Prim said:
“Sam sees things as they are He doesn't have some ideal in his head of how things ought to be, and so even when the worst happens, when Frodo as he thinks dies, we don't see it knock him down for long. He doesn't spend his strength railing against what is and ought not to be if the universe were fair that's not what it's for.It's for living in, and that means getting on with the job no matter what,getting up and dusting himself off and going as far along the way as he can. One foot in front of the other, head down. And that's what saves him, and and thus Frodo, and thus (incidentally to Sam) Middle-earth.”
Those words of yours resonate,
Prim. Sam very much accepts the
'what is' in life and doesn't waste more than a fleeting second or two in worrying about
'what is not.' No, the Universe is not fair; particularly the Universe as conceived by Tolkien. It may be a little less random (see Elves and doom for example) than our own and evil in Arda may well be a little more one-dimensional,an evil with a clearly defined focal point in Melkor/Morgoth in the first age, Sauron in the third age, with the second age still reeling from vibrations of Morgoth though he be defeated and then comes the slow insidious ascent of Sauron …....... which leads me into thinking it must be easier to direct the fight against such clearly defined villains than it is today in our own world where evil is diffuse and often less obvious. I wonder how Sam would do in modern times? I wonder if his solidity and his intrinsic, rustic, morality would keep his hobbity feet solidly on the 'Right' path? I suspect that he might find negotiating around evil more difficult in a world with so much less grace, where ethics are often a lost concept and morality is confused with success …..... but, in the end, although Sam might well struggle with multiple manifestations of the 'Ruling Ring', he would still prevail because the humanity that governs Sam is timeless; there is no barrier that can subvert his sort of courage nor are the obstacles set by time and space too vast, too complex to be overcome by his simple moral rules. Sam would still be able to dig deep and find the antidote to despair within his innermost heart: 'tis my belief that antidote is Love.
Voronwë wrote:
“Again, you have absolutely nailed the beautiful juxtaposition of the two poles of Tolkien's creation. And yet, it is Sam's down-to-earth here-and-now cleverness that is decisive in the determination of the fate of the world, and the grand desties of races. “
Oh, I do so agree that is the juxtaposition of High/Low that makes LotR so successful as a book. Whether it should be classified as
Romance or as a
Novel or even as a
Historical Romance of Epic Proportions, I don't really care. I must assume that Tolkien deliberately set out of create the effect of contrasting styles by the side-by-side, alternating action/pause and the mystical/common telling of tales within a tale. And, as you so astutely say,
This balancing between the humble, rustic every-Hobbit and the remote, majestic, bittersweet fate of the Elves is truly the definition of what makes the Lord of the Rings such a uniquely brilliant work. 
And indeed, without Sam being who he is, the fate of the World would have been determined otherwise and the grand destinies of all of the races would not have been as they were. The Elves would have faded in any event, that much we know, for their path was decided long ago, if not by the variations on a theme contained within the music (my personal contention) then at the very least by the Oath sworn by Fëanor and his progeny.
Athrabeth says:
I think Tolkien once wrote that he considered himself to be more of a hobbit than anything else. I’m glad he did. Without that sensibility, I doubt that LOTR could touch me so profoundly. You know, whenever I get a little cranky over Tolkien’s lofty (and for me, wholly unlikable) Numenorians, or the relentless hopelessness of his thematic Long Defeat, I should think of Sam. Myths Transformed? Bah! Sam knows that the light contained in Galadriel’s phial is the reflected light of the Silmaril that holds the sacred light of the Two Trees. The Fall of Númenor? What a bunch of self-absorbed scaredy-cats! Sam knows that the Shadow is but a passing thing that cannot blot out the truth of love or the beauty of goodness. Fingolfin’s hopeless ride to blazing ruin? Impressive, but totally self-indulgent. Sam knows what hopelessness means, but chooses to take on the errand rather than give in to the abyss and its promise of oblivion.
I always love reading your posts, Ath, always. They, and you, have often given me the gift of perception and I wish to acknowledge in the here and now and say that I cherish your percipience and your ability to express that insight. Ahem. Least anyone think that I always agree with you, know that we have had a fair share of disagreement ( but never disagreeably) on a few major chords ;usually concerning free will and the inevitability of fate and once in the annals of TORC we had a marvelous, spirited, very lively
debate on the possibility of redemption for Gollum............ I remember that conversation well with great affection ...........
Here again, I find myself nodding 'yes, yes' to the Númenórean reference. I find them exasperating! Could there be a more self-absorbed lot in the whole of Arda? Truly one feels that they live in an Island-centric world, they act as though everything revolves around their little star-shaped island in the middle of the Sundering Sea and are annoyingly obsessed with competing against Elves in attempting to wrest a defining Elven characteristic (immortality) from the Gods,
(who, now that I think about it manifest a similar selfishness very like to the men of Númenor …. but that's another subject of another post for another day) still, I must take a bit of umbrage over
“relentless hopelessness of his thematic Long Defeat”. It's all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, every descriptive word you use is true, however I, for one, am immeasurably moved by the concept of '
Long' and '
Defeat'. The realization that this brilliant, melancholic, profoundly artistic, deeply-convicted race is doomed to a destiny of eternal sadness, regardless of root cause, cannot change the direction of one single footstep. It is because the Elves have no choice that I find their doom unutterably tragic and, forgive me, but I think implicit in the order of your words is the notion that 'melodrama' is a part of Tolkien's
'relentless hopelessness'. I also find the ride of Fingolfin to be so grand a gesture and so acceptable within the parameters of that war that I am quite caught up, with lump in throat, over the glorious hopelessness of it. It puts me in mind of Théoden's stand against the Lord of the Nazgûl.
Listen:
“
To me! To me!” cried Théoden, 'Up Eorlingas! Fear no darkness!”
Fingolfin's body was trampled into dust, and his end was fearful. Théoden's body was crushed beneath Snowmane, his horse, and his end was perhaps less dreadful since he was not alone.
“Farewell, Master Holbytla!” he said, “My body is broken. I go now to my fathers. And even in their mighty company, I shall not now be ashamed.”
Elf and Man met death openly, although it could be argued that both died needlessly. Fingolfin need not have given in to his fearful rage and Théoden need not have ridden onto the field of battle. These two were both engaged in what seemed a hopeless war, their forces outnumbered, they must stare into the face of merciless evil and yet neither blanch or ever consider retreat for both Elf and Man are great-hearted and they know they will die.
It just so happens that although Théoden cannot not know, the battle at Pellanor Fields will be won. And although the fourth great battle, Dagor Bragollach (is Fingolfin the 'sudden flame?') will be lost, time comes
in the War of Wrath there is a sort of victory when Morgoth is thrust through the Doors of Night beyond the Walls of the World.
Now, I am not saying that these two acts committed by these two monarchs are completely kindred in spirit, but I am saying that when you come right down to it there are similarities in the motivation of individual need (they both needed to confront the evil which was poisoning the soul of their people and their land and both responded with the need for personal action ) And because the immediate outcomes were different (Fingolfin is crushed and is no more save in memory while Morgoth goes on........... whereas the Witch-king is destroyed and is a harbinger of Sauron's fall)............... it is no more fair to judge one act foolhardy and vainglorious and the other sacrificial and profound.
Whew: Got a little sidetracked there, didn't I? Not to worry, as always
Athrabethgives me something to think about and I'm coming back to Sam to comment upon it, I promise.
But I think I will commit a cardinal sin and continue in a separate post.
Because?
Well, because it promises to be fairly lengthy and because I think it will have more content, more heft if you will, than the quasi-fluffy stuff I have written above. Besides, as I told you in my first post that I really want to engage in Tolkien-focused dialogue with all of you again and I'm hoping that someone might find some substance buried in the fluff worthy of response.
There, see I have laid myself naked upon the table (metaphorically speaking)
