Abby Epplett, Historian

This is my last blog post of 2025! I will discuss two aspects of folklore that appear during “Chapter 2, The Shadow of the Past” related to the seventeen years Frodo spent living alone at Bag End. During this time, he took many trips through the woods of the Shire and was rumored to speak with people from other lands, refugees fleeing danger in the South. Folk cultures around the world have long been fascinated by or afraid of forests. The hobbits’ fears of who might lurk in the woods aligned with fears of Ancient and Medieval people in the Real World. Meanwhile, human migration and displacement due to natural or man-made disasters have existed for thousands of years but have been studied only for the past few decades. During this essay, I will describe both of these concepts and point out similarities between them: our natural unease over the unfamiliar.

In previous case studies, I have combined information from the text of The Lord of the Rings with historical documentation to explore character behavior through a modern medical lens. These descriptions cannot be considered true diagnoses, as I am not a licensed psychiatrist, the characters are fictional, and the terminology that I use did not exist when the books were written. However, I hope that explaining these conditions will provoke empathy for people in the Real World who live with similar circumstances. While I will briefly cover the plausibility of two conditions that I have seen mentioned by other Tolkien enthusiasts on social media, I will spend most of the essay explaining my own interpretation.

Hobbits loved straightforward rules as long as these supported their interests of food, music, walks, and other simple but fun activities. Their society appeared to be governed by three sets of regulations: written laws similar to those in a medieval feudalist government; unwritten social norms similar to those found in the European Middle Ages, Regency period, and Victorian period; and animal-like behaviors not exhibited by the other “races” in Tolkien’s legendarium. While the rules maintained social order and allowed the hobbits to enjoy their favorite things, including walks, conversation, and smoking, these also excluded some individuals from social participation and upward mobility, not unlike the exclusion of individuals in the Real World. This also created the opportunity for individuals with social power and understanding to subvert the rules to their own advantage, perhaps leading to positive changes.