There and Back Again: “A Shortcut to Mushrooms”

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NOTE: This article includes external links to the Lord of the Rings Fandom site for those seeking more background information. Be advised that the articles may (and probably will) include spoilers.

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Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe,
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
And many miles be still to go,
But under a tall tree I will lie,
And let the clouds go sailing by.

Fear is powerful, but hope is stronger. We must speak these words to ourselves constantly. We must believe them, whatever the cost, for if we stop believing, we sink into darkness. We fall into an abyss from which some do not return.

The previous chapter established the anxiety of Frodo, Sam, and Pippin, which was allayed somewhat by the arrival of the elves. We might expect the next chapter to heighten their anxiety further and move the story along at breakneck speed, but it does neither. It continues to meander through the woods of the Shire, with talk of drinking songs and stolen mushrooms. The Black Riders are still around, but they come no closer to capturing the hobbits. The menacing Ring is not mentioned at all.

One rather spine-tingling moment we do get comes when the hobbits first hear the distant shriek of the Black Riders.

A long-drawn wail came down the wind, like the cry of some evil and lonely creature. It rose and fell, and ended on a high piercing note. Even as they sat and stood, as if suddenly frozen, it was answered by another cry, fainter and further off, but no less chilling to the blood.[1]

I find this description very effective. There is something almost demonic about the way these creatures communicate. We get the sense that they are clearly alien. But such moments in this chapter are few.

Upon reaching Farmer Maggot’s home, Frodo is concerned to learn that a Black Rider had been there earlier in the day asking after “Baggins.” Yet I cannot say his fear at this news struck me as any worse than what he suffered at the thought of encountering the farmer’s dogs, or even the farmer himself. Indeed, we find out that Frodo has spent three decades away from the Maggot farm due to a bad experience in his youth.

I am terrified of him and his dogs. I have avoided his farm for years and years. He caught me several times trespassing after mushrooms, when I was a youngster at Brandy Hall. On the last occasion he beat me, and then took me and showed me to his dogs. ‘See, lads,’ he said, ‘next time this young varmint sets foot on my land, you can eat him. Now see him off!’ They chased me all the way to the Ferry. I have never got over the fright…[2]

In the end, Frodo discovers that he has nothing to fear from either Farmer Maggot or his dogs. He has been harboring an anxiety without foundation. A similar situation occurs when the farmer carries the hobbits to Bucklebury Ferry in his wagon and they think they hear a Black Rider approaching. The hobbits hide themselves and the farmer makes to confront the stranger, only to discover that it is Frodo’s friend Merry Brandybuck, who had been expecting their arrival. This anxiety too is shown to be no more substantial than the passing fog.

Even so, we remember that there is a real danger at hand. Although the Ring is not mentioned, we sense that it is helping to direct the action. The Black Riders are still pursuing Frodo and his treasure, and one gets a sinking feeling that crossing the Brandywine River will not be enough to keep our heroes safe.

What is the anecdote to such fear? I believe this chapter has some answers for us. Yet again we see mention of good food and drink. There may not be any talk of the Ring, but three square meals appear in this short chapter.

When they came to make their meal, they found that the Elves had filled their bottles with a clear drink, pale golden in colour: it had the scent of a honey made of many flowers, and was wonderfully refreshing. Very soon they were laughing, and snapping their fingers at rain, and at Black Riders. The last few miles, they felt, would soon be behind them.[3]

Here we see the revitalizing power of refreshment, not only for the body, but also for the spirit. As our characters continue on their long journey into danger, they will face many situations where their provisions are none so grand. They will travel through lands where decent meals simply do not exist. There are few things that sap the spirit like a lack of bodily nourishment. Man does not live on bread alone, but he eventually needs something to eat. This pattern of eating and drinking is knit into the fabric of the world, and when we eat with loved ones, the meal takes us to another emotional level entirely. We are being nourished together, and in that we find the strength to carry on with life.

The second thing that has the power to drive away anxiety is song. Indeed, music lifts both fear and sadness away from the spirit.

I recall my early days as an undergraduate, when I was confronted with a serious depression accompanied by constant anxiety. There was a long period where I did not attend the thrice weekly gatherings of the student body in the chapel hall for singing and reflection. I did not go because I was not feeling well, and because I was filled with fear. My spirit was completely sapped. There was little within be that could be classified as either joy or hope.

Then one day, I walked through the music building on my way somewhere, and I heard the sound of a piano being played. The music was so sweet to my ears. It seemed to seep into my bones and revitalize my spirit, if only for a moment. Music has that power to move us. At its best, it can seem almost otherworldly.

Music is so important in Tolkien’s fantasy world that he links it with the creative power of the divine. In The Silmarillion, we read that the Valar and Maiar (two groups of angelic type beings) were with God in the beginning, and they sang together. Their melody brought the world and its history into existence. It was at this time that Melkor (later called Morgoth) rebelled and started singing his own tune rather than making his voice harmonize with the rest. He wanted to have the same creative power as God, but in the end, this conflicting melody was combined into the greater music and seen to be merely derivative. God had controlled the music all along, and it would accomplish his purpose.

Already in the early chapters of The Lord of the Rings, we have seen how good creatures like the friendly elves and the hobbits return to singing time and again, and this song causes those who are evil to fear. A Black Rider fled before the elf song in the previous chapter, whereas the three hobbits’ drinking song in this chapter provokes the ghastly cries of the Riders. Evil will always be opposed to true beauty, which reflects the creative power of God. All evil can do is produce a perverted form of beauty. The true spirit of creation, referred to elsewhere by Tolkien as “the secret fire,” belongs to God and is seen in those who serve him, directing their hearts in harmony with the divine theme.

The final anecdote to anxiety is friendship, by which I mean real commitment and devotion. It is love by any other name: the willingness to sacrifice on behalf of another, going the extra mile with them to help them complete the quest. This will be an important theme of The Lord of the Rings, and we see it beginning to take shape in a conversation between Frodo and Sam.

‘You still mean to come with me?’
‘I do.’
‘It is going to be very dangerous, Sam. It is already dangerous. Most likely neither of us will come back.’
‘If you don’t come back, sir, then I shan’t, that’s certain,’ said Sam. ‘Don’t you leave him! they said to me. Leave him! I said. I never mean to. I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon, and if any of those Black Riders try to stop him, they’ll have Sam Gamgee to reckon with, I said. They laughed.’[4]

True enough, the idea of Sam Gamgee taking on the Black Riders does seem a bit ridiculous, but the sentiment is quite touching. Sam was Frodo’s gardener at Bag End, a position that we would consider rather standard employment. There are not many of us who would follow our employers to the Moon rather than let them take the journey alone. Yet Sam is prepared to forsake everything he knows and risk injury or death for the sake of his master. It is not akin to an abusive master/slave relationship, but more clearly resembles the old feudal ties of a servant and his liege lord. In its ideal form, such a relationship entailed responsibilities on both sides as well as mutual love, or at least respect.

Frodo and Sam were brought together in a pinch, but Gandalf perceived that they would be ideal partners in the task ahead. Perhaps he understood that beneath the rather silly exterior, Samwise Gamgee was a hobbit of principle who could read the signs and was seeking truth from the outside world. Perhaps Gandalf simply noticed Sam’s devotion and knew such commitment would see them through, no matter what they might face. Whatever he saw, Frodo acknowledges that, “Gandalf chose me a good companion. I am content. We will go together.”[5]

Having friends like Sam or even Pippin and Merry helps to keep our fears at bay. We know that whatever troubles we face upon the road of life, we will not be facing them alone. This gives us hope that is more powerful than fear, and we must cling to that hope until the bitter end and beyond.

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A FEW NOTES ABOUT SOURCES:

• The articles in this series freely include references to material in other books by J.R.R. Tolkien that are part of the same narrative, particularly The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Citations will only be provided in the case of direct quotations.
• Any citations that include merely a number are from J.R.R. Tolkien’s
  The Lord of the Rings, Single volume movie tie-in edition (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994).
• All biblical quotations are taken from The New American Standard Bible (1995 edition), copyright The Lockman Foundation.

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[1] 88

[2] 89-90

[3] 88

[4] 85

[5] 85