The first of three episodes on Chapter 5 of The Hobbit. Bilbo wakes up in the darkness below the mountains, and soon finds himself in a life-or-death riddle-game with one of Tolkien’s most infamous creations: Gollum. We begin to discuss the changes made to this chapter during the composition of The Lord of the Rings, as Tolkien’s understanding of Gollum and the ring changed. Also, we look to the Professor’s own words for context about the newly announced Amazon series in a new segment: The Tolkien Quote of the Day.
(EDIT: In this episode, we mentioned an illustration in a 1947 Swedish edition of The Hobbit depicting Gollum as four times the size of Bilbo. Our listener Trotter located an image of the illustration by artist Torbjön Zetterholm, which we’ve included below:
As well as this other unsettling depiction of Gollum by illustrator Tove Jansson from a 1950s edition of The Hobbit:
Our thanks to Trotter for these spectacular finds!)
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback) pp. 65-71, “Riddles in the Dark”
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit Facsimile First Edition (HarperCollins, hardcover)
Tolkien, J. R. R. and Douglas A. Anderson, ed. The Annotated Hobbit (HarperCollins, hardcover)
Rateliff, John D. The History of the Hobbit (HarperCollins, one-volume hardcover)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Somewhere in hell there’s a special little plot for Tove Jannson.
Tove Jansson is one of the best children’s writers of all time – she wrote the Moomintroll books. Also a very fine illustrator of her own works. But she always did have a flair for deliciously unsettling art.
My question is how did the Hobbits come about. Elves, Men, and Dwarves get a big origin treatment. Hobbits get just a some tantalizing clues.
Tove Jansson’s Hobbit illustrations are weird but wonderful. The way I picture Gollum is still more of a shrunk-down version of her interpretation than something closer to movie!Gollum.