RotK question - trivial really

Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:59 pm

I got an e-mail from a friend who said that Deagol was referred to as Smeagol's brother in RotK (movie). It was my friend's recollection that they were best friends and mine that they were cousins. I found a reference on the web that said they were "cousins and best friends" while the movie portrays them as brothers supposedly.

Does any one know the real answer from the books? Making them brothers in the movie makes no difference to me but I was just curious how Tolkien wrote it.

thanks,
Jim

Tue Dec 16, 2003 5:01 pm

It is my understanding from the book that they were cousins (hence the similarity in names). Just very close cousins. I would say that is an accurate guess because you have to remember that Tolkien was big on names and language, and everyone had a name for a reason. I don't think that he would say that it was coincidence that their names were so similar and that they just happened to be friends.

Also, in the movies, and throughout the books, Bilbo is referred to Frodo as his cousin, when I think that Bilbo is really Frodo's uncle. Or is it vice versa? I'd look it up but my friend is borrowing my edition of LOTR at the moment. I might have a Return of the King laying around though...

-Bagginses

Tue Dec 16, 2003 5:21 pm

I'm pretty sure Smeagol and Deagol were cousins. Very close ones, like Bagginses said. I'm not really sure about the Frodo/Bilbo relationship, but I'd guess it's nephew/uncle. It'd seem a bit difficult to be cousins when Bilbo was 111 and Frodo was 30.

Wed Dec 17, 2003 12:12 am

The movie didnt make them out to be brothers, if anything. It was pretty vague, they could have been friends/cousins/brothers.

Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:04 am

Originally posted by MMmmGood
The movie didnt make them out to be brothers, if anything. It was pretty vague, they could have been friends/cousins/brothers.

Thanks for the info. A review I read referred to them as brothers and that was not how I remembered it.