Glittering Caves

Patrick is surprised by the dramatic fall of Boromir to the Ring’s temptation. Andrew remarks on how Boromir’s reasoning is corrupted by his desire, while Frodo is able to recognize how his emotions are keeping him from making the decision he know he has to make. Patrick admires the insight which Sam has because of his sincerity, humility, and deep loyalty.

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Patrick connects the travels of the Fellowship with his experience of hiking in the Smoky Mountains, which he found often boring yet also therapeutic, a time of silent thought yet also of growing closer to his companions. The hobbits encounter the awesome and terrible Gates of Argonath, their first experience of the greatness of the civilization of Gondor. Andrew dwells on the magical passage of time in Lothlorien.

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Patrick and Andrew discuss each of the gifts that Galadriel gives to the Company - for aid, for remembrance, and for hope. As the Company returns to the ordinary world, they bear with them the memory of the healing beauty of Lothlorien but also a terrible sense of loss and longing.

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Andrew and Patrick admire how Galadriel sympathetically wins over Gimli, question why she tempts each of the members of the Company, analyze her own temptation for the Ring, and celebrate her humble renunciation of all she loves. They also dwell on how the hobbits and the Galathrim share similar loves for their lands. 

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Patrick and Andrew share a post from Grace Steele of Tending Roses about how she got through The Lord of the Rings, followed by thoughts on Faerie Tales from Jonathan Pageau of The Symbolic World on fairy tales.

Learn more about Grace Steele at Tending Roses www.gracesteele.net/blog/lord-of-the-rings

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Andrew considers this one of the hardest chapters to get into, especially for readers with little experience or love of the natural world. Still he urges readers, especially those who are obsessively mission-driven, to lend themselves to Tolkien’s pacing and experience the healing contemplative encounter with the preternatural beauty of ordinary things which is the special charism of the Elves. 

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Patrick and Andrew discuss Gandalf’s possibly foolish choices, Aragorn’s rational leadership, Frodo’s and Sam’s courage under fire, Gimli’s reverence for his fallen people, the Balrog as a match for Gandalf, and the Secret Fire.

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Tolkien ramps up the excitement in this chapter; Patrick appreciates how his story alternates the restful with the stressful. They discuss Gandalf’s leadership style - his temper, his care, his power, his defense to the decisions of the Company, especially of Frodo. Andrew loves the magic of the Gates, but Patrick is more taken with Frodo’s psychological struggle with despair and the need for all the hobbits to grow in spirit in order to achieve their Quest.

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Andrew and Patrick use the map to review the journey, and reflect on the special harmony between Elves and the natural world, even those who, like the Dwarves, delight in using it to make beautiful things. They then consider each of the Fellowship, noting a range of maturity in the hobbits, Aragorn’s readiness for the defining mission of his life, Boromir’s strengths as a heroic captain, and the traditional animosity that lies between Legolas and Gimli.

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Andrew gives the backstory of the Wizards, who are incarnate emissaries of the angelic governors of the world, sent to encourage and aid those who resist Sauron. They must resist their own temptation to coerce others to do the good; Gandalf’s extraordinary patience saves him where Saruman falls. Patrick is struck by Frodo’s Marian-like “Fiat” in accepting the mission to destroy the Ring, whose humility makes him more fit for the task than a Hero would be.

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