Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 114
Comment on the process of becoming a wraith:
Comment on the process of becoming a wraith:
- Is Gandalf wrong in his assumptions about the One Ring turning its bearer into a wraith, as this has never happened to those who’ve possessed it? They may have never had it long enough.
- The Nine Rings succeeded it doing this over many centuries, but they’re the only examples.
- Saruman is the source of most of Gandalf’s ring lore, and that must come from another source.
- Of all the possessors of the One Ring, Gollum is the one that stands out as most representative.
- When the Nine were used to create the Ringwraiths, Sauron still possessed the One Ring. Also, the Nine and the Seven were specifically designed to entrap their owners with the One Ring.
- The primary function of the One Ring itself was to enslave the owners of the Nine and Seven, but only the Nine succeeded, while the Seven failed.
- The circumstances of those who had the Nine and the people who have owned the One are completely different, so we should not expect the same effects.
- Owning the One Ring changes and corrupts the possessors, with the exception of Sauron himself, aside from his own dark path and dividing his own native power.
- There is not enough evidence to prove that Gandalf is right or wrong, and Gandalf only describes these effects of the Great Rings, such as the Nine, not the One Ring specifically.
- Gandalf seems to apply this same evidence to the One Ring, though it is only theoretical.
- Since the Seven fail due to the nature of Dwarves, this is counterevidence that all of the Rings of Power create wraiths, and Gandalf seems to think that it is possible to be resistant to it.
- All of the possessors of the One Ring after Isildur have been hobbits, and Gandalf seems to think that the nature of hobbits themselves is a mitigating factor preventing becoming a wraith.
- Gollum had not worn the One Ring very often, and Gandalf thinks that this was also a mitigating factor, as he said that it was the wearing of a Ring of Power that eventually makes one a wraith.
- All of Gandalf’s lore is secondhand, as he has not observed this, but he is following the logic. However, the evidence of Frodo’s experiences on the way to Rivendell seem to support him.
- Note: Gandalf does wield a Ring of Power himself, so he would have some firsthand knowledge.
- Because there are limited examples, it is difficult to say anything about the Ringbearers for sure.
- Isildur’s claiming of the Ring as weregild is an example of a rationalization caused by the Ring, and he was the first to name it “precious”, but this seems to have been its only effect on him.
- Isildur knew that the Ring would make him invisible, which he could only learn by wearing it, but it seems unlikely that he had worn the Ring very much, and he didn’t have it very long.
- Note: There is a tragedy in the story of Isildur being ambushed and killed after having defeating Sauron, but his death was probably better than what might have happened to him otherwise.
- Bilbo’s comment about being “thin and stretched” is probably one thing that informed Gandalf’s theory about how the Ring would affect people over time, eventually making them a wraith.
- Whether or not Gandalf is right, the primary function of the One Ring is not to create wraiths of its owners, and therefore this is not the only effect that it is having on Frodo.
- The Ring does not seem to directly communicate with those that possess or desire it, but rather it is the desire of the Ring that causes them to think about the power offered by the Ring.
- Once one’s own will has been turned toward the Ring, they will rationalize their desire for it.
- Note: In contrast to the Silmarils, the One Ring is actively evil in intent and design. The Silmarils are desirable, and this may cause people to do bad thing, but they did not act on people.
- The Ring may intensify thoughts that one already has, rather than inspiring new thoughts, which explains why the Ring affected Bilbo and Gollum differently, based on the way they received it.
- Like Sam’s desire for a garden, the temptations of the Ring are different based on the character and personality of the person being affected.
- Bilbo has been conditioned by owning the Ring for 60 years to entertain certain thoughts more than others, so even when the Ring is distant from him, he still had those thoughts for a while.
- In the case of Tom Bombadil, he had no thoughts of domination or other power, so the Ring had no material with which to work in order to tempt him.
- When Frodo has the impulse to leave Tom’s house, it is related to the other times that he attempts to leave his friends, though it is usually an admirable desire to draw danger away.
- However, it is only a small nudge from there to a desire to be free of responsibility for his friends and to be free and alone and to have the Ring all to himself, which is consistent with the Ring.
- Even Sauron demonstrates a desire for solitude and singularity, as to be powerful is to be alone.
- Isildur’s impulse to go off on his own is consistent with this pattern among the Ringbearers.
- Note: Since the Ring’s purpose is to dominate others, it will dominate its owners, too, and that domination will leave a mark, but if one has no natural inclination toward domination, then they may attempt to resolve that cognitive dissonance through rationalization. This rationalization also takes the form of creating reasons for justifying their ownership of the Ring.