sigridhr | Epic Tolkien Bookclub: Week Four

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Someone has drawn an utterly glorious fanart of the Dwarves bathing in the river and Bilbo looking somewhat put out (and Bifur lurking in the shallows)...I shall have to see if I can dig it up, but I'm not browsing tumblr at work, that seems like a bad idea.

I think their plan for this Quest went something like:
1. Assemble Company.
2. Travel to Erebor.
3. ???
4. Profit!
(By the time they reach the Mountain the "???" has been replaced with "Burglar does something," and the Burglar is not happy about it.)

...you have made me wonder if there are Ents in Mirkwood. I suspect not, I don't think they'd put up with the spiders, and the Necromancer would have had a harder time taking it over if there were Ents. But were there ever? Once upon a time?

Nono, the best part is that Thingol (who was Elwë at the time) had gone off to meet Finwë in the forest for Unspecified Reasons and then ran into Melian and kind of never came back. So eventually Finwë got tired of waiting for him and everyone elected Thingol's brother Olwë to be king instead if their other king was apparently not coming back and then they all fucked off to Valinor and next time anyone sees him he has a wife and a daughter and a new language and a giant system of caves and trade routes with Dwarves and all Finwë got was dead. (Well, and a shitty son.)

BILBO KILLING SPIDERS WITH ROCKS, he is my hero. (I am a little arachnophobic; not badly, but this scene in the movie will cause me to hide behind my hands. Killing spiders is obviously a Good and Heroic Thing.)

I think he's referring to Valinor as Faerie, that magical other-place that isn't really part of the mortal world, more than making any distinctions about Faeries and Elves. Besides, it's vastly more likely that, if Elves were intermixing with Hobbits, it'd be Sindarin Elves. (Can you picture any of the Noldor marrying a Hobbit? Good lord.)

Thorin and Thranduil's epic sass-off is going to be the greatest thing that happens this year, I cannot wait.

I think I've seen it - and adored it.

Haha! I've always secretly hoped there was a nod to the Entwives somewhere that I could dig up. Maybe they're hanging out somewhere in Mirkwood. :P 'Course we have sentient trees of a sort in the Old Forest too.

Hahahahahahahaha. Why everyone doesn't read the Silmarillion is entirely beyond me because it's fucking amazing.

Ah, that makes sense. I can't really picture any of the elves marrying a hobbit, to be honest. It just does not compute.

IT TOTALLY IS. I AM SO EXCITED. I think film two will be my favourite, given what's meant to be in it. Unless they fuck it up. But wet dwarves, sassy!Thorin, sassy!Thranduil, dwarves in prison, BEORN, and possibly Gandalf taking on the Necromancer.

I WANT IT NOW.

Are you kidding? If there were Entwives in Mirkwood the spiders wouldn't have lasted two days.

Everyone doesn't read the Silmarillion because if you're not paying careful attention the language will put you to sleep through some of the most amazing bits. I prefer to just go around telling the stories at people so they understand why Fëanor is such a failboat and Galadriel is the greatest badass ever to walk the face of Middle-Earth.

I've always assumed that rumors about a Took taking a fairy wife were just that, hobbity rumors that have no actual basis in reality. But you never know, I suppose.

IS IT DECEMBER YET?

Well, my pet theory is that the Entwives, like some of the Ents, have sort of turned into trees. I think there's a line about how some of the older Ents have stopped moving altogether or become more like the Huorns (less conscious, I suppose).

I suppose they still would have eaten the spiders for breakfast, though.

Fëanor is my favourite failboat ever. What a little (glorious) snot. NOBODY IS MORE AWESOME THAN HALETH TO ME THOUGH. I love Haleth so damn much and secretly ship Haleth/Caranthir like whoa.

NO IT IS NOT AND IT IS A POINT OF GREAT DESPAIR TO ME.

I like this theory, I like it a lot. I choose to believe that they have turned into trees in the Shire, though, because I agree with Treebeard that the Shire does seem exactly like the kind of place they would enjoy.

Fëanor is the world's biggest failboat, how he lives as long as he does is a terrible mystery to me. ...I admit to not remembering Haleth, it has been a long time since I read the Silmarillion and I'm only up to Chapter Fourteen in the Rewrite. (BUT I'M ABOUT TO GET TO FINGON AND MAEDHROS ZOMG.)

Perhaps they went off to shepherd the old forest and then sort of tree-ified there?

Haleth's family and people were decimated by orcs while they were held up under siege for days, and she rallies them alone and leads them on a final desperate charge and is kicking orc but when Caranthir turns up. He offers her protection, but she refuses and marches her people through the Valley of Dreadful Death where Ungoliant used to hang out, and then is granted a place to settle by Thingol on lands that used to be within the girdle of Melian. She was elected chieftain and afterwards they called themselves the People of Haleth.

She is so badass and does not get enough appreciation.

GAGHEOAGJEAOW FINGON AND MAEDHROS MAKE MY HEART HURT.

...Haleth is my new superhero. You may rest assured that I will give her all the credit she is due when I get to that part in the Rewrite.

FINGON AND MAEDHROS ALFKJEKSLJA I honestly cannot deal with them and the FEELINGS that they give me.

It's pretty much my mission in life to go around telling people about how awesome Haleth is. There are so many characters in the Silm it's easy to miss her - especially since he pretty much just narrates what happens to her and moves on, but when you actually look at it SHE IS SUCH A BAMF. And we don't get many human women BAMFs.

She's like a better version of Eowyn for me. I wish he'd written more about her. SOMEDAY I WILL WRITE MY EPIC HALETH FANFIC. Someday.

OH MY GOD MAEDHROS AND FINGON. I pretty much spend the entirety of the Silmarillion reading small passages and then putting the book down when I sob uncontrollably because Maedhros and Fingon, and then Fingolfin's death and oh geezus everything hurts.

This is what I love about Middle Earth, it's so huge and there's so much going on that you can just miss awesome shit like that. And then, lo, one day you are going about your business and are just blindsided with awesome.

DON'T REMIND ME THAT FINGOLFIN DIES I am in the middle of a passionate love affair with Fingolfin, The Elf Who Just Would Not Fucking Lie Down And Die, and I cannot deal with him dying

*sob*

You. And. Me. Both.

If they ever made a film of the Silmarillion, that scene would have me in pieces.

Epic Tolkien Bookclub: Week Four

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