the fellowship of the ring: chapter three, “three is company”

We are getting our first taste of the Road. Tolkien often capitalizes this word when he’s referring to the idea of a road as a path one takes on a journey as opposed to a literal road, or at least that’s how I interpret it. And I think this distinction is thematically important in a quest story, especially one where the journey the characters must go on is both physical and intrapersonal.

Though the hobbits haven’t yet left the borders of the Shire, Tolkien continues to provide a good forward momentum through these pages by escalating the sense of danger. The encounters with the mysterious Black Riders are tense, especially as their appearances always prompt Frodo’s struggle with a temptation to put on the Ring. The Shire has already proven unsafe, and of course only more peril lies ahead.

The appearance of Gildor and elves just in time to frighten off a Black Rider is an early example of things suddenly going right for our heroes, seemingly by chance. The Hobbit was full of such instances, there usually attributed to “luck.” Arguably, that book suggested that there was more at play; The Lord of the Rings is more overt in communicating that some instances that seem like random chance were in fact meant to happen.

The hobbits meeting the elves also serves as our first real introduction to race relations in Middle-earth. There is certainly no hostility between the groups, but a certain sense of segregation seems to be accepted by everyone as perfectly natural. And from the lofty descriptions of the grace of the elves compared to the ordinary hobbits, it seems that we may be expected to agree, at least for now.

But while the titular fellowship currently contains only hobbits, it’s already pretty diverse in the personalities of its members. Tolkien wisely adds to the fellowship’s numbers gradually, giving us some time to grow familiar with each member, and in this chapter we begin to get to know Pippin. His youthful energy provides a fun contrast to Frodo and Sam, and his dialogue is a convenient source of levity whenever we need a break from any tension. I’ll admit, though, that I’ll be glad when Merry joins the party in the next chapter; the group as it currently is feels incomplete without him.

favorite quote

It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door . . . You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.