"the light of her eyes fell on him from afar and pierced his heart"

I think that, like Scott, Tolkien refuses to give his characters something he knows some readers will want, (an Aragorn and Éowyn pairing) again because it's not a fit for the characters themselves. Certainly not once Arwen has been added to the story. Both writers get more credible and interesting stories as a result.

Bilbo gets his (mostly) happily ever after in The Hobbit. Frodo ends a shell of his former self, never able to truly return. Kids book ending. Grownup book ending.

Yes, "infodump" would certainly be the wrong word, if it bears the connotation of the writer providing information in a way that is sufficiently clumsy to disturb the reader. This is so covertly done its perhaps more of an ..."infoseep". The technical problem here is that Tolkien wants us to know something he can't "show, don't tell" (as it is often put in advice to beginner writers) - he can certainly show us that there is a high-status female elf of supernatural loveliness at the feast - but we need to know who she is, and to whom she is related.

By contrast, he does "Show, not tell" her relationship to Aragorn, and her effect on Frodo (or the effect he has on her). I like the way that :

Quote

...means any of several things:

Perhaps Frodo is aware that Arwen is sizing Frodo up with a shrewdness bordering upon the supernatural (as her Grandmother, Galadriel, will do a later). As you say, she will be aware that a lot rides on this little mortal - his failure will sweep the elves away and so, in a different way will his success. And his success will mean her wedding is on, and therefore also her funeral. So Frodo's mission will have a unique effect on Arwen.

Or, we may be continuing "Such loveliness in a living thing Frodo had never seen before nor imagined in his mind ..." This has a strong effect on Frodo - stronger than his reaction to Goldberry. Not a sexual one, I think. "Beautiful Women Remind Men of Death" apparently (BTW this is from a wonderful list of "Extremely Emo Scientific Phenomena http://mentalfloss.com/...scientific-phenomena - of which "The Moth That Drinks Tears of Sleeping Birds" remains my favourite). Can't say I've experienced that "TMT" effect of beautiful women myself, though I have suddenly been mentally reduced to a bashful 13-year old. *see below

Also the reaction of Frodo to Arwen says something about him as well I think. So even more 'shown' here versus telling. We don't get narrative about how Frodo is sensitive to the air of Rivendell and the impact of the Evenstar, and all she means: we are shown it here. Plus a nice bit of foreshadowing too. On repeat reads this part really resonates I think: once you know how they will end, that deep look has quite a different complexion to it.
*will now mentally contemplate Furincurunir at the Banquet, receiving a glance from Lady Arwen and being all adorable about it.


So maybe it is an aesthetic admiration? Or maybe she has a massive charisma. Whatever it is, she does it to Eomer too of course, and even Gimili can understand what they are getting at - at least enough to allow a loophole in a vow made hastily.

Given the modeling for Arwen-the-heiress-of-Luthien in his own life, I think here we glimpse a Marvin-Sue (ie: a female Mary Sue inserted by an admiring male writer. I just made that up, just in case you didn't guess that.) If she is Luthien-come-again the emotional-mental picture that JRRT had must have been more close to his heart than say, for Lady Galadriel?












And of course, it could just be the weirdness of being noticed by these great ones - as in your Putin passes the salt example, CuriousG. Mid you, if Valdimir Putin did pass me the salt, one of my concerns would be to check that I was actually receiving sodium chloride - now where did I put my geiger counter?

PS: If Gloin is going on and on about events at the Lonely Mountain, is he being an Erebor?

As a Tolkien lover, I reserve the right to be annoyed by something, and I do get annoyed by the contrived suspense of Frodo discovering Bilbo in Rivendell. When you think about it:

1. Gandalf continued visiting Frodo in Hobbiton after Bilbo had settled in Rivendell. Didn't Frodo ever ask where Bilbo was? Why wouldn't Gandalf mention it? Why wouldn't Bilbo send an occasional letter to Frodo via Gandalf?

2. When Aragorn is first trying to establish his credentials with Frodo in Bree as a friend of Gandalf's, why didn't he also say something like, "And I know your uncle Bilbo quite well from seeing him in Rivendell. He would vouch for me, if he were here. He even wrote the verses that go with my name."

3. When Frodo was fading post-Weathertop, it'd be natural to say, "Just hold on until Rivendell, where Bilbo will be upset if you show up as a wraith."

4. Or Gloin saying, "It's been nice to see Bilbo here again."

5. Or Sam, Merry, or Pippin slipping in the remark, "Hey, Frodo, isn't it nice how Bilbo sat by your side every night? We didn't know we'd find him here."

I could go on, but my I think I made my point that there was no reason to keep this secret from Frodo and every reason for it to come out ahead of time. What did others think of this "mystery" upon first read?

As noted, in The Hobbit Tolkien was unwilling to deprive the King of the Elves of the traditional royal prerogative of the Hunt. Unlike with the traveling company of Gildor and their vegan picnic, this chapter is all about deepening the reader's connections with the world laid out in The Hobbit. Finally, as we'll see in a few chapters, Elrond provides the Company with fur-lined cloaks for their winter journey, which implies you know what.

For all that, I do have a weakness for Sador's line about "ground nuts, bark, and dirt"!