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Forum Home » Books Discussion » BC Archive: Lord of the Rings » Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
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PotbellyHairyfoot
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Post Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
on: May 17, 2004 07:47
this is not a quote from anyone this week, instead I decided to use a description of Shelob;
Little she new of or cared for towers, or rings,or anything devised by mnd or hand, who only desired death for all others, mind and body, and for herself a glut of life, alone, swollen till the mountains could no longer hold her up and the darkness could not contain her.

In a small way Shelob reminds me of Tom Bombadil. Sam and Frodo have once again come across a creature whose existence comes from the ages before the forging of the Ring, a creature that cares nothing for the ring and cannot be influenced by it. In some ways Shelob could be seen as almost the opposite of Tom; yet like Tom she still has a role to play.

[Edited on 17/5/2004 by PotbellyHairyfoot]
LadyEowyn_Of_Rohan
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Post RE: Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
on: May 17, 2004 12:56
I disagree; I think all she has in common with Tom is that they don't care about the Ring and their age. At the essence of Shelob's character is her malice and hunger; at the essence of Tom is friendliness and happy contentedness, as long as he has the Old Forest and Goldberry.
Figwit
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Post RE: Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
on: May 18, 2004 04:33
Well, that doesn't exclude the parallel LadyEowyn. I guess in a way both are guilty of not wanting to look beyond themselves, though of course where Tom takes this literally and sticks to his bit of land, Shelob wants to devour everything so that there ís nothing beyond her left.

But it's a very interesting parallel, PbHf, and one I hadn't thought of yet.
RubySandybanks
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Post RE: Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
on: May 21, 2004 08:26
I agree Figwit. Yours is an interesting observation. I would have never made any connections between Tom and Shelob. I have thought about the parallels between them and have thought about some other ways in which they were alike:
1) They are both watchers in their territories.
2) They both have (near) omnipotent power within their boundaries.
3) They are both cunning.
4) They are both fearless.
5) They are both unique characters in Middle Earth.
6) Both are enigmas -Tom with his exasperating joyfulness and Shelob with her exasperating hunger.
7) Both are completely comfortable with who they are. Neither seems to have any self-esteem issues.
Both are resistant to change and reluctant to step outside their boundaries.
And last but not least...
9) Both delight in having visitors -each for his or her own reasons.
Ruby
Figwit
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Post RE: Quote of the week. May 17th/04 (4.IX. Shelob's Lair)
on: May 22, 2004 05:27
Lol, I especially like remark # 9

It's interesting though to note that, while Tom lives in a loving symbiosis with Goldberry, Shelob doesn't seem to have 'merged' with something or someone else - Gollum seems more like a slave... They're both self-sufficient creatures, but it seems that Tom has room for another and Shelob does not.
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