Tea at Trianon: Why Are Bilbo and Frodo Bachelors?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, December 31, 2021

Why Are Bilbo and Frodo Bachelors?

From Gamerant:

In the first chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, a group of busy-bodies in the Green Dragon pub say ‘They’re a queer breed, seemingly. They fool about with boats on that big river’ - which is a particularly Stoorish trait. Therefore, they were perhaps unable to find love because they were always slightly estranged from the rest of their peers, and were never allowed to just exist in peace without perpetual rumors floating around that they were both ‘cracked.’ This of course only got worse when they were found to have dealings with the lives of elves and dwarves, and especially Gandalf the Grey wizard, who was thought to be the most ludicrous troublemaker to have ever visited Hobbiton.

However, many Lord of The Rings fans believe that the reason for their lack of close, loving relationships stems from a far more emotive and traumatic aspect that they both share: that of loss. Indeed, anyone who has seen The Hobbit films will know that Bilbo lost 3 of his dearest friends in the battle to reclaim Erebor, the dwarven home under the Lonely Mountain.

The line of Durin, namely Thorin, Killi, and Filli, were very close friends and companions to Bilbo during his barrel-riding days, and helped him survive many close encounters, including his run-in with the ancient spiders of Mirkwood, and during the riddles in the dark he played with Gollum when he found the One Ring of power. Their loss was a bitter and devastating blow, and one that Bilbo carried with him long into old age.

Frodo is also no stranger to great and grievous loss, for his parents died when he was just 12, in a terrible boating accident. He was fortunate enough to be adopted by Bilbo and allowed to live in Bag-end, but he too spent much of his time alone in the wake of his parent’s tragic demise. Perhaps these losses and traumas that both characters have suffered prevented them from forming loving romantic relationships, for fear of losing anyone else. (Read more.)