![]() ![]() “But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words.” “Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took,” said Gandalf. “What are you going to do then?” asked Pippin, undaunted by the wizard’s bristling brows. Outside the gate, Gandalf reacts angrily to a simple question. The insults come particularly fast and hard in and around the mines of Moria. If you took Gandalf at his word, Pippin would be the biggest idiot in all of Middle Earth. Once on the journey, however, he rarely has a kind word for the youngest hobbit. “Neither does Frodo,” said Gandalf, unexpectedly supporting Pippin. “That is because you do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead,” said Elrond. “But that will leave no place for us!” cried Pippin in dismay. Interestingly, while technically Gandalf is advocating for both Pippin and Merry, the text specifically singles Pippin out. He actually stands up for Pippin when Elrond suggests sending the young hobbits back to the Shire as messengers instead of allowing them to join the fellowship. Gandalf may harsh-even mean- to Pippin, but he stands up for him. “Then you certainly will not be chosen, Peregrin Took!” said Gandalf… (272) There must be someone with intelligence in the party.” “We hobbits ought to stick together, and we will. Look at this exchange, which comes directly after the Council of Elrond: Whereas he usually dispenses out wisdom, Gandalf initially only has harsh words for Pippin, even when there is no apparent cause for it. “He thinks I need keeping in order.” ~Pippin, about Gandalf (226) Even at the very, very beginning, before Gandalf knows much-if anything-about Pippin, he is already shushing him and checking his exuberance. He is mean to Pippin though he is only sparingly gruff to the others. For a very long time, Gandalf does not seem to approve of Pippin. His age and experience are directly opposed to Pippin’s youth and ignorance. Gandalf, on the flipside, is old and wise. “I am still little more than a boy in the reckoning of my own people, and it will be four years yet before I ‘come of age’, as we say in the Shire.” ~Pippin, to Bergil (763) ![]() When you pause to think about exactly how much younger he is than the others-especially those like Gandalf and Aragorn, who have been around for ages-it becomes even more understandable that Pippin isn’t particularly quest-ready: He is the youngster of the group, and acts accordingly. He is arguably my favorite character in The Lord of the Rings (sometimes it’s Merry). ![]() “But our whole life for months has been one long meddling in the affairs of wizards…” ~Pippin, to Merry (591) Since I am a huge nerd and fictional relationships are my favorite thing ever, I figured I’d dig into it in this new segment called I Care Too Much About Fictional Relationships While I like all of those, in my opinion the most multifaceted, nuanced, and interesting relationship is the one between Gandalf and Pippin. I bet if I took a poll of Lord of the Ringsfans about their favorite relationship, people would probably mention the following: ![]()
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