What follows is a guest post written by Anjy Roemelt.
-D.J.
What’s So Special About These Dwarves?
by Anjy Roemelt
The Hobbit – Dwarves. Who would ever have expected them to rock the fansites like they did after “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” was released last December. Why, I pray thee, should we be so enamored of these small, stocky figures with hoods and lanterns, crawling through mines and all looking alike with their beards? We saw them in “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the ring” at the Council of Elrond. We knew who Gimli was – barely. The other dwarves looked slightly modified by photoshop. White beards, eyebrows curving the other way, or no discernible difference at all. I must admit I didn’t think much about the dwarves before I saw the film. I was looking forward to Bilbo and Gandalf, curious if they would feature Legolas in Mirkwood, and expecting to be mildly entertained, but mostly for nostalgic reasons in reminiscence of The Lord of the Rings. I have never been so wrong in my whole life.
I did not pay much attention to trailers, being busy with reality, and only had a look at a guide-book to the movie a couple of days prior to the premiere. I liked Fili and Kili in that book and thought “There’ll be some eye-candy in it, then, so no need for the maxi-popcorn.” I have never been … see above. Of course, I fell in love with Thorin at first glance. Who didn’t? I’m ready to fight anyone who did, though. They have no business hankering after him, he’s mine!!!! But that is just – or unjust – the icing on the cake. The dwarves as a whole bear a fascination I see in so many contributions to websites and notice in talks in still-existing-real-life. I have a theory why that is so. Let me know if you agree (and also if you disagree, I feel obliged to add).
First they are family. They belong together, and as the audience I can make myself believe I do, too. I pin their pictures to my kitchen-door, I wear their items, I sing their song, I am one of the family. Better, sometimes, than my real one. Family as it ought to be. Loving and teasing and fighting for one another. It’s vital we know these things are still important. Yes, I KNOW real life is different and I’m over-demanding or projecting childhood-illusions onto movie-characters (can somebody please lock Uncle Sigmund in the basement!) – but, NO!, they’re not illusions. They are what family life ought to be for everyone and everywhere. We may have lost it, but that does not mean it never existed. If it exists as a longing, then it exists.
Secondly, they fight. For one another. For something. They have something more important to them than their comfortable homes and regular income. Even more important than food – and that IS important to a dwarf. Balin makes this clear to Thorin: there is no real need to go back to Erebor. They have a home in the Blue Mountains, they have peace and a safe prospect for the future. They can raise their kids far away from dragons and destruction, and they grow up like Fili and Kili, just playing war and dressing up like warriors but never in any real danger (which mother wouldn’t want such a life for her sons?) Yet, they will go with Thorin into an insecure future if ever there was one. Bombur is willing to go on a journey which will mean a snack in the morning and a frugal pot-luck in the evening. Dori is willing to go where branches will tangle in his braids and there is no mirror. Ori is willing to go away from his mother’s knitting. Nori, of course, is willing to go anywhere. All of them has a choice, all but Thorin, and they disregard their personal choices to follow him.
This is – of course – utterly politically incorrect, psychologically wrong and, in fact, pathological. If you do something like this in real life, you need a good shrink. Then why do so many of us long to do just that? To find something in our lives that is more important than food and insurances and i-phones? Something that is not only bigger but greater than the virtues we have been taught since kindergarden. Living in the civilized west we feel going on a quest for religious reasons is out of the question. Really, most of us, me included, are not sure enough that our personal beliefs ARE the only ones true and possible, to want to wager our lives on them. Our nations might be a reason if we are, say, Croatian or Turkish or from Kazakhstan (these being the most passionate people about their nations I have met, so far), but for most of us the daily hassle with governments and bureaucrats diminish our love for our actual nation a tiny bit. So, what is there to fight for? Our football team! I’d go anywhere for my football team (soccer, for US-readers), but still there is something about Thorin & Co that exceeds hoisting the colours of my club.
There is something in most human souls that longs to be part of something great, something worthy to give everything for. It’s mostly not reasonable to take such a decision in real life, and it is absolutely impossible if you have a family, children you are responsible for, but as with the family, the longing is still there. That it is there proves there is a reason for this. It is okay to long for something greater than me. It is okay to find things in my life which are worth a risk and worth an eschewal. It is okay to value this longing and keep an eye on it. It might be something in my life that does not diminish with age, something that does not grow stale in the using. It might be something that makes me go on when other things fail. It might even be God …
And then there is the humour of it all. Starting with Bilbo. All these great feelings and longings I have described so far, and I should go for them without a hanky? No way! Bebother and confusticate reality! The greatness and the kingship, and the nobility, and glory would be unbearable without the humour.
Tolkien wrote the book like that. There is always a humorous twist in the events, usually provided by Bilbo, that reminds us of our own insignificance in the great events taking place around us – and still we are part of the pattern. Tolkien depicted the Hobbits as the real “humans” in his universe. He said about himself “I am in fact a hobbit in all but size”. They are the kind and simple and down-to-(middle)earth people everyone can identify with when the kings and queens and warriors and immortal elves have proven to be a bit exaggerated for the rest of us. So, let’s have some supper at Bag End.
So, why the dwarves? Maybe because we long for something and they give us courage. They are not as high-brow and aloof as the elves, nor as rigid as the men of Gondor, yet they provide a tad more … well, greatness …. than the hobbits. They are great AND small, noble and funny, what we want to be, and what we are, all rolled into one. They are adorable. Aaaaand – as an afterthought – to identify with a dwarf rather than with an elf is so much less pressure on my BMI😉.
-Anjy Roemelt
Great post, Anjy! Having long been a fan of very talented and charismatic Richard Armitage aka Thorin, I knew I would fall in love with the uncrowned King Under the Mountain. He managed to exceed my expectations. In a word–magnificent! I would follow him anywhere, too!
But I came to have a great fondness for all the dwarves–yes, I find I can relate to them with all their faults and foibles and (pardon the pun) shortcomings because they still have spirit and heart and a fierce loyalty. And they seem to be a lot more fun than those elves!😉
Thanks for this post.
I an 100% agree with your essay. At the beggining i did not put my attention in this movie untill i saw it for the first time and it excedeed my expectations, specially all the dwarves stuff, i fell in love with the charismatic Richard Armitage and his strong portrayal of Thorin. Thanks for your post.
Anjy, I totally agree! To my shame I must say I imagined 13 Gimlis too befor the movie and I never saw Richard Armitage….Also when I saw the first trailor I thought Kili could be an eyecandy…and beside that I was hoping for a nice little story about the middle-earth I was knowing out of LOTR….I, too, was never so wrong in whole of my life!
Then the movie started…and then I saw HIM…I realized within the first 5 minutes that THIS will be much more than a nice little story about middle-earth…that it will be a passion in a way I never had befor…not even in LOTR!
During the prologue I tried desperately to fight against my feelings…..in my mind the end of the book was standing TOO clear. I thought: Dont give your heart away to him, you know how it will end! Useless try indeed….He needed less than 10 minutes to destroy all my intentions to refuse….And after the prologue I only WAITED,,,waited until someone was knocking on the door of Bag End…
Since that day my passion was arising more and more, not a sign of cooling down…
If I had no children, no responsibility, if middle -earth would be real, I would follow him too…everywhere …even when I know about the end…Crazy? Maybe…..but in the last months I met MANY crazy people around the world via http://www…….
I thank Peter Jackson for giving the dwarves individual faces, a history, a background…..all of them I like now in a very different way…in the time of LOTR I overlooked the folk of Durin…..now I will never see Frodos followers standing at the tomb of Balin at Khazad dum without crying….because NOW I know Balin. And when Gandalf reads the book of Mazarbul young Ori is standing in my mind….and when the guard of the gate of Moria grabs Frodo I have to think about if OIn did not hear it….That movie changed much, I never wanted to see 3D, the Hobbit I saw in 3D HFR 8 times on the big screen. I was never interested in the original version of any movie, I was lucky with the translation all time…but since I saw the first scene in original, hearing Richard Armitage speaking with this unbelievable voice I yearned to watch the whole movie in english and had to wait month for that…till the DVD came out! I never was in a fan-forum befor…now I discuss since months about one character…my facebook account was a white screen befor now its a Hobbit-fan-page.
I never read any fanfiction now I write myself some……..I never played rollplays now I play two of it….thanks to Mr. Armitage who let me see a character I loved but not completely understood..in another light…brighter..and darker…adorable and tragic same time…And looking back from the movie…back on the book Hobbit…I find PJs and RAs Thorin there…he was there all the time…but I never saw him that way…now I do! Richard is so amazing good, he can show all what he wants with his eyes and his face…he can tell all what he wants with only some words with this voice…It is the role of his life, no one could do it better, I am sure…So I will remember gladly the first part of the movie…look forward excited to the second movie…and will fear the last part….and I am sure I`m not alone….
After reading your comment, Melian, I am so overcome by emotion that I’m almost at a loss for words. What you said is simply beautiful and very moving. Your last paragraph reiterates what I and so many others have said on first encountering Richard Armitage, no matter which role he was in at the time. For me it was North and South and I remember thinking to myself, “Wow! This man can act without saying a word!” From then on I was hooked. Watching him as Thorin has only intensified that first reaction.
Yes, I have never seen an actor like him! You can read in his eyes, his face, his voice so very much…he even dont need any words to tell all…..
What is so special is that I adore Richard for his acting, but my love and passion is only focussed on Thorin, not on the guy who plays him so breathtaking….Richard told in one interview he would like to reach that people love or hate the character he plays and not himself….So with Thorin he has reached his goal…
Thanks for your reply, thats just what I feel…
It’s funny, I’ve been pretty indifferent to him in other roles (including ‘North and South’), but as Thorin… It’s a superb portrayal, and he just looks so much more compelling! I didn’t recognise him.
Dear Melian,I had to cry while reading your comment. You spoke out my own thoughts, my feelings. Since I saw The Hobbit the movie, my life is not the same anymore. I ‘ve been a Tolkien fan from my childhood on, I read the LotR many times and always had to cry at the end when the Elves and Frodo had gone to Valinor. I suffered from severe homesickness for Middle Earth. But then I made my own Elf who was always there, in my secret fantasy life, a friend whom I could talk to and love. The book The Hobbit never had such a great impact on me, until I saw the movie…the Dwarves became alive, I started to know and love them, they became my family. And yes, I’m one of the millions who fell in love immediately with Thorin. Sometimes I have cursed P.J. for it, for turning my life upside-down, because he is always on my mind. Yes, I would follow him, I would give my life for him. Why? Why am I yearning so deeply for a character that not even exists in real life? I think this everyday life lacks the adventure and greatness we desire. Admiration, adoration, loyalty, devotion to a higher aim….we can find it all in the Company of Thorin Oakenshield….And again I’m living in my fantasy, but this time I have a second self on my facebook fanpage…living in Middle Earth, enjoying the meetings with my friends: Dwarves, Elves, Wizards and Men, as Lady Gwyllian of Ered Luin.
Gerda, I know you alter ego from that wunderfull page as you may know ME there too….I totally agree!
There was a time I was not sure if I should curse Tolkien for that end, Tolkien who I adore half of my life….like I adore Peter Jackson for making middle-earth visible in its whole beauty and greatness. And then I wished to curse PJ for the choice how to cast the heirs of Durin! I was crying some tears when I was reading the Hobbit first…about the brothers Fili and Kili and especially about Thorins fate what I found so terrible unfair. BUt this was befor I saw RA as Thorin, befor he brought him to life working out all parts of that mysterious, tragic character….befor I started to study Thorins character and discuss about in the forum in endless defending of his deeds. Seems to me not many Tolkien-readers are able to find out the essence of that character…for me the most difficult, most tragic, most mysterious character Tolkien invited ever, full of glory and faults…full of honor and loss. Because of the acting of RA I started to search for all the background in Tolkiens other books…I dived deep in the history of Durins folk searching for the essence of Thorins character…
And now, after this, I remember my few tears about his end in the book….and I dont dare to imagine what I will feel at the end of the movie…
Dear Melian, it seems as if your words and thoughts were mine.
I have to admit I did not know the story of The Hobbit before I saw the film, and therefore I went to see it with no real expectations, except that I did love LOTR and I learnt that it was the same director making The Hobbit as had made LOTR. I felt something like you, that I loved Middle-Earth and let’s see what nice little story comes out of it. And then I had the same feeling as you did: this is not the little story I expected, but something stunning, mesmerizing, amazing, awesome. Except that at the beginning, when Thorin entered at Bag End, I thought, my goodness, this is a KING, with capital letters and with all what it means, but then the way he talked to Bilbo looking down on him, disappointed me for a few minutes and I thought that the much he looks awesome the arrogant he is and if I have to be watching this guy for almost three hours I would go mad. And then came the scene when he says “I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills” and that he had no choice, only to make me realize that I have never been so wrong in all my life, and to be angry with myself for judging by first impression. And of course by the end of the film I was obsessed. And still I am. As much as I have never been with any character in all my life and as much as I myself would have never expected. And as you say, no sign of cooling down. And this obsession is not only due to a handsome face (though it would of course be foolish to deny that it adds a good deal). It is more due to Thorin’s character. We do not fall in love with Aragorn (or at least I never did – though of course liked him). Because he is so ‘perfect’, judging by human standards. We fall in love with Thorin. Because he is not so ‘perfect’ by Aragorn’s standards. But he is perfect for us. Because he is more HUMAN. With all the nobility and flaws going with it. And HUMAN also means having flaws, making mistakes sometimes, reacting to situations not always in the best manner or as others would expect us… That is why he is so close to us. And I think he can be loved even more for those. He can be loved because he proved himself to deserve and be worth to be loved. So let me put it this way: I would risk to take it even this far (and I have made a similar comment elsewhere on the site): ‘king’ is a title, in the sense of ranks. But primarily he is a person, just like you or me. And are there any persons who never make mistakes? And if your answer is no (I guess it is), then why criticize Thorin for making mistakes?
I would not dare to quote what my husband says about all this, especially now that my six-year-old (OK, almost seven) son has also become a massive fan. He himself has seen the film at least three times (and me… I do not even know now, how many times) and is still begging me to see it even more. And he also asked me to read out the book for him. And he often comes up to me saying: ‘Mom, let us talk about The Hobbit.’ And I try my best to explain him things and he remembers them the next day, in three days time, in a week’s time…. Of course after the film I could not wait to purchase the book and read it both in the original and on my mother tongue. Imagine me, I did not know before the film made me dig deep into the issue what the end of the story would be, and I was totally shocked when I found out. And imagine my son, when he found out that they would die, he cried for like twenty minutes. And sometimes he still asks me whether I was sure that it has to be this way, whether the film could end differently…
After having seen the film in my mother tongue (of course it was in Hungarian in the cinema) I could not wait either to watch in the original, to hear the original voices (Richard’s is just mesmerizing), and also to find out about the original words used, as sometimes they are not properly translated or even if they are, I mean the words used in the translation are correct, still they cannot reflect the same feeling (and I did detect some). My son, who does not speak English (yet – only a few words), watched the film in Hungarian, but then he also watched it with me in English as well, just to be part of the original.
As for Balin’s tomb, Ori’s skeleton and all that, I have the same feeling now as you do. At the times of the LOTR they did not mean too much to me because I did not know who they were, now they make me cry. I am planning to watch the LOTR series again, just to understand it more, now having all the information of The Hobbit behind it.
I have never been a fan blogger either before, but this time I could not help becoming one. And Richard is just brilliant as Thorin. I am also looking forward to film two and see what PJ will make of it. But as Richard keeps saying that later Thorin will get more distasteful, I dread to think that PJ will focus and put more emphasis on his negative deeds (more than ‘needed’ – or I do not know, whether the words overestimatedly exaggerate be the good words for trying to express what I mean), just to reach an even greater drama effect. But I also believe that he cannot be so distasteful that I would not love him. And of course I dread the third film…
Dear Misty!
I was in fear about the changing of Thorins character in part 3 when I started to deal with his character deeper but now I am not. To come closer to Thorins character made my understanding of his deeds and the reasons for as big that I cant imagine now to turn away from him because of his acts in the last part. I will feel with him and will be sorry and sad but I will not judge him, I am very sure of it.
What you told about perfection is the same I also think. Aragorn is perfect to adore him but too perfect to identify with him, he is a hero almost without faults and thats impossible to be. Another character in another movie told once a quote fitting well to that fact: “There are no perfect human beeings…only perfect intensions” (Azeem out of “Robin Hood, King of Thieves” Thats why we love Thorin: He is not as perfect, he has the same fault like we have, he does the same mistakes we do, he makes the same wrong decisions we make sometimes…and thats why he is our hero , a character so close to ours that we can see us in him…
I had to smile reading about your sons obsession….I have a son of now 8 and a daughter of 5…and both are infected with her mothers Hobbit-obsession, to the eyerolling amusement of my husband too. My son get read the book when he was 5 and he felt the end is sad and unfair…now he is reading the Hobbit himself…as the first book he will read ever….other children learn to reads with a fairy-tale maybe…..my son with Tolkien….lol….and he never forgot about the end! After more than 2 years he remembered and brought up that subject again….and so his little sister realized about too…she was also crying then and telling thats terrible sad and unfair. I have to say both saw the movie (except the war-scenes I wiped out of course) and both loved it…they know most of the english scenes and the whole movie in German…although they cant speak english they understand all scenes and can speak in German what is happen in english…every evening they want to see some scenes…and want to speak about. Both of them love Thorin…my daughter likes another figure every week but Thorin stays on the top…..and often she ask me about that end…WHY??? Knowing nothing about psychology, seeing a grumpy and harsh Thorin in the movie they even understand his essence…only by feeling…
..I found your part about the translation very good…they may use the right words but it is not the same! First is that no German speaker is able to copy the deepth and expression of Richards voice…its not his fault because its simply impossible to reach….but some scenes have a totally changed atmosphere in German compared with the original, as Thorin and the Goblinking, the scene with the map and Elrond in Rivendell or even the Carrock-scene. Since I saw it first time in english I adore Richard even more…his voice for acting is extraordinary like Freddy Mercury`s was for singing…nearly nobody could reach that score…It makes the beautiful parts even more beautiful …but the sad parts more sad too…
Dear Melian, I absolutely agree with each and every word of the first paragraph of your comment. As I said in my previous comment, I do not think Thorin can become so distasteful that I would not love him. I am sure I will be able to side with him no matter what he will do and would not judge him, just like you said, but defend him with ten nails (this is how we say it in Hungarian, I do not know whether this expression exists in English) as you may remember that I did in my comment under ‘In Defense of Thorin Oakeshield’. Because I know him now.
As you said in your earlier comment, you did not read fan fiction before, now you do write some. It is the same with me. I have written one myself and have recently posted it on Fanfiction.net. Unfortunately the name Misty was occupied so I called myself MMisty there. As we seem to think very much alike, you may enjoy it. Here is the link and I hope D. J. can link it to this site soon too. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9314036/1/
Any comments/criticism are warmly welcome.
My oldest daughter read The Lord of the Rings at age 6🙂. I was reading it to the kids for long afternoons slicing apples at the same time, but I didn’t go on fast enough for her so she started reading it by herself.
Dear Misty……you are right we feel almost same way about Thorin. I had often to smile while reading your fanfiction because I see most things similar…except of some scenes…..were my own interpretation is another one…but that does not matter anything…I would be interested in changing thoughts about your fanfiction , you can contact me…if you wish…at facebook as MelianVomMichelshain
Dear Melian, my privilege and my pleasure. I have just registered on Facebook to be able to communicate with you. My name is Mariann Dombi. Please mark me that you know me. I have already marked you and sent you a message.
Reblogged this on Well, There You Go … and commented:
Anjy read my mind! How about yours?😉
Although Richard drew me to this movie with his portrayal of Thorin (… I need a moment here … OK), I’ve developed quite an attachment to all of them. I recently watch FotR again, and cried over Balin’s tomb and Ori’s skeleton, because I felt like I knew them and lost a family member. (Yeah, silly ol’ Zan, at it again.😉 )
Delightful post, Anjy. Thanks!
I’ve long felt our lives have become too sterilized, too mundane. We all need the adventure that we live in the movies. Richard Armitage has really brought Thorin to life for me and, apparently, everyone else. (Love all the dwarves, though) I agree with the longing statement above.
I loved reading the blog. I felt myself agreeing with everything, including the feeling that Thorin is mine! And, of course, the feeling of camaraderie with the rest of the dwarves. I’m sure we want to be their Queen, eh?
I fell in love with how you wrote this essay, Anjy. And to tell you the truth, I hadn’t seen the Dwarves the way you described them and now I can honestly say that I love them more than I already do. Thank you for the excellent points! I will definitely share this with my fellow Tolkien geeks🙂
I still fail to fall in love with Thorin.😉
aaaah … finally, a non-contestant😉
Thank you all for your warm comments. I can see I have a crowd to fight for Thorin’s attention😉 – but he sure deserves it. Did you notice this one http://stores.ebay.de/SEAHORSE-STUDIOS/Lord-of-the-Rings-The-Hobbit-/_i.html?_fsub=3105367012&_sid=2107362&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
Still, I won’t be satisfied with mooning over Thorin. There must be something of honour, loyalty, a willing heart in real life, too. Maybe even in bleak old everyday-life. I firmly believe the film doesn’t show anything we can’t find in reality and NEED in reality. It just takes the eye to see it
I’m not so keen on ‘bottlecap’ jewellery, but I have made up a 2-chain necklace with the Erebor key from the keyring on it and a locket which has a large, silvery crystal (Arkenstone?!) on the cover and a picture of a certain splendid Dwarf inside… And I’ve taken to wearing, as a pair, 2 brooches; one an axe, one a sword.
LOL, I also have the keyting to wear – on an appropriate leather strap, though, and I’m wearing it beneath my sweater to pull it out at times and say “from my father and grandfather this has come to me …”🙂
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You certainly have said it well…I was thinking these things myself and I thought maybe it was just the emotional response of a lonely woman..but not so! Thanks for saying soooo well!
If this were Tumblr I’d insert a gif with applause. This is one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, ever.
I completely agree with this post (remarkably written, by the way!). It describes not only my exact thoughts and feelings and what the Dwarves got to mean to me, but also who they really are on Tolkien’s wonderful Middle Earth tapestry. I love seeing Hobbit fans who can analyse their passion in such a way…
Anjy and Company,
Where as I can’t empathize with all of the female enthusiasm for Richard Armitage – I am impressed with his portrayal of Thorin. I had initially hoped that we would see an older, rougher Thorin with a well endowed beard – befitting a respected elder and leader of the Dwarves – I realize that a more refined film portrayal has broadened the character’s fan spectrum. Still, I agree that Thorin is being portrayed with an integrity of character and nobility that even the more hardened fans can respect.
I agree whole heartedly that the Dwarves represent the qualities we most appreciate in our own families. ‘Loyalty .. Honor .. for when I called to them .. they answered’ For those of us who stubbornly cling to the past, and our family’s heritage and culture – the Dwarves represent uncompromising tradition and pride in our lineage and accomplishments.
In the older character portrayals such as Balin – I can see reflections of my grandfather, and in Gloin – the pride of a father for his son. Each of the other members of Thorin’s Company are brothers, cousins and friends so close as to be family in all manners but blood. Who could ask for greater wealth in the world today.
I suspect that many of you also see the similarities between the Dwarves relationships and your own family’s – often conflicting – sometimes comical – but always unconditional in their support no matter the circumstances – though I’ve never been suspended over a fire pit by trolls … yet.
I am looking forward to seeing the strengthening of their bonds throughout the remainder of the films, and though sadly, Durin’s line will suffer for the death’s of Thorin and his nephews – at his end, Thorin will make peace with Bilbo for his love of quiet and good natured cheer. For all my own life’s experiences and quests … it’s what I’ve found to be worth more than all the gold in Erebor.
Grim
P.S. Give all of those obstinate, old bearded dwarves a chance.
Grim, for all my love for Thorin – which is, actually, more that of a young soldier than that of a passionate woman – I’d run to Balin for comfort if anything happened to me. My family was literally broken by WW II. My grandparents were driven from their homeland – Silesia – and my parents grew up with no sentiments for the country they were born in at all and passed this feeling to their children. Now, my children are searching for a home in their own country much like the dwarves in Middle-earth. I believe there is much of a generation that grew up without roots in my essay and I don’t see the like of me getting any scarcer in these present dark times. Maybe, we will even be able to learn something about having a home and fighting for it from the Hobbit. What Balin says to Thorin has some truth in it: they do have a home, in the Ered Luin. But somehow the home you have built yourself is not the same as the one your parents and grandparents founded and provided for you. It’s not enough to build something yourself, we all need the feeling of belonging to something more than our own abilities. Tolkien, after all, did not succor the idea of recapturing an ancient home by pure force. Thorin and company did not reconquer Erebor and live there in peace for ever after. Only in warding of the danger of the goblins in combined forces with their neighbours they had thought to be enemies and contestans before did the dwarves come to get hold of Erebor again. Something to think about for all of us, I believe.
Aah, and I forgot, thank you for your deeply thought comment again. I love to read your perspective, old grey-beard🙂
Old grey-beard … I like that.
I sympathize with you regarding the support of government and the beaurocracies that strangle a country’s culture and tarnish it’s history. And you’re right, that collectively, we have a responsibility to support one another and to stand vigilant against the suppressing darkness. I am not an optimist to believe that we will ever prevail against the evils in our world – which is why I fight them all the more fiercely.
I feel that is why so many persons are enamored by Thorin despite his inherent flaws – that he is a true king, not for his inherited title, but for his love of his family, friends, people and his faith in the quest to restore their home. Erebor may be coveted for it’s wealth and grandeur, but I see Thorin’s pride in his home as a more collective ideal – that Erebor ‘is’ the heirs of Durin, and all those dwarves who have enriched the kingdom with their lives. Thorin need never sit on a throne – he is a king in every sacrifice that he makes for his people.
We may not live in a world of noble kingdoms, but amongst us there are heroes and kings who struggle to protect and guide those in need. In many respects, we are all members of Thorin’s company. Take pride in that.
Have faith, and know that you are not alone.
Grim
I absolutely agree with you, Grim, in that Thorin does not need a throne to be king. They follow him for who he is, for what he is, and not for a label. They follow him for what Balin said when he talked about the fights in Moria to Fili and Kili: “And I thought to myself then: there is one, who I could follow. There is one, I could call king.” after seeing Thorin facing Azog all alone and then uniting his people again and ordering counterattack and leading them to victory. They follow him because he proved himself to be someone worth following. They follow him because they believe in him.
Yes, Misty, he is a leader how every leader should be, with honour, courage , the will to win and loyalty….thats what he gives and from his followers he asks the same…and get it, by their free will. He is a leader by giving example… not ordering.
Thorin is the kind of king to follow….to follow him AND his example!
One could tell he is not free of faults, he makes big mistakes…who of us does not?
I second you on the beard.😀
Thank you so much, Anjy, for your wonderful essay. At first I didn’t understand why I was crying reading it, why this is moving me so much. It is because you have spoken out my own thoughts, my own deep feelings. I am a Tolkien lover from childhood on, reading the LOTR many times, always crying at the end, when all Elves and Frodo had gone to Valinor. I suffered from severe homesickness for Middle Earth.But then I made me my own Elf who stayed with me, whom I could talk to and love. When real life was dull or harsh, I entered my fantasyworld and was happy. The book The Hobbit
never had such an impact on my life, until now. Now the Dwarves have become alive,thanks to Peter Jackson, I love them all, but with Thorin it was love at first sight.P.J.,Richard, the movie…they have turned my life upside-down. Yes, I would follow that King, ready to give my life for him, eager to ease his pain and grief. Yes, those great feelings I miss in real life. A deep longing for greatness, honour, adoration, dedication to a quest and great love for a lonesome King drive me into my fantasy life where I can be together with my Dwarf-friends. I made two fan-pages on FaceBook where now my second self as Lady Gwyllian of Ered Luin lives and meets a lot of other RP’s. It’s an amazing world out there! I look forward to the movie part two but will need a good shrink after part three….
What I will need for part 3 (and I’ve already started stocking up) is waterproof eyeliner, otherwise I’ll look like a panda.
Anjy,
What a wonderful essay. You are such an entertaining writer! I feel that we also celebrate the spirit of modern men through these wonderful Dwarves. Men in Western society are so repressed by political correctness, changed in the presence of women (notice how men are closer when there is no women to distract them?) and desire journeys but can not fulfill their dreams of travel with their comrades. I am grateful that Tolkien left romance out, as our Dwarves, I think, behave as men would on such adventures. How great and special that Thorin and Company can represent that kindred spirit that every man dreams of.
Great post, Anjy! Before seeing the film I have not known too much about dwarves, if not the ones mentioned in children’s tales like Snow-white and the seven dwarves. And I knew Gimli. But basically that was it. And then came PJ with The Hobbit and I was utterly stunned by the way he presented them. The way he gave them ‘faces’. The way he made them distinguishable. At the beginning I did have trouble remembering their names, but I urged myself and tried my best to learn them ASAP. Because it was important. To know their names. To identify them with/by names. Because THEY were important.
They follow Thorin for the importance of their culture and past. They may have comfortable life in Ered Luin, but that is not their real home. It is Erebor. And though Balin does say that there is a choice, to live in Ered Luin, but the fact that he is there to go with Thorin proves that Erebor is important for him as well. He wants to protect Thorin – and the others – as they are only thirteen, now that Dain said no. But it does not deny the fact that Erebor and their past is important for him/them.
And they follow Thorin for loyalty. As he says at Bag End: “Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that.” And as Balin says: “Then we are with you, laddie. We will see it done.” And I think that is the key. Any of them would have had a choice and could have changed his mind and leave the company even during the way but none of them did.
Good piece. I identify with the Dwarves because I recognise them. On my father’s side of the family, I come from a long line of stonemasons, monumental sculptors and smiths. Also, the Gall-Gael culture of the West Highlands is strongly Norse in roots, and what are Dwarves if not pocket-sized Vikings, as Tolkien came to develop them?! I grew up on the Sagas (I recall being bullied at school because it wasn’t considered ‘normal’ for a 9 year old girl on a Yorkshire council estate to bring the Penguin ed. of Njal’s Saga with her to read at break-time!) When I see and listen to the Dwarves, I think: these are my ancestors – including their frankly suicidal sense of honour.
Tolkien saw himself as a Hobbit, and wanted to advocate Hobbitness, but for me, that’s one of the things he is profoundly wrong about. I’ve read his biography: his world-view and values are alien to me, indeed repellent. His strength is when he writes from his knowledge of Early Mediæval Heroic Age cultures, not when he lets his own prejudices impose themselves. The stubbornness and pride of the Dwarves may sometimes get them into trouble, but it is better to have what Somhairle MacGill-Eain calls “the ruinous pride of the MacLeans” than no pride at all. The twee, ‘Home Counties’ parochialism of the Shire makes my flesh creep: Hobbits would probably vote for the Middle-Earth equivalent of UKIP. There are no Goth or Punk young Hobbits.
Tolkien also doesn’t trust Dwarves because they’ve technology-related skills: I’m sorry, but to me that’s part of their fascination. I’m sure they can use geothermal currents to run hypocaust heating systems in their stone-hewn kingdoms. I can imagine, in later times, Dwarf Steampunk! He would doubtless be horrified to know we were discussing his creations on computers, crossing the globe… And that makes me happy.
Good post indeed! I also see the Dwarves as a kind of Vikings or Teutons out of ancient times…their sense of honour, their imagination of fellowship….And I agree complete: nothing os worse than to have no pride at all…..also an oversized pride maybe better than to let someone dominate you under his will. Maybe its because I experienced such things myself, like beeing dominated or traited and I am sure I will never accept that once more. Their pride of the dwarves and especially of Thorin is…in my opinion…a shield to protect themself not willing to suffer again that way.
Complete understandable for me out of my own experiences.
Tolkien had to elininate the dwarves (and elves too) during his books because in our modern world…the world after middle-earth…is no place for them…
But dee inside….I am sure….he felt a deep sympathy with Durins folk too…its very clear to me while reading the poem “Misty mountain” and all the others telling about the creatures made by Mahal the Creator…ut they had to disappear at the end…
Love your post, much to consider. I will first confess being a Richard Armitage fan before watching The Hobbit, Thorin had me at “hello”. But when I read the book prior to watching the film, I immediately identified with the dwarves and not at all with Bilbo. Why? Because I come from a family of refugees, exiles, and though I am much a part of my new country, I yearn for my Erebor, the country I was born in, and of my grandparents and parents. Yet, the “country” my grandparents and parents grew up in truly exists no longer, it is really a dream of the past that I long for. I do still have family there as it happens, and now at a possible time of future transition there, I feel some responsibility to do my part in some small way. That’s why I feel I understand the dwarves completely, and I feel a kinship with what you say about them. Looking forward to reading more.
Anjy, as a professional librarian for 20+ years and an avid reader for some 20+ years before that, your writting is truely impresive. To be able to so effectively write about complex emotions, i.e. family, longing to be part of something larger than oneself, etc. in such a few well chosen words shows great talent and skill as a writer.
Thank you, Cindy, and it isn’t even written in my first language. Pity editors never thought that way when I sent something in ;-(. But it helps writing about something my heart is really in
This pulled at my heartstrings. Thank you for this beautiful and awesome essay.
I like most of the essay, but it is mind-boggling to me that you can’t even conceive of fighting for your country. I thought that entire paragraph either badly worded or a very poor showing on your part. Maybe you should clarify.