When Legends Fight for Your Life: Frodo’s Secret Weapon Against Evil
Bilbo’s lore was so much a part of Frodo’s consciousness that it strengthened him from within.
“‘Don’t despair!’ said Strider. ‘You must trust me now. Your Frodo is made of sterner stuff than I had guessed, though Gandalf hinted that it might prove so. He is not slain, and I think he will resist the evil power of the wound longer than his enemies expect.”
What sturner stuff was Frodo made of? What enabled him to resist the evil that would have destroyed many a valiant warrior? When evil strikes what thoughts come to our minds? Or rather what do we find ourselves thinking about when the poison of evil starts coursing through our veins?
It’s always interesting to watch my mind when it’s on the autopilot. When I don’t watch my mind, it has a life of its own. When I am not aware of it, all the worries, fears, and forebodings seem to pop up on their own from the deep recesses of my memory. When I am not conscious of my thoughts, they fill my mind with what is already in me. And what is already in me?
My past. The sum total of all life experiences. The sum total of all the neural pathways formed in my brain by the past. Frodo was not different. As he was carried by his friends to the Ford of Bruinen, he struggled with dark thoughts. He was slowly slipping away into the world of shadows. He was cold. He was battling despair. And yet, there was something in him that made him able to resist evil. What was it?
“Frodo… had time to gaze ahead and to think. He recalled Bilbo’s account of his journey and the threatening towers on the hills north of the Road, in the country near the Trolls’ wood where his first serious adventure had happened. Frodo guessed that they were now in the same region, and wondered if by chance they would pass near the spot.”
He felt his life slipping away, and he recalled the name — the name of Bilbo. He was saved from the Barrow-wight by the name of Tom Bombadil. He was saved from the Witch-king of Angmar by the name of Elbereth. And now, as he was sinking into the world of wights and ghosts, the name of Bilbo brought him back to the light of day. He had time to think, and he chose to think about his family tradition.
This tradition was strong. Bilbo loved telling his story over and over. He wrote poems and songs about it. Frodo grew up with those stories. He lived with Bilbo and breathed his adventures. Those stories made Sam yearn to see the Elves. Bilbo’s lore was so much a part of Frodo’s consciousness that it strengthened him from within. It made him resilient. This tradition arose in his mind like a mighty, invisible warrior and warded off the influx of hopelessness.
Frodo was grounded in the lore of Bilbo as well as in the lore of the Hobbits. When we are in dire straights and our natural strength gives out, the only thing that can keep us going is the supernatural strength that comes from hearing good stories. Those stories form a cushion of resilience within the vaults of our memory. They come back to us in times of need and help us resist.
They were nearing the Troll country, and Frodo found himself thinking of Bilbo’s feats all the more. His hand was lifeless, his body was shivering with cold, and yet, the bright light of Bilbo’s stories flooded his mind with light. And finally, as they bumped into the three stone trolls, everyone recalled his family history and laughed.
“They all laughed. Frodo felt his spirits reviving: the reminder of Bilbo’s first successful adventure was heartening.”
Merry instinctively knew what Frodo needed the most:
“‘Won’t somebody give us a bit of a song, while the sun is high?’ said Merry, when they had finished. ‘We haven’t had a song or a tale for days.’”
He nudged Sam to oblige them with a song. Sam stood up and sang a song that he himself made about the three trolls. Everyone laughed — including Frodo. It was his family tradition fighting for his life.
Love this piece. Do you think Tolkien is trying to give us sense of how true identity is formed? Maybe tradition is not an abstract concept but really something quite personal.