The secret door (TH)

[Cirashala]

I was sitting here revisiting the secret door scene, and mulling over both the book and the (pretty faithful, aside from the missing dwarves) door scene in TH film, and a thought suddenly struck me.

How long would the door stay open? We know that it is hidden by magic, at least from the outside, though presumably it can be opened from the inside as well (hence how Thrain and Thror got out in the first place). But how long would it stay open after being opened? If it was hidden by magic, does that mean that the door would have shut as soon as the moon set on Durin's Day regardless of whether or not Smaug destroyed it?

And if opened at any other time from the inside, would it have had to be held open to avoid closing on its own? Would it have closed automatically?

The question also arose because there's no handle on the outside, hence why the dwarves had to push it open after using the key. So there really wouldn't be any way of closing it from the outside, unless it closed on its own. And since Thrain and Thror got out and the company found it closed when they arrived so many years later (60 films, 80 books), how on earth did Thrain and Thror close it????

My theory is that the door must have closed on its own through magic. It's really the only explanation.

Thoughts?

 

[Otaku-sempai]

The door might also have been balanced so as to close on its own, no magic required. However, it seems that the dwarves wedged the door open so that it could not close on its own.

Slowly Thorin shook off his dreams and getting up he kicked away the stone that wedged the door. Then they thrust upon it, and it closed with a snap and a clang. No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside. They were shut in the Mountain!

Whatever method Thror and Thrain used to open the door from the inside was not immediately apparent. And the question was rendered moot after Smaug smashed the mountainside.

 

[uncle Iorlas]

I figured the Moria-door is a reasonable example of the craft: from the inside a stout thrust will open it, from the outside nothing will avail. I figured once open you can probably kick it shut with another stout thrust.

 

[Cirashala]

Does the hidden door open inward or outward?

 

[Cirashala]

If they were inside the mountain and "thrust upon it" to shut it, that would mean that the door opens inward. And if they had to wedge it, then it would certainly imply that one could not close it manually from the outside, BUT that there was either magic or balance at work to make it automatically close behind someone exiting the mountain.

I'm starting to wonder if balance is it, rather than magic, because they did have to push to get it to snap to, as it were, though it had already begun to close. Unless they were just pushing it closed to get it to close faster than just simply meandering closed.

I do wonder if he realized that there was no keyhole on the inside though before he shut it. If he didn't, I'm sure there were some...words that went through his mind when he realized he just sealed them in with a rather annoyed dragon! [tongue]

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Also, the answer is found at the end of Chapter 11, "On the Doorstep".

Now they all pushed together, and slowly a part of the rock-wall gave way. Long straight cracks appeared and widened. A door five feet high and three broad was outlined, and slowly without a sound swung inwards.

 

[Cirashala]