Day 38: Keeping Up

As my journey continues, I find myself seeking companionship more often. This desire has led me to bring my sister along with me for some of my walks. It is very nice to have someone else to share the journey with, but it is also can be a trial in more ways than one. One of these trials comes in the rather unfortunate height difference between my sister and I. Continuing with my self-identification as a hobbit; I stand at barely five feet tall. My sister towers nearly a foot over me. For every step she takes, I take two. As such I often find myself jogging to catch up. It can make certain trails and walks quite the challenge for me if my sister doesn’t slow down.

One thing that I have often wondered is how the hobbits dealt with the height difference. Maybe Aragorn slowed his pace for them? Maybe they had to hurry to keep up? So far Tolkien hasn’t really touched on this trial the hobbits and Aragorn must have encountered. The movie adaptions directed by Peter Jackson most often show the fellowship walking at the same pace, sometimes one or more members would have to catch up with the others or some would have to slow down. But even the movies do not make it quite clear how the height difference was managed.

Keep in mind that the height range of a hobbit is between 2-4 feet (0.61–1.22 m) with an average height falling around 3 feet and 6 inches (1.07 m). Aragorn would have been at least several feet taller than the hobbits and could easily outdistance them on what the reader has already learned were long legs (Strider is an apt nickname, even if it was meant to be pejorative by the townspeople of Bree). I wonder if it was struggle for the hobbits to learn to keep up with a man, if Aragorn constantly had to slow for his companions, or if it took a while for Aragorn and the hobbits to find a happy medium in their pace.

Still, most of these musing arise from my own desire to think the hobbits had to struggle with keeping up as I often find myself struggling with my sister. As I continue on my own journey I will continue contemplating this and see if I can find any answers within the text.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons