The Council of Elrond
Despite being a seemingly transitional chapter, it is perhaps the most important of the entire trilogy and a vital link to the rest of Tolkien's universe.
The complexity and importance of the Council of Elrond within the story of The Lord of the Rings and the structure of the novels deserve more attention and recognition from fans, who may not be aware of how crucial a chapter is to the trilogy.
The Council takes place during the first book of the trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring) after Frodo manages to reach Rivendell after narrowly escaping from the Ringwraiths thanks to the help of Trancos (who is later revealed to be Aragorn, chief of the North Riders and much more).
In the Elven stronghold commanded by Elrond, a meeting is held, attended by representatives of the significant free races of Middle-earth: Dwarves, Elves, and Men. There is also Frodo as Ringbearer and Gandalf, who unofficially represents the Istari.
If we focus on the general structure of the episode, it is surprising to observe how, despite its considerable length, practically nothing happens in terms of action; after the adventures of the hobbits, fleeing from the Wraith in a relentless race, we move on to a moment of real passivity, in which several characters meet and talk.
We move from action to oratory, politics, and exchanging ideas and opinions.
What does this chapter consist of, then? It is the way through which Tolkien exposes two things: an allegorical vision of various political and social aspects. Still, at the same time he makes a virtuoso display of his knowledge about his own literary universe.
The chapter is a lesson in worldbuilding, exposed throughout the long conversations and dialogues between the characters gathered at the Council.
The historical context of Middle-earth is laid out on two planes: the present and the past. What to do with the Ring is debated while Gandalf and Elrond, in the form of flashbacks, add millennia of history that give the reader a broader vision. What seemed like a small adventure against an evil sorcerer becomes, as the Council unravels the story, a struggle of gigantic proportions between Good and Evil, in which forces beyond imagination are involved, and the weight of years shows its full power.
The Council's task, then, is twofold: for the story, it is the moment to decide how to proceed against Sauron and his Ring; for the reader, it is the moment when the true magnitude of the plot is revealed, and everything takes on another dimension.
For Tolkien, it is a reaffirmation of his construction of Middle-earth, an exposition of a world alive with cultures of a milenaria tradition and perfectly defined in the time and space of his universe.
Beyond the strictly literary facet (in plot and worldbuilding), the Council of Elrond serves as an allegory for other aspects of our political, social, and even religious reality that Tolkien explores throughout the trilogy but which are shown in greater depth in this chapter.
The element that stands out most from the first moment, due to the very composition of the Council, is cultural diversity. Several races are found in that meeting, each with its own culture; even within those races, there is variety, forming a broad spectrum that Tolkien details to surprising heights.
Again, Gandalf serves as a medium to expose this diversity, with multiple examples of the different languages and speech samples for each race. These examples also serve to cement those cultures that are hinted at in the previous chapters and that, from the Council onwards, will take on a life of their own to be shown in all their splendor in the other two parts of the trilogy, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
Thus, the Council is a presentation, an exhibition, and a cultural meeting at once. A kind of meeting of civilizations
This cultural variety carries an inevitable tension between the different actors who come together at the Council. In Tolkien's magnificent allegory of our world, the Elven and Dwarven nations quickly show their mutual hatred, which, at many points in the chapter, focuses the reader's attention and strains the cord of a sensitive meeting.
That tense dynamic also appears between members of the same race, albeit from different cultures. In these moments, such as those of Boromir and Aragorn, it is shown that this cultural diversity has layers of depth and is not only a differentiation of fantastic races but of geographic cultures with their folklore and traditions.
These minute and evident differences, which are a reflection of cultures anchored to geographical enclaves and which have evolved over centuries, are one of the outstanding achievements of The Lord of the Rings; Tolkien takes advantage of the Council to show it, to give a sense of this Middle-earth that breathes on its own. Tolkien's peoples and nations have their histories, which intersect over centuries and whose destinies lead to the outcome of the Council.
The theme of destiny is an element that permeates throughout the trilogy, connecting with a religious vision of Middle-earth (one only has to read The Silmarillion to see these echoes), which, despite not having a definitive weight in the plot, allows and enriches the themes that Tolkien addresses in the work.
In Gandalf's long narratives, we can glimpse these Christian remembrances in themes such as the exodus or a divine influence in some of the acts and events that take place in the story before the trilogy, the one narrated by Gandalf.
In the very conception of Middle-earth, something that is deepened in The Silmarillion or in some brushstrokes that Gandalf releases at specific moments, we can glimpse a whole spiritual universe and forces beyond all mortal understanding, which are an obvious mirror of the religious and specifically of Christianity.
As a result of this religious aura, the concept of Good and Evil arises and develops as antagonistic forces that constantly struggle to impose one over the other.
They are forces that exist on that higher plane, primary energies to which the beings of Middle-earth (and even higher spirits) are tied, some consciously and others unconsciously.
The Elves are a clear example of the full awareness of that antagonistic and eternal war in which they, like other beings, are immersed. That is why throughout the chapter of the Council, examples are given of how they can make decisions that at first may seem detrimental to their interests but that obey that greater good: to destroy the Ring even if it means the end of their race in Middle-earth.
In that decision, the sacrifice to achieve a better world is clearly shown; in the same way, the Hobbits represent the purest form of goodness, becoming a hope for dark times.
The Council of Elrond is, therefore, a compendium of the whole spirit of the Tolkien universe, both in the plot for the trilogy and for the more philosophical, sociological, and spiritual aspects that Tolkien always spoke of in his stories. At the same time, it is a prodigious demonstration of the construction of cultures, mythologies, and a fantasy with a life of its own.
Undoubtedly, this chapter is one of the best the British writer ever wrote.