Revdal Theimportanceofhobbits.Pdf (843.6Kb)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Importance of Hobbits An Assessment of the Function and Flexibility in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Hobbit Figures Silje Skau Revdal 60 Credits A Thesis Presented to The Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages June 2020 II The Importance of Hobbits An Assessment of the Function and Flexibility in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Hobbit Figures Silje Skau Revdal III © Silje Skau Revdal 2020 The Importance of Hobbits: An Assessment of the Function and Flexibility in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Hobbit Figures Silje Skau Revdal http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen UiO IV V Abstract The objective with this thesis is to discuss and establish the narrative flexibility of J. R. R. Tolkien’s hobbits. I claim that Tolkien built an inherent flexibility in his hobbit creation in order to allow him to use them in a variety of ways, thus granting them greater potential in function unlike many of his other characters. The hobbits Tolkien created are unique in his own mythology, as they were created first in name, then in function. By examining the creative process and the functions they were assigned throughout said process one might be able to better understand the way in which the hobbits work within the narrative at large. By using different interpretations of the hobbits combined with Tolkien’s books and manuscripts one might better illustrate the layer of potential found in the very simple creation of Tolkien. These figures were made to blend into a narrative and compliment it, while also being able to temper it whenever the author needed. Thus a unique yet ordinary set of figures were paramount for the protagonist-roles to allow Tolkien to present the altered fantasy within The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. VI VII Acknowledgements First and foremost, I wish to thank my wonderful supervisor Juan Christian Pellicer, who stayed positive and supportive even when I was struggling. Without his help this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to thank my family for their faith and support, and my wonderful friends from the MA programme who shared in the frustrations and stress. Furthermore, I would like to thank Oda and Hanne who both helped me through though times, and Natta and her family for housing me! Last but not least I would like to thank Jonas who has been endlessly patient during the creation of this thesis. VIII IX Table of Content Introduction ________________________________________________________________ 1 1 The Form and Function of the Original Hobbit _______________________________ 11 1.1 The First Phase – The Introduction ___________________________________________ 12 1.2 The Second Phase – Gollum in the Caves ______________________________________ 15 1.3 Plot Notes and Mirkwood __________________________________________________ 19 1.4 Plot notes and Dragons ____________________________________________________ 22 1.5 Further changes __________________________________________________________ 25 1.6 Bilbo the Narrator ________________________________________________________ 26 1.7 Unfinished Tales _________________________________________________________ 28 1.8 Conclusion ______________________________________________________________ 31 2 New Hobbits for the New Narrative _________________________________________ 33 2.1 The Creation of the One Ring of Power Function ________________________________ 34 2.2 The Impossible Hobbit ____________________________________________________ 38 2.3 The Road to New Hobbits __________________________________________________ 42 2.4 The Introduction of the Finalized Hobbits _____________________________________ 46 2.5 The Council of Elrond & The Ring Goes South _________________________________ 51 2.6 The Splitting of the Fellowship ______________________________________________ 52 2.7 Conclusion ______________________________________________________________ 54 3 The Narrative Evolution of Frodo, Sam and Sméagol ___________________________ 55 3.1 Early Notes and External Functions __________________________________________ 56 3.2 The Story Foreseen From Mora _____________________________________________ 56 3.3 The Story Foreseen From Lórien ____________________________________________ 60 3.4 The Road to the Final Draft - Internal Functions ________________________________ 61 3.5 The Taming of Sméagol ___________________________________________________ 62 3.6 The Dead Marshes ________________________________________________________ 63 3.7 The Forbidden Pool _______________________________________________________ 66 3.8 Shelob’s Lair and The Choices of Master Samwise ______________________________ 67 3.9 Mount Doom ____________________________________________________________ 70 3.10 The Grey Havens _________________________________________________________ 72 3.11 Conclusion ______________________________________________________________ 73 4 The Imposing Influence of Merry and Pippin _________________________________ 74 4.1 Early Notes _____________________________________________________________ 75 4.2 Fangorn ________________________________________________________________ 76 4.3 Palantír_________________________________________________________________ 78 X 4.4 Storytellers in Rohan and Minas Tirith ________________________________________ 80 4.5 The Pyre of Denethor _____________________________________________________ 81 4.6 The Scouring of the Shire __________________________________________________ 83 4.7 Conclusion ______________________________________________________________ 85 Conclusion ________________________________________________________________ 86 Works Cited: ______________________________________________________________ 89 XI Introduction J.R R. Tolkien wrote in April 1956 a statement that draws attention to the importance of hobbits in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: ‘(…) I have told the whole tale more or less through ‘hobbits’; and that is because another main point in the story for me is the remark of Elrond in Vol. 1: ‘Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.’ Though equally important is Merry’s remark (Vol III p. 146): ‘the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace, but for them.’)’1 This statement alone, though written in the context of a letter that does not directly pertain to hobbits, suggests the great importance of the hobbits within the narratives Tolkien constructed. And indeed, though much has been written on the topic of hobbits in Tolkien’s work some gaps remain. One such gap is the need to examine in detail how the narrative flexibility of hobbits functions within the emerging narrative of Tolkien’s The Hobbit (from here referred to as H) and The Lord of the Rings (from here referred to as LR). While much of the hobbits’ functions has been discussed, the ways in which they are used to respond to the narrative in the text, and how Tolkien’s use of these figures relies on their sheer flexibility has not fully been explored. The hobbits, as part of Tolkien’s creation, are quite unique even in the confines of own writing, as they appear to have been created first as a concept, and then fully realized throughout the writing process. Tolkien is well known for having drawn on source material and transforming it to suit his purpose, and in that capacity the hobbit is the outlier; ‘[t]he hobbits were, in fact, the last of the denizens of Tolkien’s fantasy world to be created: by then he had been writing unpublished stories about the elves, dwarves, wizards and men of Middle-earth for two decades.’2 With this statement one might say that the hobbits are unique both for Tolkien and for the genre of fantasy at large as he was not drawing on an already established race. He did, however, still draw on inspiration with regard to their functions. Furthermore, with my thesis question I am also already assuming a certain flexibility within the functionality of hobbits, which will be a main focal point of the thesis. Tolkien’s work is not lacking in theoretical commentary, and both the hobbits and Tolkien’s writing process at large have been both transcribed and commented on in detail. What is impressive about Tolkien’s criticism is that Tolkien himself has commented on his 1 J.R.R. Tolkien in Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, (London: HarperCollins: 2012), 246. 2 Edward James. “Tolkien, Lewis and the Explosion of Genre Fantasy.” in The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, ed. Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 63. 1 own writing and process, as well as revealed thoughts and struggles in texts such as letters and manuscript notes readily available to the public. Furthermore, his son Christopher Tolkien has transcribed much of the LR process work, with commentary that sheds further light on the process. John T. Ratliff also contributed with his extensive transcription of Tolkien’s H manuscripts and typescripts, once more with extensive notes on the content and the process. These works will therefore be the primary source for purposes of tracking Tolkien’s writing, and the several phases he went through. There has been written a substantial amount on the roles of the hobbits as well as the changes they underwent which has been further commented on by the compilers themselves and other commentators. A great example of this is the ‘Seven Paths of the Hero in Lord of the Rings’