The Stairs of Cirith Ungol

Hey, I was doing a home office purge yesterday and came across the following:

I remember buying this at a book sale ages ago out of curiosity, but then forgetting about it. Looking through the first few pages, I notice that there are plot spoilers for each chapter, so I think I'll postpone looking at this until after I've finished the books.

The relationship between Frodo and Gollum continues to fascinate me. Frodo's humane treatment of Gollum actually does seem to have a positive effect on Gollum's conscience, though Sam's overriding suspicion counteracts that, unfortunately.

VERY creepy scene when the Wraithlord pauses, as if sensing the presence of the Ring. Glad to see that Galadriel's phial has some use after all! Or did Frodo use it before and I've forgotten?

I do confess that I'm finally starting to warm up to Frodo. He's obviously under a great burden, but still manages to maintain his sense of humour (at least with Sam). He so desperately wants to do the right thing, doesn't he? I found his worry about Faramir touching, wondering if Faramir would be all right. He admits his fear but fights to overcome his weakness:


Frodo raised his head, and then stood up. Despair had not left him, but the weakness had passed. He even smiled grimly, feeling now as clearly as a moment before he had felt the opposite, that what he had to do, he had to do, if he could, and that whether Faramir or Aragorn or Elrond or Galadriel or Gandalf or anyone else ever knew about it was beside the purpose.


LOVED the above paragraph. It sent shivers down my spine, to tell you the truth. This is clearly a turning point for Frodo. Granted, he made the choice to carry the Ring earlier on, but it seems to me that this is the first time that he completely embraces the choice with a clear purpose and determination.

Also loved the scene where Sam is wondering if their quest will ever be put into song or tales, and speculating that people will consider Frodo the "famousest of the hobbits". I was very glad when Frodo only laughed, and also pointed out that one of the chief characters would have to be Samwise the stouthearted. :-)

If anything bad happens to Frodo, I'm going to be very upset.

And I agree with Frodo...part of me definitely DOES want to shut the book right now, mainly because I know terrible things are about to happen!! Gollum's obviously decided to go ahead and betray them!!!!

A true shame that Sam had to treat Gollum so suspiciously at the end of the chapter (I can hear some of you laughing at me since I admitted I'd probably be worse than Sam), since Gollum was clearly wracked with indecision for a short time because of how much he liked Frodo. The following paragraph has been the only one in the whole story so far that actually made me feel a brief moment of real sympathy for Gollum, mainly because it hinted at what this poor creature -could- have been:


Gollum looked at them. A strange expression passed over his lean hungry face. The gleam faded from his eyes, and they went dim and grey, old and tired. A spasm of pain seemed to twist him, and he turned away, peering back up towards the pass, shaking his head, as if engaged in some interior debate. Then he came back, and slowly putting out a trembling hand, very cautiously he touched Frodo's knee -- but almost the touch was a caress. For a fleeting moment, could one of the sleepers have seen him, they would have thought that they beheld a weary old hobbit, shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his time, beyond friends and kin, and the fields and streams of youth, an old starved pitiable thing.


But shortly after, Gollum obviously makes his choice. :-( Looks like this chapter was a major turning point for both Frodo and Gollum.

Augh! I don't want to start caring about all these characters! Because I know at least one of them's going to die... :-( :-(

Must keeping reading....

[Previous entry: "Two Towers: BOOK IV - Chapter 7"] [Next entry: "Two Towers: BOOK IV - Chapter 9"]

Posted by Janet Croft @ 2001 May 29 09:46 AM EST

Hey Deb, you have got to feel sorry for Gollum. He has had the worst time out of everyone in the book. It's not his fault he is so like he is, its the rings. It found him & through his life it has torn his life apart making him hate everything. Now that he has lost it he has become an almost undying wraith, in search of his precious. It is not his fault. It is the rings. Lets not forget that next to the Dark Lord Gollum possesed the thing the longest. Thats what I believe makes him such a great character. Someone so easy to dislike, but yet someone to feel so sorry for. Lets not forget he has been extremely helpful & hasn't given the boys any trouble since he was "tamed".

Anyone care to comment on this? What other stories, movies or books, have another character like him? I love him, I hate him.....

Posted by Fatwilbur @ 2001 May 29 09:50 AM EST

Fatwilbur, I think it is true that the ring has certainly corrupted Gollum and made him more pitiable than at first glance, but it seems to me that when he killed Deagol for the ring, he was still acting primarily of his own accord. I don't have the book here, but I seem to recall Tolkien making a few comments about Smeagol's shrewd nature, or something like that. Just enough to give the impression that he was a bit of a 'stinker' before the ring ever got at him. However, it does seem clear that he would have been more of an annoyance and less of a threat, had the ring never entered his life.

Posted by Chris @ 2001 May 29 10:21 AM EST

You are starting to really warm up to Frodo. I found it odd that you diden't like him right away but I guess that's part of reading LoTR for the first time. I really like how Sam & Frodo talk about being in a song someday. Just like Hobbits to be cheery in the face of danger. It's like they don't know how important their quest is to all the people of Middle Earth. But Frodo seams to have some sence of how vital his task is. His strength of character keeps him set on his way dispite the unsurmountable odds.

Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 May 29 10:22 AM EST

Hey Debbie,
Thanks for reminding me about that passage showing us exactly how horrible life is for Gollum, *sob*. People so often brush over the fact that he has lived a life of torture for so long it is actually an amazing thing that he has even a shred of his old self there. That he has any thoughts other than those of a kind of revenge against the injustices he has suffered (real or imagined) is amazing. HINT: It is also a very *important* message about what hobbits (or more broadly speaking, hobbit-kind) are like, how resilient, indomitable and remarkable. The paragraph that you quoted hits me every time, a solid punch in the stomach to any negativity I aim at Gollum. Try to imagine his plight *then* judge him...it's not quite so easy.

Posted by Paul H. @ 2001 May 29 11:05 AM EST

Chris,

I agree that Gollum was a bad egg from the start, and what the Ring has done to him shouldn't make us forget that. But I guess it should let us reflect and put it all in perspective. Smeagol was snared by his own inherent greed (I wonder if he would've killed Deagol if it wasn't the One Ring - was it the thing's inherent malice that grabbed hold of him? I'm inclined to think so). At this point, he's been ground into next-to-nothing, and I always find it very touching how despite all that, Frodo and Sam still seem to bring some resonant echo of something better within Gollum. Of course, its up against centuries of bondage to the Ring, but its definitely an echo, not an illusion.

You're right, though - Smeagol wouldn't have turned out to be good if he hadn't gotten the Ring. he might not've been evil, or bad through and through, but he was bad enough that no good would've come of him.

And Deb, let me join in the call for more than one chapter a day! The wait is killing me!

Posted by Nathan @ 2001 May 29 11:10 AM EST

Oh, and just had to say; Cirith Ungol and Minas Morgul are two of my favorite names in the books. Somehow they just exude menace! Gotta love it!

Posted by Nathan @ 2001 May 29 11:18 AM EST

The NEXT time you read LotR (betcha can't read it just once!), try reading it with the map book at your side -- or better yet, use The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. It really adds something to be able to see the landscape up close. On your second reading, it's fascinating to see the paths after the breakup of the fellowship in parallel instead of separately, as Tolkien wrote them.

Posted by Janet Croft @ 2001 May 29 12:03 PM EST

The other thing that always moves me about Gollum looking upon Frodo and Sam asleep is that he seems to be awed by the tableau, the devotion between the two hobbits with Sam protecting Frodo even as they both sleep. I've always thought that maybe it reminds him of his own friendship with Deagol (I forget if Deagol was his friend or a relative) and echoes of the closeness between them before the terrible end their friendship came to because of the corruption of the Ring. I can't remember any of the references to Smeagol before the Ring came along, but I imagine even folks headed for a bad end could have had very close friends.

Posted by Allison @ 2001 May 29 12:25 PM EST

Part of what was ripping Gollum apart was undoubtedly shame over his murdering Deagol. If he was an unrepentent killer, he could probably have actually used the Ring. But he did care for Deagol in some way, which clearly had something to do with the fact that he only used the Ring to hide, and eventually scrabbled his way into the bowels of the mountains. He felt like the Sun and Moon had seen what he did, and were always accusatory witnesses. His psychology must've been pretty messed up.

Posted by Nathan @ 2001 May 29 12:45 PM EST

I laughed, I cried, I kissed three hours goodbye.

Like most posters here, I read LoTR in gradeschool and have reread it many times since. This makes me want to read it again. Can't wait for the movie, but must.

Lancaster, PA

Posted by Eric @ 2001 May 29 02:04 PM EST

I never noticed that paragraph about Frodo thinking 'a hobbit's gotta do what a hobbit's gotta do', or else I'd forgotten it. That's a good sentiment for Frodo to express at this point.

Posted by Keith Fraser @ 2001 Jun 01 06:24 AM EST

I love this chapter, not just for Gollum, but for the way it all just gets more and more creepy. I think the passage when the hobbits see Minas Morgul and the fields of white flowers in front of it is one of the most evocative and perversely enthralling of the book - the idea that _this_ is what's in stall for Middle Earth if Sauron triumphs; not death, but corruption and coldness and despair.
As for pity, I love the way Tolkien makes virtues often considered small (as opposed to big macho bravery) the most important of all. I think WWI must have profoundly affected him, and pity was his response, as it was that of Wilfred Owen, who wrote that pity was at the heart of his war poetry. Sorry,off-track - but I haven't read LoTR for a couple of years, and it's so fascinating to see Debbie's reactions. I'd run home to read it now, but my sister saw Pearl Harbor last night, and having always said NO to LoTR, she saw the trailer and is desperate to read the books!

Posted by Catherine @ 2001 Jun 04 12:38 PM EST

I was looking forward to reading this comment!

As said before, this phrace about Gollum watching Frodo and Sam is heavy punch every time I read it. Of an unknown reason I didn't take notice of this the first two times I read it, but the third! I was shocked! Where had my eyes been the last two times?
It is so touching, such a pity, so sad, that it can't be expressed in words.

This is a great idea, I hope that I will see others who do the same.

Posted by Turin @ 2001 Jun 15 05:31 PM EST