This article is a continuation of last week’s examination of describing movement through complicated spaces.

Moria

The passage twisted round a few turns, and then began to descend. It went steadily down for a long while before it became level once again. The air grew hot and stifling, but it was not foul, and at times they felt currents of cooler air upon their faces, issuing from half-guessed openings in the walls. There were many of these. In the pale ray of the wizard’s staff, Frodo caught glimpses of stairs and arches, and of other passages and tunnels, sloping up, or running steeply down, or opening blankly dark on either side. It was bewildering beyond hope of remembering.
Gimli aided Gandalf very little, except by his stout courage. At least he was not, as were most of the others, troubled by the mere darkness in itself. Often the wizard consulted him at points where the choice of way was doubtful; but it was always Gandalf who had the final word. The Mines of Moria were vast and intricate beyond the imagination of Gimli, Glóin’s son, dwarf of the mountain-race though he was. To Gandalf the far-off memories of a journey long before were now of little help, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road he knew whither he wished to go, and he did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards his goal.

VIEWPOINTS

For me, the clearest point of contrast between this excerpt from Tolkien, and the opening paragraphs from Maas that we looked at last week, is that here the viewpoint is consistent. If you visualise the sentences as shots in a film, you’ll notice that the “camera” doesn’t flit between close-up and wide-angle frames. Although the point of view shifts from character to character, it stays close to the group, and doesn’t offer any information beyond their limited scope of perception.

1. This consistent viewpoint aligns the reader with the characters as a part of their group.
2. It also creates the feeling of being lost, confined, and cut off.
3. Instead of the “overview shot” of a building structure (as in Maas), Tolkien creates a sense of the complicated layout of the mines by describing the characters’ perception of air currents, and glimpses of architectural elements.
4. The succession of disjointed “vignettes”, as well as small and subtle textual clues, — such as the statement that the passage went down “for a long while”, and that “there were many of these [openings]” — create the impression of a setting that’s too large and complicated to be viewed as a whole.
5. The “showing” details of the POV vignettes are supported by the “telling” statements that the mines are “bewildering beyond hope of remembering,” and “vast and intricate beyond the imagination”.

☞ See Show Don’t Tell for more examples of how authors use these two techniques in conjunction.

UNKNOWN

As an example of katabasis, the descent into the mines of Moria is part of the transition from the Ordinary World into the World of Adventure (or from the Quest to the Bolt in the One Page Novel). Here the characters encounter the unknown and make it visible.

1. Rather than describing (most of) the characters “troubled by the mere darkness in itself”, Tolkien singles out Gimli as an exception.
2. Similarly, the light from Gandalf’s staff defines and deepens the surrounding darkness by its contrast, especially as it radiates no more than a “pale ray”.
3. The setting “vignettes” that the characters perceive are disconnected and fade into the darkness around them. It’s unclear where the fresh air comes from, or where the “passages and tunnels” lead, making the mines seem amorphous and without beginning or end.
4. The multiplicity and repetitiveness of the “openings” suggest a pattern and purpose that is impossible for the fellowship to grasp because they can’t see more than a few step ahead.

☞ See the Night-Sea Journey for describing the dark unknown.

CHARACTER

What I love about this (somewhat randomly-chosen) excerpt from Lord of the Rings, is the way it’s almost a macrocosmic description of the monomyth (or One Page Novel):

The characters descend into the Underworld of Adventure, following a mentor (a clear Quest theme). There they feel lost, and afraid of the dark unknown. But they trust in their own Power, and know that if they have a goal, there is bound to be a path that leads to it.

Gandalf is an experienced character, of course, not only because he’s travelled through these regions before, but because he knows not to allow the outer meanderings of his path to affect his inner confidence in heading towards (and ultimately reaching) his goal.

Gimli’s brief but brilliant characterisation provides a valuable foil to Gandalf. Gimli represents the limitations of worldly knowledge; his experience is grounded in the physical realm, but his courage and ancestry are of little help in leading the party.

And although Gandalf has further challenges to face within the broader context of the story, it’s his proficiency in the left-hand path, evidenced by his magic as well as by his clear inner vision that make him a confident leader for the fellowship.