“I can’t believe that Gollum was connected with hobbits, however distantly,’ said Frodo with some heat. Having heard a description of this creature, it therefore comes as a shock to Frodo when Gandalf reveals, at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, that Gollum was originally a hobbit. He is thin and emaciated, but surprisingly strong. 5 He runs “with bent back and with hands near the ground, like a beast,” although he is “not of beast-shape.” 6 He is a skilful swimmer and climber. Gollum has six teeth, and has distinctive eyes that glow in the dark like “green lamps.” 4 He apparently possesses the ability to switch his luminous eyes on and off at will. Later, this description is expanded (in both “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”) to include a wealth of detail, both humorous and repulsive. When we first meet him in “The Hobbit”, he is described simply as a small, slimy creature. The author’s physical description of Gollum leads the uninitiated reader to wonder what kind of creature he is. Straddling both worlds is Gollum, one of the most psychologically complex characters ever created by Tolkien.
2 In contrast, the focus of the malign characters is on the aggrandisement of the self and the negation of others. Tolkien’s benign characters live in a world of “unforced, unhurried activity, practical and creative.” 1 Living in peaceful societies such as Lothlórien or the Shire, they enjoy “the happiness of grateful contemplation of beauty,” and exhibit an intellectual curiosity with regard to the wider world. Tolkien contrasts two ways of thinking, two ways of living. The Small, Slimy Creature: A closer look at Gollum
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