It's ok Butterbur, I still love you

Kitanna

Kitanna

New member
Butterbur may have been quite forgetful, but he was still a good guy. And each time I read FOTR, my opinion of Aragorn is always brought done by how harshly he treats the poor innkeeper. Sure Barliman was not the brightest penny in the fountain, but he had good intentions.

He wanted to keep Frodo and company safe when they were in Bree. Though his judgement was wrong, he advises Frodo to stay away from Strider because he's worried the ranger might harm the Hobbit. He never meant any harm by not delivering the letter. Butterbur is just a forgetful man, but he is still a good man.

I have a soft spot for him because in his place I would probablly be just as forgetful and I'd be filled with guilt when Frodo showed up at my doorstep and I had forgotten to deliver. I'm not saying Aragorn shouldn't have gotten annoyed with the innkeeper, but I always feel he is being overly harsh to him.

And in the movie version Barliman is nothing more than a passing figure, he's not even given a name. Maybe I'm the only one, but Butterbur is one of my favorite minor characters (second only to Tom Bombadil). Anyone else have any thoughts about Barliman Butterbur?
 
Oh yes, Barliman Butterbur was very funny and not bad at all. He tried to do his best to protect Frodo, but after all he still had other things on his mind. He didn't know Strider his real identity and as we can read in the beginning, the hobbits also didn't trust Strider. Frodo later said: A servant of the Enemy would have been more beautiful on the outside. Tom Bombardil was the one who sent the hobbits to Bree. So Tom knew Butterbur was not a bad man.
I think it was his character to be a bit suspicious and Aragorn was for all thoseyears a Ranger and Elrond said: Let go of the Ranger and become who you are born to be, so I think Aragorn has taken over some habbits of the Rangers and maybe that's why he was a bit too rough against Barliman.
 
But he is. At least in FOTR. As much as I love Tom he's doesn't have a big enough role to be considered a major character.
 
That chapter with him and Goldberry is wonderful. I wish we had seen more of him in the books and movies. In the movies he was completely left out, because he didn't play an important role in the war of the ring. But was Tom Bombadil the oldest person on the world of Middle Earth? Okay, it was just an off-topic question. Now we are going back to the topic. Barliman Butterbur :D
 
hm.. i dont mean that hes a major characher, but i just dont thnk he qualifes as a minor... depends.. im lookng at it from the view of 'is he a minor charchter in M.E?...' ... hm... now that i ask, i dont thnk im sure.. curous.. i will have to look nto this...
hehe.. till then dont mind me... lol... back to butterbur, as u said...
yea, i dont really lke how aragorn treated him.. ill read up on it and come back with info and thoghts...
 
I think Aragorn had a flash of anger at Butterbur, but really understood his limitations.

Didn't he say something later like: "If we keep these people safe and simple, then simple they will be?"

I think he did, but will have to check... sometime.
 
ah... ok... umm.. i dont think that aragorn was mean to him, persay, but... they are totally different personalitys... in a way.., butterbur is very nieve, and unknowladgeable of worldly ways, but kind. compared to aragorn, who is very used to the cruelty o the world and such, but he is kind as well... i think he just was, rather upset about the fact that b.b. forgot to send the message, for it was of such importance... if u follow me?... i dont think he was exactly... funny, tho... i think in his own way, he was smart.. (one cannot do all the things he is described to be doing without a brain..)... does this make sence?
 
Poor Butterbur, he's a good guy who had the best intentions at heart. I never really liked Aragorn after the way he yelled/scolded Butterbur in the books. I could relate to the innkeeper because I forget important things from time to time and people have embarassed me because of it. So I never quite got over Aragorn treating Butterbur the way he did.
 
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