted and refused and confrontation ensued. Only from Aragorn’s suggestion that they all be blindfolded alleviated the standoff. And so they were all blindfolded and led by holding onto a rope. That evening Haldir received a message from the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim giving permission for the company, including the Dwarf, to walk through without blindfolds.

They came to a group of white trees, “the heart of Elvendom on Earth,” and upon it were another housing of high platforms. They all climbed up and from the top had a grand view of the surrounding countryside.

Excellent summary, Manny!

Thoughts on these two chapters.

1. The events of Khazad-dûm were surprising and dramatic. I knew Gandalf dies at some point in the story but I had forgotten where. So when he plunged into the chasm I was taken aback. That narrative is worth quoting.

There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back, and its sword flew up in molten fragments. The wizard swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

‘You cannot pass!’ he said.

With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.

‘He cannot stand alone!’ cried Aragorn suddenly and ran back along the bridge. ‘Elendil!’ he shouted. ‘I am with you, Gandalf!’

‘Gondor!’ cried Boromir and leaped after him.

At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog’s feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard’s knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. ‘Fly, you fools!’ he cried, and was gone.

Interesting that Boromir shouts “Gondor” while Aragorn shouts “Gandalf.” Is the contrast supposed to imply anything? And why does Boromir shout the name of his homeland?

Even as Gandalf is falling to his death, he thinks of the others and tells them to run.

I love this description of the bridge at the moment of ready to collapse: “Right at the Balrog’s feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.”

A Balrog is another creature of this fantasy world. Add that to the list. Sigh, I will never get used to fantasy. Another evil creature. Evil creatures are by the dozen and they get slaughtered like bowling pins at an alley. ;)

2. Concerning that discussion we had in the previous section on why Elrond decides to initiate the quest at the end of December. I think I understand now. In addition to whatever significance it may have to Christmas or the coming new year, it shows a causal link of events. Notice the links: (1) Elrond launches the quest in late December which leads to (2) the company encountering a blizzard at Dimrill Dale which leads to (3) a wall of snow which is unpassable which leads to (4) a redirection to the underground land of Moria which leads to (5) a passage through the labyrinth of underground tunnels which leads them to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm which leads them to (6) encounter and fight the Balrog which leads to (7) Gandalf’s death. Each one of the events in the causal change could not be avoided. Authors are very careful to understand the causal links of their narratives, so this was no accident on Tolkien’s part. These unavoidable causal links which lead to the death of a major character are there to imply a specific worldview, that of a strong Providential hand guiding the events.

3. So out of the underground depths of Moria, the Dwarf world, they come to the opposite, the elevated heights of the Elf world. I guess it’s not a coincidence that they are opposites. The transition and juxtaposition is pretty sharp. One chapter they are within an old Dwarf world and the next chapter we come to the Elf world. Tolkien seems to want us to see the contrast. Also, apparently Dwarves and Elves had some sort of war between the two, and I’m not sure I know why or who won. They seem like natural enemies that have reached some sort of uneasy peace. Thinking of the world war examples, it’s kind of like England and France, long time natural enemies coming together to fight a mutual enemy. I found it funny that Haldir insisted on having Gimli blindfolded, and the offense that Gimli naturally took to that. Aragorn broke the stalemate by volunteering the company to be all blindfolded. Self-sacrifice led to a solution. Also the image of the blindfolded fellowship held together and led by a rope trekking through the woods is striking.

4. I wonder what it means that Dwarves no longer live in Moria but Elves live in Lothlórien? Though it is clear that the population of Elves has dwindled from a high. As we saw in Rivendell Elves have some sort of power that can keep the evil at bay.

5. The Lothlórien chapter features an Elf song much like Gimli sang a Dwarf song back in Moria. They are clearly opposite sides of the same coin. Though they are contrasted, they are also have similarities. They both have a rich history, tradition, and culture.

6. Types of Elves have been separated for a while so that language and customs have evolved differently. The Elves of Rivendell did not live in the trees as the Elves of Lothlórien. The type of trees also seems to have some significance: Grey trees, White trees, and the tall trees where the Elves build their platforms, Mallorn trees.

7. Word of their quest has reached the Elves of Lothlórien from Rivendell. Communication is not impossible, but I wonder how that actually happened. If there was a way to go from Rivendell to Lothlórien without going through the snow blockage of Dimrill Dale and without going through the underground of Moria, why didn’t the company take that route? I don’t understand the means of communication between Rivendell and Lothlórien. Nonetheless Haldir receives orders from the Lord and Lady of Galadrim, a city in Lothlórien, that they have received information of this quest and that the blindfolds of the company are to be removed, even that of the Dwarf.

I have to apologize. I can't seem to hold to one week for each section as I outlined in the reading plan. I hope I'm making this interestingly enough though to justify the slower pace. Fiction is my specialty, so I do see a lot.

There's no need to apologize, Manny- you put in a lot of effort with your summaries. I certainly couldn't do them this well.

Thank you very much, Manny, for the summaries and thoughts. Please don't apologize! I am very much behind on the reading plan because of starting university... sometimes life works that way!

Today I got through chapter 5 and half of chapter 6, but I really like all your comments, Manny, you really have a keen eye for all these things! I wonder if I glaze over them because I'm a regular reader of Tolkien, and they just seem so familiar, haha!

Thank you Ellie. My love of literature goes back probably longer than you've been alive! I've been close reading for a long time. ;)

I have just a few thoughts on these chapters:

I loved Haldir's reply when Merry said he would never leave the Shire if he knew what awaited him in the world: "Not even to see fair Lothlórien? ... The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."
- It struck me as greatly timeless, even I related to this and I think that the Catholic Church, our Church is one of the things that is fair, unchanging and with the same values as it did two thousand years ago; it is Beauty that it strives for and I think Lothlórien could be likened to it in some sense, based on Haldir's beautiful response. Today's world is full of peril, but still, we can find beauty in it.

My next thought is similar. "In Rivendell there was memory of ancient things; in Lórien the ancient things still lived on in the waking world ... "
- At first, I didn't even notice that Tolkien used 'Lórien' instead of 'Lothlórien'. Lórien is also a place in Valinor, where the 'angel beings' (Valar dwell). I love the wordplay here, and please excuse my linguistic ranting, but I just love the intentionality behind names in Tolkien's writing - 'loth' means flower, 'Lórien' means 'golden lands'. Together, it is translated as 'Lórien of the blossom'. I think that's such a beautiful thing, as if Lothlórien was even more beautiful that the lands of Lórien.
- This passage also reminded me of how the Catholic Church is something ancient, established by Christ himself. I couldn't help but make the connection of Protestantism as Rivendell - there is still memory of these ancient things; we can even say that they were, sadly, rejected, but their memory still lives on, at least. But in our Church, the ancient things still live, they are always present.

Ellie wrote: "I have just a few thoughts on these chapters:

I loved Haldir's reply when Merry said he would never leave the Shire if he knew what awaited him in the world: "Not even to see fair Lothlórien? ... ..."

Both your thoughts are so interesting Ellie. Let me reply to the easier one first. Tolkien was a linguist and every noun, especially place names, are rich with some linguistic detail and allusion. Unfortunately linguistics are not my forte, but one can sense the significance. When I looked it up online, 'Lórien' and 'Lothlórien' are supposed to be completely interchangeable. The same place but variation of the noun. Thank you for telling me about Valinor and “angel beings.” Angel beings makes perfect sense in describing Elves. I was grasping toward that when we were talking about Rivendell, but I did not know of Valinor. [Side question: if Elves are analogous to angel beings, what are Dwarves analogous to?]

On your thought that Rivendell is associated with Protestantism and 'Lothlórien' with the Catholic Church, I think I’m going to disagree with you on that. But you did send me on a thought journey on what they might allude to. In the Rivendell section I had the impression of a medieval college university complex, sort of like Oxford that Tolkien lived and taught at. Remember there are libraries and study rooms and book writing and poetry recitation going on. Oxford was one of the first of the Medieval Universities, and it had Dominican friars teaching as early as 1221, just five years after St. Dominic established the Order through official papal authorization in 1216. [I’m a Lay Dominican, that’s why I know Dominican history. 😉) 'Lothlórien' with the King and Queen and its history and institutions reminds me of Camelot or perhaps London or wherever the governing city was located. Medieval England was strongly differentiated by dialects and functional areas. There was the agricultural midlands (analogous to the Shire), the intellectual Oxfordian region (analogous to Rivendell), and the Royal administrative area (analogous to 'Lothlórien'). Now I haven’t pulled that out of any commentary or analysis of LotR. That’s my personal insight which may be all wrong for all I know. But that’s how I’m seeing it.

I see your points there, Manny!

While Lórien and Lothlórien can be interchangeable, Lórien is also a name for a place in Valinor and a being residing in Valinor. It's quite confusing, and I pointed the use of Lórien out only because it seemed so strange for Tolkien to suddenly use the shortened term! I just really love the linguistic aspect of his works.

On the point of Valinor... I think I may be going very off topic and I pray you forgive me for that, haha! But there is just so much lore in Tolkien's works that it just prompts you to read more stories from his world. Elves are actually not the "angel beings" I mentioned!! The "angels" are the Valar, presiding in Valinor. They were created by Eru, who made the earth. I greatly recommend researching Tolkien's cosmology, it's full of wonders.

Though it has to be said that Elves are the firstborn, the children of the Creator himself, so they could be likened to either angels or us, men! Although with the race of men existing in Tolkien's world, we can probably say they are a fair and enlightened race, just like the angels.

The dwarves are a different topic. I will share a description of the dwarves' origin from an article:

"Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. Their creator was Mahal, known as Aulë the Smith. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves are descended, deep beneath an unknown mountain somewhere in Middle-earth. However, Aulë did not have the divine power to grant independent life to any creation, and the dwarves were bound to his will. Ilúvatar came and reprimanded Aulë, who confessed his desire to create more living things, but in repentance lifted his hammer to destroy the dwarves. Even as the blow was about to land, the dwarves cowered and begged for mercy, as Ilúvatar had taken pity and given true life to the creations of his child, including them in His plan for Arda. However, Ilúvatar did not wish them to wake before the Elves, whom he intended to be the first-born. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar, but he bade Aulë lay them to sleep in their chamber deep beneath the mountain, and they were to awake after the Awakening of the Elves."

I know this is probably off topic, but this might also explain the disdain between Elves (first-born) and Dwarves (adopted)!

Considering your second point, I think you are right and I may be reading between the lines too much. I do like the comparison of Rivendell to a university - but still, wouldn't that line "there was memory of ancient things" allude to secularisation? I know you spoke of medieval universities, which were probably far from secular (and I acknowledge Tolkien's love for all things medieval), but let's think about Tolkien's day and age when universities were, and still are, a sort of breeding ground for liberal views. In his day, and in ours, there still lives the memory of things old. I don't think of Rivendell as a bad place, only it seems to me that Tolkien made Lothlórien seem a lot older, as if stuck in ancient times when the Elves were at the height of their power.

I may be grasping at nonexistent links, but I am thoroughly enjoying discussing with y'all, haha!

Your thoughts on these passages are lovely, Ellie! Especially your comparisons to the Church. Have you also read his The Simarillion, The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth, etc? I wondered because you mentioned so much of the lore behind LotR.

Aw, thank you, Michelle! Yes, I read a bunch from the Silmarillion! Not all of it, but enough to grasp the basic lore of the Elves and how the world works! I have yet to finish it, because it's such a dense book, though. But I am preparing myself to read Children of Húrin, which is one of the lore books, too! :)

I have that one but haven't read it yet. I think my son read it a few years ago.

That's great!! Reading Tolkien is such a wonder. I read his essay "On Fairy Stories" for my language class assignment and it was amazing ;) I love his fiction work as well as nonfiction.