AUTHOR'S NOTES -
CHAPTER 35: GOING HOME
‘That is true, my lord Samwise,’ one said, ‘but we are told that from the Meneltarma it was possible for those with the keenest eyesight to see a city far off in the West, shining on a distant shore: a great harbour and a white tower.’
The Silmarillion, The Akallabêth: “Of old the chief haven of Númenor was in the midst of its western coasts, and it was called Andúnië because it faced the sunset. But in the midst of the land was a mountain tall and steep, and it was named the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven...”
“... and at times, when all the air was clear and the sun was in the east, they would descry far off in the west a city white-shining on the distant shore, and a great harbour and a tower. For in those days the Númenóreans were far-sighted; yet even so it was only the keenest eyes among them that could see this vision, from the Meneltarma, maybe...”
It seemed to him as though he were wrapped inside of it, inside a song, and that it spoke to him of love and a deep yearning.
The Fellowship of the Ring, Lothlórien: “He turned and saw that Sam was now standing beside him, looking round with a puzzled expression, and rubbing his eyes as if he was not sure that he was awake. ‘It’s sunlight and bright day, right enough,’ he said. ‘I thought that Elves were all moon and stars: but this is more elvish than anything I ever heard tell of. I feel as if I was inside a song, if you take my meaning.’”
Tall they seemed, great lords, revealed in all their glory.
The Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings: “‘I thought I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others. Was that Glorfindel, then?’
‘Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the firstborn. He is an Elf-lord of a house of princes...’”
‘Melme cuilenyo, órenya linde an le cene.’
‘Love of my life, my heart sings to see you.’
‘Melme cuilenyo, nál vanya,’
‘Love of my life, you are beautiful.’
Confession time here. I originally misread the line across on the Elvish language site I was using (see introductory notes), and wrote this as “nál taura ohtar.” Thankfully, beta Aliena was interested enough to go and see if she could find out what Frodo was saying. Her next email expressed her puzzlment as to why Frodo was calling Sam a mighty warrior. Once I’d stopped laughing I hi-tailed it back to the site to find the correct phrase.
His light dimmed; even through closed lids, he knew that his light had dimmed as he hung on the brink of release.
His other hand, slick with saliva and the first drops of his fluid, smoothed over the swollen tip. ‘Sam,’ he moaned, ‘oh, Sam!’ And he was there with a blaze of light that flared out, as unstoppable as the rush and surge of his emotions and the wet warmth that overspilled his hand.
I have been asked several times about the light. The fact Frodo glows at all is based on The Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings: “He was smiling, and there seemed to be little wrong with him. But to the wizards eye there was a faint change, just a hint as it were of transparency, about him, and especially about the left hand that lay outside upon the coverlet.
‘Still that must be expected,’ said Gandalf to himself. ‘He is not half through yet, and to what he will come in the end not even Elrond can foretell. Not to evil, I think. He may become like a glass filled with clear light for eyes to see that can.”
Overlaying this I have taken the varying light of the Star-glass, which responds to the emotion of the one carrying it. The Two Towers, Shelob’s Lair: “For a moment it glimmered faint as a rising star struggling in heavy earthward mists, and then as its power waxed, and hope grew in Frodo’s mind, it began to burn, and kindled to a silver flame, a minute heat of silver light...” and The Return of the King, The Tower of Cirith Ungol: “Sam drew out the eleven-glass of Galadriel again. As if to do honour to his hardihood, and to grace with splendour his faithful brown hand that had done such deeds, the phial blazed forth suddenly...”
I’ve added a dollop of Elf-lord: The Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings: “‘I thought I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others. Was that Glorfindel, then?’
‘Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the firstborn. He is an Elf-lord of a house of princes...’”
The light Sam sees reflects Frodo's mental state: the more inward looking he is, the more muted the light. In chapter 33, both Gandalf and Ninquelote comment on Frodo’s light as an indicator of his fëa: “The wizard reached out and touched the jagged scar on Frodo’s shoulder. ‘You radiate light, Frodo. No darkness left, and it makes my heart glad to see it.’” and “‘I can see you have been pursuing your meditation. The light is very strong in you.’”
I have used the fact Frodo’s inner light dims and then blazes forth at the moment of climax as a natural extension of this scene from Chapter 19:
“The stillness, when it came, was startling in its suddenness. Frodo’s arms fell to his sides and his hands lay cupped and open as though in deep relaxation, his panting was the merest flutter of his chest. His eyes slowly closed as his head tilted back, and his body appeared non-responsive. Sam knew better: he carried the rhythm until Frodo cried out and jerked beneath him, and Sam took all he had to offer, reliving his own climax in Frodo’s.”
The light also dims at other times when Frodo is introspective (when looking at Elanor’s present for instance) and when he is saddened (feeling Sam’s physical pain). Converesly, during moments of great emotion/heightened awareness, it is brighter.
If he had reached this point in the Shire (assuming that he lived long enough and that this was possible without his being exposed to the healing grace of Tol Eressea) it is possible that he would not have been visible to some hobbits, and Gandalf’s prohecy would have come true: “He may become like a glass filled with a clear light for eyes to see that can.” However, I doubt he would have appeared in such a blaze of light without the Elvish healing and guidance. We are seeing him “as he is upon the other side.”
As it is, Elves and those who love him have no trouble seeing him (although Sam is is confused at their first meeting, but that is because Frodo's light is so bright - in his excitement -that Sam is dazzled). The last time Sam saw anything like this was Glorfindel at the Ford of Bruinen.
‘An ilye elen menelesse, nál vanya; melinyel,’ he murmured. ‘Órenya linde an le cene.’
‘By all the stars in the heaven, you are beautiful; I love you,’ he murmured. ‘ My heart sings to see you.’