Re-reading The Hobbit: Ch. 18 - The Return Journey
In which Bilbo refuses an even bigger fortune, Beorn shocks his animal companions by taking in house-guests, and Thorin breathes his last.
What happens
Bilbo comes to alone on Ravenhill. Since he had the ring on when he was knocked out, no one could find him; he realises this and removes it, and is found by one of Bard’s men. Gandalf is delighted to see him well, but directs him to a sombre duty: Thorin has been gravely wounded, and is asking to see Bilbo. They reconcile, and Thorin acknowledges the validity of Bilbo’s approach (if not quite apologising for his own missteps). Bilbo leaves him for the last time and goes to have a good cry.
He later hears about the rest of the battle in retrospect: the Eagles, suspicious about the goblins’ sudden marching, had followed behind the enemy host, but even with their help the defenders were outnumbered, until Beorn appeared in bear-shape. Removing the mortally wounded Thorin from the battle-field, he had fallen in fury upon the goblins, causing them to flee in chaos. Fíli and Kíli, however, were among the fallen. Dáin has been crowned King under the Mountain, and ensures that Bilbo receives his due portion of the treasure, most of which Bilbo refuses. He, Gandalf and Beorn take their leave of the dwarves and ride back to Mirkwood with Thranduil, and then skirt the edge of the forest until they come to Beorn’s house, where they stay for a while. Finally Gandalf and Bilbo cross the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo turns to glimpse the Lonely Mountain far in the distance.
Commentary
For the last time, I’ll begin with my reflections on Thorin. As anyone who has read any of these posts before will know, I went into The Hobbit remembering Thorin as stubborn, humourless and more than a little foolish. He certainly would have easily been my least favourite dwarf. But during this re-read, when I’ve been paying a little more attention than I perhaps would normally, I’ve discovered a lot more about him - about his real leadership ability, the underlying morality to all his actions, and even a streak of kindness that occasionally rears its head. When we last saw Thorin in person, all his worst attributes were to the fore, so it is really lovely to see him at his best at the last. I found his final words to Bilbo particularly moving:
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!”
I love the acknowledgement of Bilbo’s innate worth, and the subtle nod to his own failings. I have found a great character where I really didn’t expect to, and that alone has made this re-read thoroughly worth it.
It’s interesting that the rest of the battle is told to Bilbo after the event; a little frustrating, perhaps, but there would have been very little for Bilbo to actually do when it happened, so I’ll let it go. I am a little disappointed in how Fíli and Kíli’s deaths are reported, though - almost as an aside. They were two of the more prominent dwarves, and I wanted to know a bit more about how they went down than simply “defending [Thorin] with shield and body”. Interestingly it’s only here that they are identified as Thorin’s sister-sons.
I feel like I’m repeating myself, but I’m once again taken with Bilbo’s growth. He shows real wisdom in declining the bulk of the treasure, seeing clearly to the heart of the problem (not just transport but also being a target on the road). The last half of this chapter really illustrates how Bilbo has, in an objective sense, risen in the world: he bids a fond farewell to the King under the Mountain, to the King of Elven Mirkwood, and to Beorn, who (as we’ll discover in The Lord of the Rings) is Lord of the Beornings. And yet, throughout it all, he retains his simple, hobbity charm; “Tea is at four, but any of you are welcome any time!” he tells his dwarf companions. He may be a grand adventurer, but he’s still a kind, sensible hobbit at heart. As Tolkien himself once noted, when comparing The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo reminds me, not of Frodo, but of Sam, his true spiritual successor.
I suspect that I usually zoom through these final pages at a rate of knots, since I hadn’t remembered anything about the sojourn with Beorn (lengthy, if told in only a few paragraphs), or the really lovely final moment when Bilbo peers back from the top of the pass over the Misty Mountains to see the Lonely Mountain glinting in the sunlight. It conveys so perfectly the bittersweet edge even here - Bilbo is going home, which he has been missing ever since he left it, but he is leaving his great adventures behind, and can never quite go back.