Frodo: Please, what does it always mean, this... this "Aragorn"?
Elrond: That's his name. Aragorn, son of Arathorn.
Aragorn: I like "Strider."
Elrond: We named the *dog* "Strider".
A discussion of Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King. If you're a pervy hobbit fancier, this is the place for you.
The film hobbits having such differing accents, particularly Billy, Dom and the two americans was a source of amusement that I had to file under suspension of disbelief
But Frodo and Sam are different classes, and Frodo isn't from, um, is the town Bag End or is that the name of the house? Anyway, he's from somewhere else. As is, I think, Pippin. Or is it Merry? Or is it both of them?
Oh my memory is so very bad. But they aren't all from the same little corner of the Shire, ultimately, I don't think.
But Frodo and Sam are different classes, and Frodo isn't from, um, is the town Bag End or is that the name of the house?
I read in Sean Astin's autobiography that he had to learn a slightly different accent than Elijah. I can't remember the name, but it's less proper but not Cockney.
I remember hearing something about how they were going for something like a Somerset accent.
Oh my memory is so very bad. But they aren't all from the same little corner of the Shire, ultimately, I don't think.
Sam and Frodo sounding different across the class divide makes sense to me, since Tolkien writes it that way. Frodo, Merry and Pippin sounding as different as [Elijah-English-attempt], Mancunian and Glaswegian is jarring to my ear. The (small) part of the shire that they are all from is like an english county (shire) and their accents would be related, at worst, in my view (ear).
Plus, aren't Merry and Frodo cousins? Or Pippin and Frodo? My cousins grew up several states away from me, and our accents are still pretty similar.
Sam and Frodo sounding different across the class divide makes sense to me
Also the fact that Frodo was not born at Bag End. He only moved in with Bilbo after Frodo's parents died. Merry & Pippin's accents should have been closer together because they grew up together.
Actually, Merry and Frodo both grew up in Brandy Hall, but Frodo was adopted by Bilbo at around 20, IIRC. Pippin grew up on the other end of the Shire in Tuckborough. Sam was the only one to spend his entire life in Hobbitton.
Thank you Kathy!
It really sucks to be away from my Tolkein references when I can't remember stuff. Which is to say, all the time.
There's a good article about Tolkien's depiction of women (and a bit of how Jackson used those female characters in the films) here.
I can't take myself out of her final paragraph:
Although Tolkien's females are conventional, they are also powerful. Females alone can harvest and process the super-nourishing wheat of the gods into "way bread" for journeys. They routinely "see farther" than men and summon sacred trees to grow. They bring inspiration and instill hope. They listen to the woes of the world, encourage resistence, and shed tears of pity. In Tolkien, feminine virtues make life worth living.
Everything but the last sentence screams "stereotype alert!" and as such I swear I thought the writer was critical of them.
