It's probably good news...
Mar. 29th, 2005 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabidsamfan... that I have just spent the last hour diving my way through the book looking for data about the master/servant relationship between Sam and Frodo. I.e., how articulated is it?
It's kind of fascinating, actually.
As early as the encounter with Gildor Inglorion, Frodo is referred to as Sam's master (and Sam is referred to as Frodo's faithful Sam). In Bree, the narrator again uses 'his master' about Sam to Frodo. At Weathertop it seems that Frodo thinks of himself as Sam's master, and it's at Weathertop that Aragorn says "your master" to Sam when referring to Frodo.
While they're still on the way to Rivendell, Sam calls Frodo "my master" twice, once to Aragorn and once to Glorfindel. And Bilbo, in Rivendell that first night, calls Frodo "your master" when he's addressing Sam.
(trivia: at the council of Elrond, both Bilbo and Sam address Elrond as Master.)
Gandalf calls Frodo "your master" to Sam outside Moria, and Galadrial does the same after the incident with the mirror.
(Sam uses "my master" right back to her, too.)
At parth galen, the narrator uses "his master" and Sam uses "my master".
Near the beginning of the Two towers, Aragorn refers to Frodo as Sam's master,
And then, at last, we see the first dialogue instance in which Sam addresses Frodo as master, right at the beginning of their part of the Two Towers, in "The Taming of Smeagol". He does so again, several times, quite soon. Then of course they pick up Smeagol, and it's hard to tell which one of them calls Frodo 'master' more often without counting more than I actually mean to spend time on. There's a curious thing that happens to Sam's thoughts and speech when he's thinking about Gollum – he occasionally says or thinks 'master' without the preface of 'my', much the way that Gollum speaks about Frodo. Very odd.
(n.b. hmmm. I'd thought Sam only addresses Frodo and Elrond as Master, but I see he calls one of Faramir's men that too…)
There's a ton of examples of Sam calling Frodo Master or thinking of him as master throughout the rest of the quest itself. But there's a long curious gap in reference to Frodo as Sam's master between the waking at Cormallen and the chapter on the Grey Havens. Not once on that long trip home is Frodo referred to as Sam's master. Dialogue wise we don't see "master" out of Sam between the time he gives back Sting and the moment that Frodo is about to tell him that he's leaving Middle Earth.
"But it doesn't mean anything" I hear you chirping.
Probably not...
I think I'm going to have to go back through and figure out how often Sam addresses Frodo without the honorific Mr., versus how often he uses "mr. Frodo", or "master" or "sir," to put all this into context.
The fascinating question that arises is, can we assume that Sam never calls Frodo "Master" before we see him do so in "The Taming of Smeagol", or is it possible that he does so earlier? Or does he just refer to Frodo as "my master" and that's why Gildor and Aragorn, and of all people Bilbo pick up on it?
It's kind of fascinating, actually.
As early as the encounter with Gildor Inglorion, Frodo is referred to as Sam's master (and Sam is referred to as Frodo's faithful Sam). In Bree, the narrator again uses 'his master' about Sam to Frodo. At Weathertop it seems that Frodo thinks of himself as Sam's master, and it's at Weathertop that Aragorn says "your master" to Sam when referring to Frodo.
While they're still on the way to Rivendell, Sam calls Frodo "my master" twice, once to Aragorn and once to Glorfindel. And Bilbo, in Rivendell that first night, calls Frodo "your master" when he's addressing Sam.
(trivia: at the council of Elrond, both Bilbo and Sam address Elrond as Master.)
Gandalf calls Frodo "your master" to Sam outside Moria, and Galadrial does the same after the incident with the mirror.
(Sam uses "my master" right back to her, too.)
At parth galen, the narrator uses "his master" and Sam uses "my master".
Near the beginning of the Two towers, Aragorn refers to Frodo as Sam's master,
And then, at last, we see the first dialogue instance in which Sam addresses Frodo as master, right at the beginning of their part of the Two Towers, in "The Taming of Smeagol". He does so again, several times, quite soon. Then of course they pick up Smeagol, and it's hard to tell which one of them calls Frodo 'master' more often without counting more than I actually mean to spend time on. There's a curious thing that happens to Sam's thoughts and speech when he's thinking about Gollum – he occasionally says or thinks 'master' without the preface of 'my', much the way that Gollum speaks about Frodo. Very odd.
(n.b. hmmm. I'd thought Sam only addresses Frodo and Elrond as Master, but I see he calls one of Faramir's men that too…)
There's a ton of examples of Sam calling Frodo Master or thinking of him as master throughout the rest of the quest itself. But there's a long curious gap in reference to Frodo as Sam's master between the waking at Cormallen and the chapter on the Grey Havens. Not once on that long trip home is Frodo referred to as Sam's master. Dialogue wise we don't see "master" out of Sam between the time he gives back Sting and the moment that Frodo is about to tell him that he's leaving Middle Earth.
"But it doesn't mean anything" I hear you chirping.
Probably not...
I think I'm going to have to go back through and figure out how often Sam addresses Frodo without the honorific Mr., versus how often he uses "mr. Frodo", or "master" or "sir," to put all this into context.
The fascinating question that arises is, can we assume that Sam never calls Frodo "Master" before we see him do so in "The Taming of Smeagol", or is it possible that he does so earlier? Or does he just refer to Frodo as "my master" and that's why Gildor and Aragorn, and of all people Bilbo pick up on it?
