everencore
New Member
Okay, I'm way behind on this because I just started it a couple of weeks ago, and I'm listening to the beginning of Episode 7. And maybe this will get brought up later, and if so, I apologize, but the "deeds that were not wholly vain" thing actually struck me very differently.
We just came off of Frodo saying "Why, why wasn't it destroyed?" and, as discussed in Episode 6, acknowledging how it's essentially unthinkable that Sauron would lose it. Frodo "clutched the Ring in his hand, as if he saw already dark fingers stretching out to seize it." In this context, it sounds to me like Frodo is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the danger, and of the task that Gandalf has not yet laid in front of him.
Given that, it seems possible to me that Gandalf is making those "great deeds" seem more accessible to Frodo, more possible to contemplate in a way. A great deed that wholly succeeds at destroying Sauron would be even more overwhelming from Frodo's perspective, and would seem impossible. In contrast, a deed "not wholly vain" -- a step, a small success? Might seem more feasible to Frodo.
I guess my point is that I read this more as Gandalf making that type of deed feel possible again to Frodo, even as Frodo reels with the magnitude of the information Gandalf is giving him. It's a smaller goal -- instead of success, let's aim for something that is not wholly vain.
I don't know. And this is my first time posting, and I'm not sure if I'm following all the protocols or whatever -- apologies if I'm not? But this just struck me in the discussion at the beginning of this episode.
We just came off of Frodo saying "Why, why wasn't it destroyed?" and, as discussed in Episode 6, acknowledging how it's essentially unthinkable that Sauron would lose it. Frodo "clutched the Ring in his hand, as if he saw already dark fingers stretching out to seize it." In this context, it sounds to me like Frodo is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the danger, and of the task that Gandalf has not yet laid in front of him.
Given that, it seems possible to me that Gandalf is making those "great deeds" seem more accessible to Frodo, more possible to contemplate in a way. A great deed that wholly succeeds at destroying Sauron would be even more overwhelming from Frodo's perspective, and would seem impossible. In contrast, a deed "not wholly vain" -- a step, a small success? Might seem more feasible to Frodo.
I guess my point is that I read this more as Gandalf making that type of deed feel possible again to Frodo, even as Frodo reels with the magnitude of the information Gandalf is giving him. It's a smaller goal -- instead of success, let's aim for something that is not wholly vain.
I don't know. And this is my first time posting, and I'm not sure if I'm following all the protocols or whatever -- apologies if I'm not? But this just struck me in the discussion at the beginning of this episode.
