The Ring
The Ring is the character who drives the story from start to finish. After several re-reads, it's clear that the Ring is its own character as much as Frodo, Aragorn, or Sauron are and should be discussed as such. We find other wondrous artifacts such as Anduril, Glamdring, or Sting, but none expand into the realm of near-sentience. As Frodo notes when Gandalf explains the Ring, "Did not always see the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in an odd way, and might suddenly slip of a finger where it had been tight". It literally has a mind of its own.
Diving off on a tangent, the Ring's power is clearly from what Sauron emparted on it. It's a part of him so to speak. However, that is not to say it is an actual extension of Sauron nor is it wholly independent. Think of the Ring like Sauron's dog. It has great power on its own and can bite and make its own decisions. It can even refuse to be tamed by others and run away if needed. But the dog is trying to get back to its master. It can survive without Sauron, but it needs, and WANTS, Sauron in order to thrive and wag its little morgul-script tail.
Additionally, it is very important to understand the effects the Ring has on those around it and who wear it. The Rings of Power are a purposefully underexplained phenomena in Middle Earth and the One Ring perhaps moreso, however we can glean quite a bit of information from whats provided and infer much else. Gollum, Bilbo, and the Ring-wraiths are the best examples of what Sauron's Rings do to the races of Middle-Earth.
Essentially, the Rings amplify what you want most - what your base desire is.
For Men, that's power. Not always in an evil sense as we see in Boromir, but the desire to gain personal power (for their own gains, or for communal gains) is very strong. The Ring-wraiths were consumed by this. Becoming more powerful and falling more under the grasp of their rings. For Dwarves, this is beauty and craftsmenship.
For a Dwarf, there is nothing that can compare with crafting the finest weapon, the finest armor, the most beautiful hall, the deepest mine. As such, all of the Dwarf rings except a handful were lost due to their wielders going one step too far (think Thror in The Hobbit who amassed too much wealth and attracted a powerful dragon, or Durin who delved too deep and found a balrog).
It's unknown what this is for Elves as Celebrimbor forged their rings before Sauron could influence their construction. The Three amplify the Elves natural "beauty" in a sense, which can account for why Lorien and Rivendell are the most majestic places visited in the saga (Elrond and Galadriel each bear a ring) but they do not have the same corrupting power as the Nine, the Seven, or the One.
For Hobbits, it seems like Sauron didn't calculate them into his plans (which is a HUGE theme of the entire saga). For a Hobbit, traditionally, there is nothing better than good dirt for tilling, good pipe weed for smoking, and good friends for passing the time with. Essentially, they're a simple folk and don't have illusions of power! They don't desire to amass wealth (their fondest tradition is giving OTHERS presents on their own birthdays) and those who do are selfless with it (see Bilbo).
It's notable that the three most famous Ring-bearers are Hobbits.
Gollum is the first, a Stoor (one of the farther branches of Hobbitses) and is still posseses a semblance of will after nearly 500 years with the One Ring. The Nine have fully faded into the shadow realm and don't have physical bodies anymore. The Nine are substantially weaker than the One so its remarkable that Gollum is still corporeal nevermind comparatively sane.
Bilbo has the Ring for 50 years and its effects are mostly seen through the unnatural prolonging of his life as he slowly is pulled from the physical world and more goes into the shadow world. Eventually, he would become like the Ringwraiths, beings fully in the shadow world, capable of passing into the physical world with the power of the Ring. When Bilbo puts the Ring on, he jumps fully into this shadow world, amplifying the effects and allowing him to see the unseen, like the Ringwraiths. It is very significant that Bilbo is the only individual to willingly give up the Ring during his life-time. (We could argue Sam, but I won't. Sam is a bit atypical from all the other characters as we'll explore later).
Frodo has the most difficult task because the Ring is most rebellious to Frodo. It's remarkable that Frodo willingly sets out on the trek to destroy the Ring before Gandalf even suggests it. He knows what he has to do and understands the gravity, and is rightfully afraid. Frodo is very courageous and no one can help him in his times of darkness.
That was a lot of information and I'm interested in your thoughts here. I find the Hobbit's remarkable constitution one of the triumphs of the piece. Everyone consistently underestimates the Hobbits and they pull through in the end, better than all the other races of Middle Earth.
My friend was talking to me about the Hobbits as children--that perhaps Tolkien was making a hero child. This could be taken literally, as they are half in size ("but a child to your eyes"), or metaphorically, as they don't seem to possess the same burdens of men and are more interested play and relaxation. But I see them more as the simple folk. Their size is a product of "the little guy" versus the big world, and their cares are to demonstrate the importance of remembering the simple things of life. Either way, I do agree that it is interesting that Hobbits are the three most important characters, in terms of the ring (I WOULD argue for Sam to be included in that category :) ) Indeed, not only did Sauron overlook them, but Gandalf implies that he didn't even know they existed!
ReplyDeleteSide question, doesn't Faramir also willingly give up the ring? Although I could be confusing my movie and book story telling...
On the Dwarves, I've always been intrigued by what happened to the ones that were not lost. I believe Gandalf says that three of them are gone, but what of the remaining? Maybe you know more about the lore that I'm not privy to, or maybe I overlooked it somewhere.
Also, you should add a "recent comments" widget to the sidebar so we can see if people have added new thoughts to older posts!
The "Simple way of life" is probably the most accurate based on my readings. Considering Tolkien grew up in the post-Victorian industrial world of England, the Hobbits are a way of reaching back to a romanticized, simpler, time. I think Saruman's use of machinery and the disdain he regards the non-industrial world is most telling here.
DeleteFaramir sends Frodo and the Ring on their way very quickly in the books. He doesn't seem tempted at all (although, I'd argue that he, like Aragorn, possesses a stronger will than the Ring is able to dominate in that short of time-frame). So he willingly gives up a chance at the Ring which is what Boromir struggles the whole journey with.
For the Dwarf rings, I believe that Sauron has 3 of them (the last being Thrain beneath Dol Guldur before the events of the Hobbit) and Gandalf mentions the rest being consumed by dragons or similarly lost in the deepest pits of Middle Earth.
And your wish is my command, comment section added :)