The Peril of True Friendship
A slow read-through reflection on LOTR
This past June we started a 14-month slow read-through of Tolkien’s epic The Lord of the Rings. I have been blown away by the diverse group of people from around the world reading together and discussing. From first-time readers to people who have been reading Tolkien for 40 years, it has been fun to see how people experience this timeless story. One of the reasons I chose to go slow is because I know life happens and things come up. Allowing for a slow pace means we can really spend time enjoying the story while allowing for interruptions (like me getting sick for a few weeks and stalling my first deep-dive article until now).
Below is my first reflection on the story so far — and it just happens to be one of the most powerful underlying themes of the whole narrative — friendship, and the peril that it comes with!
The Forming of the Fellowship
There is a quiet and yet stunning moment in the story (Chapter 5, A Conspiracy Unmasked) where Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Fatty Bolger have arrived at Frodo’s new home in Crickhollow. At this point, Frodo is under the impression that his friends have no real knowledge of what is happening and what he has been sent to do with the Ring (besides what Sam knows from their conversation with Gandalf).
Frodo is aware that there is a level of danger that has been thrust upon him and he does not want to bring his friends into any more of it than he can control. He has decided to finally come out and share his secret with them and his plans for his immediate departure — but before he can let it out, his friends reveal that they were wise to his plans all along.
‘We have been terrified that you might give us the slip, and go off suddenly, all on your own like he did. Ever since this spring we have kept our eyes open, and done a good deal of planning on our own account. You are not going to escape so easily!’
‘But I must go,’ said Frodo. ‘It cannot be helped, dear friends. It is wretched for us all, but it is no use to your trying to keep me. Since you have guessed so much, please help me and do not hinder me!’
At this point, they could have surrendered and let Frodo go off on his strange and dangerous business alone. After all, these kinds of adventures were not normal or even respected by most Hobbits. But the following conversation reveals something essential about their heart towards Frodo and what makes true friendship so beautiful and so perilous…