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Frodo Set Out Just in Time
11/25/07
"it seems to me that you have set out only just in time, if indeed you are in time"
-- Gildor to Frodo (Fellowship, p. 93)
Supernatural providence finds expression in that Frodo set out in the nick of time when he left the Shire with the Black Riders on his trail.
This idea of supernatural providence does not find graphic expression in any single image. Rather it's woven into the narrative.
The integration of the idea into the narrative is possibly another example of the author layering the story with meaning.
Gildor, the leader of the High-Elves whom the Hobbits ran into earlier, said to Frodo, "it seems to me that you have set out only just in time" (Fellowship, p. 93).
There is even the suggestion that the Hobbits may have been too late. The Hobbits have set out just in time, "if indeed you are in time" (Fellowship, p. 93).
Leaving the Shire is not in itself an expression of supernatural providence. Rather supernatural providence finds expression in the timing of the departure.
The narrative is layered with meaning.
Tolkien was one of the best-selling authors of the twentieth century. This was no mean feat in itself. However, this accomplishment is all the more remarkable when one considers that the author couldn't write.
Ask most college professors of English literature, and they will tell you. So many English professors can't be wrong. Or can they?
Something made Tolkien different. Could part of it have been the way in which he layered his stories with meaning? His stories are not just flat narratives but have dimension.