Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire
Bilbo has been in considerable peril for quite a while now. I keep casting my mind back to the wonderful descriptions of the journey out of Rivendell, dripping with syrupy foreshadowing of great dangers. Even with that in mind the most astute of readers probably couldn’t have guessed what was to come, or expected Mr. Baggins to find his own way though it all.
As one danger passes it’s easy to forget that all is still not well. Bilbo is back in the daylight, away from Gollum, away from goblins, but utterly alone and with no clue as to where his company of dwarves and the wizard might have got to. This is actually the stomach clench-er for me, escaping immediate terror then realising that it only presents more mundane but just as threatening difficulties. Life threatening situations usually present very simple choices, being lost and alone presents a world of fear and indecision. We know how the chapter rolls out and why it might be titled ‘Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire’ but it is this moment at the very beginning that justifies it for me.
We are dealing with quite a different Hobbit now. He is fixed upon finding his friends and even considers going back into the goblin tunnels to look for them; the fact he now has a magic ring lends a lot of weight to this new found bravery. In fact, it seems that he decides he must BECAUSE he has the ring, as though the advantage it gives him lays a certain responsibility upon him. It is hit ‘duty’. Though the old Bilbo is still in there somewhere because he ‘felt very miserable’ about it!
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