Frodo's Partial Successes

[ForthDauntless3]

Upon listening to the audio recording of Episode 50 (An Important New Acquaintance) I was struck by the parallels between Frodo's failure in the Prancing Pony and his similar failure with Old Man Willow. In both cases, Frodo resisted the initial temptation but failed to resist the backup plan.

This might tell us something about Frodo's current strength of mind. He hasn't yet reached the will of adamant that will keep him on his feet in Mordor while constantly also resisting the Ring. It might also tell us something about the Ring itself. We know that Old Man Willow is sentient, at least somewhat. We concluded that Frodo's "Must bathe feet" line came from Old Man Willow. The parallel then suggests that the Ring possesses at least rudimentary planning abilities.

As was said during class, Frodo's notion to keep the Ring from escaping is possessive, problematic and only half rational, so this idea might conceivably come from the Ring.

 

[SteveR]

That's an interesting point. I wonder if Frodo's lather strength and resolve has more to do with his support from Sam (who has a clearer picture of what's going on later in the story) than in his own capacity changing all that much. I'll keep an eye out for additional "partial successes" later on. The next opportunity is at Weathertop, I think?

 

[NotACat]

I was just listening to Corey's "Ales and Tales" talk about how Sauron and Frodo were feeling when Frodo claimed the ring. He mentioned specifically that it was quite important that Frodo was only just strong enough to make it to the Cracks of Doom, but not necessarily strong enough to resist the Ring upon arrival: if he had been stronger then he would have been tempted to claim it earlier with even more disastrous results.

So Frodo's treading a fine line here…

 

[amysrevenge]

Yeah at that point he not even strong enough to master Gollum, who should be literally the easiest creature in the world to master while beRinged.

 

[ForthDauntless3]

FWIW, I think there are two different kinds of strength that play a role in the approach to Mount Doom. There's the strength to master oneself, to know when someone or something is trying to influence you and to resist that temptation. Then there is the strength necessary to exert one's will and make it manifest on the outside world.

Both of these are acts of will, in some sense, but they have very different effects and—I would argue—they come from different places. The first is resistance to the will of another, while the second is dominance over the will of the other.