Epic Tolkien Bookclub: Week Four

[sigridhr]

  Epic Tolkien Bookclub: Week Four (The Hobbit)
Chapter VII: Queer Lodgings 
Chapter VIII: Flies and Spiders

Rules

I very much doubt we'll require much in the way of formal rules, but just for the sake of formality and clarity:

• Discussion is welcome and encouraged, as is disagreement. Name-calling and personal attacks will be punished by forced attendance at the Vogon-Orcish Poetry Recitation Competition in Minas Morgul.  
  
• There is no spoiler policy in place. Although we're reading the Hobbit, please feel free to bring in things from other Tolkien works, any of the films, the History of Middle Earth, the Letters of JRR Tolkien, and, if you should like, other literary sources. 
• There is no such thing as too much geekery. Or taking the text too seriously.  
• If you have any concerns at any point, I'm the closest thing this gong show has to a mod, so feel free to get in touch. I can be reached either by PM through this site, or directly by email at sigridhr.lokidottir@gmail.com. 

Discussion on this post will officially run from Friday 1st February 2013 to Friday 8th February 2013. However, the post will remain open after that point, so you're more than welcome to continue discussions on. 

Comments

[halberdier]

Beorn speaks to me on so many levels. (Ursine name FTW! I love appropriate names for characters, and I can just picture Beorn ) I don't remember much about the first time I read it, but I do remember Beorn. My metaphoric ears pricked up at the mention of Beorn.

He has a code of honour all his own and still understandable: he will protect those he calls friend/family - even or especially from himself; he will defend his territory fiercely; he treats his servants/subordinates as well as he does his guests (even if he doesn't know the polite reply to the Dwarves' "At Your Service"es, lol) so hospitality win (how many mythologies hinge on good hospitality from random strangers? It feels like a lot).

Poor Bilbo is so very conscious of class differences, even after all he's been through: let me qualify that, and say that I don't think he's snobby, just hyper-aware of the absolute correct pecking order, whether anybody else cares about it or not. And he misses those poor buttons of his so much, it's sweet. Almost lost his life NOTHING compared to the gumdrop buttons on his waistcoat ;)

I'm arachnophobic and intend skipping any and all spidery bits. They have too many legs and eyes. What do they need them all for, anyway? (ANd why is fantasy as a genre so enamoured of them? Seriously, ALL the VGs I play have scary-ass spiders, all the books, all the movies, there is almost always an Acromantula or Frostbite Spider or something just around the corner. Do they know I'm scared?)

EDIT because apparently I don't know how to internet anymore (Google why you change format? WHY???)

[gallifaerie.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you about Bilbo and how aware he is of what social etiquette he should be using. When he first meets Beorn all he can think is ‘he had no hat to take off, and was painfully conscious of his many missing buttons.' It's so quintessentially British. I love how Bilbo does and thinks all of these really every day little things, but then also has the courage to complete his quest with the dwarves. It makes him so much easier to relate to as a character.

[sigridhr]

I love the contrast between Bilbo's need for manners and social niceties (and the Dwarves' as well - Thorin, I think, gets put out by Bilbo not returning compliments when he ought have in chapter one) and Beorn's utter disregard for them. You're right - it's not snobbery so much as it's a comfort to him.

[halberdier]

Also, can I just say WHAT is it with the sheer number of sleep-enchanted bodies of water in Fantasy/mythology? The stream in Mirkwood, Lethe, that lake in Pierce's Realms of the Gods... What is it with sleepytime water sources, especially ones that appear when travellers are at their thirstiest?

[j_quadrifrons]

Apparently little Michael Tolkien felt as you do about spiders, and that's why there are so many of them in The Hobbit, they're there specifically to frighten him. :)

[halberdier]

Ah, JRR was a tease!

[(Anonymous)]

I tried to find a source for why spiders are one of the go-to fantasy monsters, but there doesn't seem to be any. I came across just as many tales of spiders being good, but I guess they're easy to make into something scary since they're freaky looking up close and many are venomous. Plus there's a cleverness associated with them through the way they catch their prey.

[hibari-sensei.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I need to stop forgetting to log-in. >_

[halberdier]

It's gotta be the eyes and legs (and the sheer number of arachnophobic types in the world) that can scare the bejesus out of people. I guess I'll just have to live with it ;)

I definitely think the cunning of the webs is definitely part and parcel - many animals with a reputation for cunning can be considered amoral in lore (weasels and foxes come to mind, too, as well as magpies in Western myths/lore)