Tolkien very deliberately set his story in a certain time of the year to evoke
images of death and rebirth. How does our early spring in Ithilien fit into his
scheme?
Early spring, late winter.
…not until now in this more
sheltered region had the hobbits felt the change of clime. Here Spring was
already busy about them: fronds pierced moss and mould, larches were
green-fingered, small flowers were opening in the turf, birds were singing.
Primeroles
South and west it looked towards
the warm lower vales of Anduin, shielded from the east by the Ephel Dúath and
yet not under the mountain-shadow, protected from the north by the Emyn Muil,
open to the southern airs and the moist winds from the Sea far away.
A. Why does Tolkien identify Ithilien’s climate with the Sea? What does it
mean that to Gondor, the Sea is South, not West?
Anemones
Primeroles and anemones were awake
in the filbert-brakes; and asphodel and many lily-flowers nodded their
half-opened heads in the grass
B. Does Tolkien use such sleep imagery anywhere else?
‘I'd make him look for turnips and
carrots, and taters too, if it was the time o’ the year….But you won't find
any, so you needn't look.’
C. What time of year is the right one?
Here they decided to rest and pass
the day, which already promised to be bright and warm. A good day for
strolling
D. What does this remind you of?
Where are we in the story and the year.
Tolkien originally set this chapter in early February. Without altering a word,
he reset it into early March (more HoME discussion on Friday, by the way).
E. Should such a change have affected the seasonality of this chapter, with
its flowering plants and warming airs, and stronger sun?
F. To the degree that Tolkien wrote his story to work with the seasons, isn’t
this Ithilien sequence a bit of a ‘false spring’? Or am I going too far?
When is
Lent?
[Old Eng. lencten, =spring], Latin Quadragesima (meaning 40; thus the 40 days
of Lent). In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for
or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter .
Observance of Lent is as old as the 4th cent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday ,
the 40th weekday before Easter. From the 5th to 9th cent. strict fasting was
required; only one meal was allowed per day, and meat and fish (and sometimes
eggs and dairy) were forbidden. During and since the 9th cent. fasting
restrictions were gradually loosened. By the 20th cent. meat was allowed,
except on Fridays. The Christian observance of Lent may have a parallel in the
fasting practiced in Greco-Roman mystery religions, in which it was considered
an aid to enlightenment and often preceeded prophecy.
G. Would anyone care to work out how this information does, or does not,
apply to Tolkien’s story?
Text of this
chapter
Everyone is laughing for heart's ease, now that they're in Ithilien! Join me in the Reading Room this week for a squireific topic-oriented discussion of Chapter 4, Book IV of The Two Towers: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit".
squire online:
Footerama: "Tolkien would have LOVED it!" (improved!)
The Valaquenta discussion
A Shortcut to Mushrooms discussion
