22 September 3001 TA
My dearest servant Sauron, maker of the One Ring,
Bilbo is now preparing for his 111th birthday party. He and his adopted heir and cousin, Frodo, just so happen to have the same birthday, September 22nd - today! So, let’s now dive into the topic of identity through the lens of Bilbo and Frodo, as they seek to further understand who they are and how they were made as hobbits. A huge part of their bond is their identities. While they seem to be warm and cordial creatures regardless of their eccentricities, the fact of the matter is that they just don’t seem like normal hobbits, and everyone knows it, and is quick to point that out!
The beginning of Hobbits started in the Elder Days, and they have formed identities being similar to each other: they are simple creatures. They love peace and quiet and good-tilled earth, have good natured faces, with mouths apt to laughter, eating and drinking – enjoying six meals a day when they could get them. They are also hospitable and delighted in parties and presents which they gave away freely and eagerly accepted. And most importantly they are the closest descendants of Men, as they are most similar to them. They originally lived in holes in the ground, though now, only the richest (as Bilbo and Frodo were) and the poorest live in such “hobbit holes,” these holes in the ground. This is the box we put them in, never mind that there are a gazillion intricacies that make each incarnate who they are, in many different ways. As we fooled with the other hobbits living near them, that because they’re hobbits, they must be enjoying the same things that hobbits claim to like, just because they are good in nature, we must do to Bilbo and Frodo, the most peculiar of them all! After all, what hobbits love – peace and quiet, and good tilled earth, six meals a day, mouths apt to laughter, what could be so wrong with that?
As he continues preparing for his 111th birthday, there is much talk about his peculiarities, including his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return, his treasures he gets from his trips, and his perpetual youth, caused by finding and carrying your Ring. However, concerning this last statement, he hasn’t changed much in looks since he went to Lonely Mountain and found your Ring. This is what we desire so that their urge to keep the Ring would be so strong, that one day they’ll become one of us! Since he was generous, most people were willing to forgive him for that, and he maintained connections, but none of them particularly close until he met his heir, Frodo Baggins, his favorite cousin, who would move into Bag End 12 years ago.
Their favorite pastime was to visit the Elves and Dwarves in foreign lands, which is why they were specifically chosen for their journeys. As a result, their wealth (more particularly Bilbo’s) became a legend, and he was thought to be queer as this legend is firmly fixed in the minds of the younger hobbits. “‘Ah, but he has likely enough been adding to what he brought at first,’ argued the miller, voicing common opinion. ‘He’s often away from home. And look at the outlandish folk that visit him: dwarves coming at night, and that old wandering conjuror, Gandalf, and all…Bag End’s a queer place, and its folk are queerer.’” (FOTR, “A Long-expected Party”) Oh, how we rejoice when one talks about how peculiar they are, and how they run off to visit other creatures! This is a habit they have held for a long time, but most hobbits don’t quite know that about them until recently. While it may seem like a one-off thing, remember that they also have the Sackville-Bagginses who are after their home while they are off on these adventures.
Thankfully, it is still unknown by their wandering conjuror and trusted ally, Gandalf, that the Ring Bilbo is holding right now is the One Ring. They only know he’s held it for 60 years, gave him some traits that he wouldn’t have had otherwise, and that it is a “Magic Ring!” As they left, the Sackville-Bagginses thought they would claim Bag End, as they were nowhere to be found. However, they have remained there for many years, regardless of what anyone says about their habits. For your sake, it’s not important to know much about their attitude and personality as much as it is to know about their habits, particularly ones surrounding your Ring. For example, common sense dictates that when one holds your Ring for that long, one gets used to it to the point of addiction. However, this addiction came from you, and it is a good sign for us, as it made sure your powers remain strong. When they claim it as their own, that is your voice speaking through them. But I have also been able to make them seem queer.
There are many people with even more intricacies and complexities to each Hobbit, Dwarf, Elf, or Man. But we will be focusing on Hobbits today. It seems that they think they can fit all of who they are neatly into three types (the Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallowhides) based on their size, a set of habits, or a handful of customs. It’s crazy, and that’s what we love. Look at this!! A bunch of unique hobbits, thinking they can morph themselves down into a few meager customs! Within such customs, these Hobbits are further divided into classifications based on their family lines and the amount of money they have. For example, the Tooks had adventurous spirits, while the Bagginses preferred to stay home in their cozy little hobbit holes. Additionally, the richest and the poorest hobbits lived in such holes, while the ones in the middle had other types of dwellings. Over time, the Hobbits created these divisions using an “us vs them” mentality, which is the greatest thing that has ever happened to them as they formed their identities not as individuals, but rather as cults that must all be the same.
There are many benefits to our duties from these systems and customs they subscribe to. 60 years ago, when Bilbo got called by this conjuring wizard to go on an adventure, I was able to whisper in his head, that he’s a Baggins and Baggins are plain hobbits who don’t go on adventures. Who would want to go on them anyway? They are nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable indeed. Another major benefit is that when that didn’t work out, the townspeople would be able to make remarks about their queer habits, if they don’t fit into a certain box of how Hobbits normally live. See, their lifestyles are like fingerprints that everyone is meant to live, but our goal is to make sure they forget about it. When they see the Elves, they see more than just a glimpse of their world. They get to know them, and try to really understand their habits, customs, and day to day lives.
We have a few main messages that we hammer on specifically for these erratic hobbits, Bilbo and Frodo: You must prove that you are a hobbit, a normal one, and must not take up space (walking space, as they do tend to go on long walks) and must not leave Bag End for too long lest the Sackville-Bagginses would want your house back. Never mind that they would want to go on long journeys like Bilbo did and do something with some Elves…or Dwarves…those which have nothing to do with being a normal hobbit!! No hobbit would remember them! Frodo is facing much the same with the Sackville-Bagginses. This is where we must come in strong to derail our Enemy’s plans of forming their identities through these adventures.
Day in and day out, our Enemy speaks to them with the care and purpose that we loathe, that all they truly are is good and for the good of Middle-earth: the Bilbo who adopted Frodo, the Bilbo and Frodo who visit the Elves and Dwarves, the Bilbo and Frodo who go on long walking trips together, the Bilbo and Frodo who are resistant to your Ring as hobbits are. The latter is especially true. we can’t eradicate that altogether (as much as we want to), our goal is to drown out the voice of Eru, Gandalf, and their nearest and dearest kin, as well as each other – and let our voice be louder, as in essence, they’ve just become weird and peculiar creatures who wouldn’t be able to relate to other hobbits ever again. We want them to believe this! We want them to believe that they, alone and separately, do not belong, and never will.
See, before Bilbo got back from his journey to the Lonely Mountain, he had no clue that the Sackville-Bagginses, who were also wealthy, thought him dead and wanted the headship of his family and place – delighting in his disappearance and lamenting his eventual return. They became obsessed with acquiring his home, even after he got back from his adventure. Later, Bilbo would adopt Frodo and the hopes of the Sackville-Bagginses were finally dashed, as they envied his wealth. It’s quite interesting, perhaps, as this is what we delight in! A room full of hobbits arguing about their dwelling places!
This went on for far longer than even I thought it would. The return that he longed for 60 years ago – to be back in his hobbit hole in Bag End after a long and daunting journey – was overshadowed by that one interaction with the Sackville-Bagginses for years. I kept on with the message that Bilbo was just weird and would not be able to relate to the other hobbits. Until his journey, he had never thought that his desire to visit the Elves and Dwarves and go on adventures was off-putting, a burden, or an annoyance to his own species, the Hobbits. That was not until I kept the momentum of his neighbors, the other hobbits, and especially the Sackville-Bagginses.
After Bilbo adopted Frodo, it was clear that the Sackville-Bagginses detested Frodo just as much as Bilbo, if not more, as they resent his inheritance. This is one of those incidents that required little effort from me, though the after effects were huge as they felt abandoned by their own family line. As I saw, I realized that the only thing that I had to convince them of was that everyone was on the side of the Sackville-Bagginses. However, there came a point when Bilbo decided to not let it run over his head, to break free, though I tried to make sure this never came. So, I moved on to our other main goal. We are to keep these subjects under great fear and despair to the point that they’ll lock themselves away from the incarnates of Middle-earth!
There are many opportunities in their lives to do exactly that. See, we get the hobbits to talk endlessly behind their backs about their weirdness. Each year, Bilbo and Frodo would give combined birthday parties at Bag End, though it is understood that this year is something special, as Bilbo is turning 111 and Frodo is turning 33 (which is the coming of age for hobbits). Since Frodo is adopted by Bilbo, his real family of origin is even more queerer, as one would say, as they “fool about with boats on that big river,” where trouble would come of it, much like trouble would come out of any other place. After all, not much was said about his birth father, Drogo Baggins, before he drowned alongside his wife, Primula Brandybuck. Not much was said about Frodo himself either back then! First, we see the neighbors’ curiosity of what happened to Frodo’s parents. Sure, I should know, as I have seen them get on that boat, but all you really need to know is that they drowned. Then, they start getting curious about Bilbo’s wealth. However, he was nice and generous with it, which is what the Gaffer would try to convince the townsfolk.
As far as his party goes, Bilbo invited 144 people. One gross, which is what he would mention. He would even invite the Sackville-Bagginses! And they would know that he invited them just to fit the quota.
Their party’s tonight at their evening meal. Time is ticking.
Your master,
Morgoth