Dave Heinitz
New Member
Professor Olsen,
In Session 175 Tom Bombadil and Frodo’s interaction regarding the One Ring was given some discussion, and it appears this topic may provide some insight into the nature of the Ring itself. I have a potential answer to the below question but I would be very interested in your take on it.
If the ring has no power over Tom Bombadil and Tom is master in his realm, why is it here that the Ring claims its second greatest victory over Frodo of the whole tale?
This may have something to do with the interaction between Frodo and the Ring there in Tom’s house. For some reason the balance between the power of the Ring and Frodo’s weakness reached a critical point at that moment, and only Tom’s intervention saved the day (similar to how another companion “helped” when the Ring claimed its final and greatest victory over Frodo). So is the Ring very powerful at that moment, Frodo very weak, or some mixture of the two?
It’s explicitly stated that Frodo and Sam could feel the power of the ring growing as they approached Mordor and then Mt Doom, “As it drew near the great furnaces where, in the deeps of time, it had been shaped and forged, the Ring’s power grew, and it became more fell, untameable save by some mighty will.” Therefore, it is very unlikely the Ring was at the height of its power in Tom’s realm. The lack of any notable growth in the Ring’s power when they entered the Old Forest or Tom’s house is additionally supported by the lack of any commentary about Frodo feeling the Ring’s power in the Old Forest. It could be argued that Frodo was not yet in touch with the ring enough to have noticed it, but Sam noticed the Ring’s growing power after possessing it for far less time than Frodo had when he reached Tom’s house. It seems unlikely then that the Ring’s inherent power was any higher in Tom’s house than it was in the Barrow Downs, Bree, Weathertop, or at the Ford of Bruinen, all locations where Frodo resisted the Ring better.
On the other side, Frodo’s strength to resist the Ring is likely a combination of his skill in doing so and his active will to do so. Frodo grows wiser throughout his journey, as evidenced by Saurman’s final words to him, “'You have grown, Halfling,' he said. 'Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel.” Through this he probably also gained more skill in resisting the Ring, but at any one moment that skill was balanced against his physical and spiritual exhaustion. It would be similar to how a great athlete might grow better at their sport with training, but is probably worse at any one moment if they are both exhausted from exertion and depressed about some outside event. At the Cracks of Doom, Frodo was the most skilled in Ring-resistance he would ever be while possessing the Ring, but he was physically and spiritually exhausted. In Tom Bombadil’s house Frodo was still unskilled in Ring-resistance but was well rested and in good spirits. Therefore, nothing decisive can be drawn from that balance. Which brings us to Frodo’s active will to resist the Ring at that moment.
In Tom’s house Frodo let his guard down. There was clearly nothing to fear in Tom’s safe keeping. Even Frodo’s dreams of the night before and fear of the upcoming road were washed away. Unlike the moments in the Barrow, at Weathertop, or at the Ford of Bruinen, Frodo had no reason to be guarded against an attack. It’s true that the same could be said of Frodo’s time in Rivendell and Lothlórien, and in Lothlórien he was even presented with a similar situation of losing the Ring when he offered it to Galadriel. The difference in Tom’s house was the fear of loss.
Frodo likely feared losing the Ring when Tom made it disappear, when trapped in the Barrow, when the Witch King approached him at Weathertop and at the Ford, when Boromir confronted him on Amon Hen, and at many other points, including at the Cracks of Doom, but the situations at the Cracks of Doom and in Tom’s house (the Ring’s two greatest victories over Frodo) were distinctly different from the rest, because the Ring was afraid too. In every other case, moving to the other party in the situation would have been better for the Ring than staying with Frodo. This includes moving to Galadriel. Only at the Cracks of Doom (where the unwritten Ring-induced monolog must have been mighty) and in Tom’s house did the Ring face the potential of a worse situation than staying with Frodo. It was discussed how neither Tom nor anyone else could be a good guardian of the Ring, but would that entire logic train have been clear in the instant Tom played with the Ring? The Ring appeared to have no influence over Tom so could it be sensed that if Tom kept the Ring it would be unused and have no hope of corrupting its possessor or driving him to its true master? Would that have been as bad as being lost in the Anduin again? If the Ring could sense these things it would make sense for it to scream "run!" with all its might at an unprepared and unguarded Frodo. We can even argue that the Ring was likely trying harder to get Frodo to flee from Tom’s house than it ever tried to get itself taken by a better bearer if we consider the concept of loss aversion.
Originally identified by psychologist/economist Daniel Kehneman and used in behavioral economics, loss aversion claims that an agent (usually human, but similar results have been observed in experiments with other primates) will prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains. In some cases this tendency has been observed to reach a ratio as high as 2:1. It is unclear if loss aversion applies to enchanted artifacts in Arda, but it likely did apply to the author of the story.
Frodo’s unprepared state combined with an effort at corruption by the Ring greater than at any other time, save at the Cracks of Doom, would explain why in Tom Bombadil’s realm of safety the Ring claims its second greatest victory over Frodo of the whole tale. That is, of course, if we accept that the Ring can be afraid. Which I believe is still an open question.
In Session 175 Tom Bombadil and Frodo’s interaction regarding the One Ring was given some discussion, and it appears this topic may provide some insight into the nature of the Ring itself. I have a potential answer to the below question but I would be very interested in your take on it.
If the ring has no power over Tom Bombadil and Tom is master in his realm, why is it here that the Ring claims its second greatest victory over Frodo of the whole tale?
This may have something to do with the interaction between Frodo and the Ring there in Tom’s house. For some reason the balance between the power of the Ring and Frodo’s weakness reached a critical point at that moment, and only Tom’s intervention saved the day (similar to how another companion “helped” when the Ring claimed its final and greatest victory over Frodo). So is the Ring very powerful at that moment, Frodo very weak, or some mixture of the two?
It’s explicitly stated that Frodo and Sam could feel the power of the ring growing as they approached Mordor and then Mt Doom, “As it drew near the great furnaces where, in the deeps of time, it had been shaped and forged, the Ring’s power grew, and it became more fell, untameable save by some mighty will.” Therefore, it is very unlikely the Ring was at the height of its power in Tom’s realm. The lack of any notable growth in the Ring’s power when they entered the Old Forest or Tom’s house is additionally supported by the lack of any commentary about Frodo feeling the Ring’s power in the Old Forest. It could be argued that Frodo was not yet in touch with the ring enough to have noticed it, but Sam noticed the Ring’s growing power after possessing it for far less time than Frodo had when he reached Tom’s house. It seems unlikely then that the Ring’s inherent power was any higher in Tom’s house than it was in the Barrow Downs, Bree, Weathertop, or at the Ford of Bruinen, all locations where Frodo resisted the Ring better.
On the other side, Frodo’s strength to resist the Ring is likely a combination of his skill in doing so and his active will to do so. Frodo grows wiser throughout his journey, as evidenced by Saurman’s final words to him, “'You have grown, Halfling,' he said. 'Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel.” Through this he probably also gained more skill in resisting the Ring, but at any one moment that skill was balanced against his physical and spiritual exhaustion. It would be similar to how a great athlete might grow better at their sport with training, but is probably worse at any one moment if they are both exhausted from exertion and depressed about some outside event. At the Cracks of Doom, Frodo was the most skilled in Ring-resistance he would ever be while possessing the Ring, but he was physically and spiritually exhausted. In Tom Bombadil’s house Frodo was still unskilled in Ring-resistance but was well rested and in good spirits. Therefore, nothing decisive can be drawn from that balance. Which brings us to Frodo’s active will to resist the Ring at that moment.
In Tom’s house Frodo let his guard down. There was clearly nothing to fear in Tom’s safe keeping. Even Frodo’s dreams of the night before and fear of the upcoming road were washed away. Unlike the moments in the Barrow, at Weathertop, or at the Ford of Bruinen, Frodo had no reason to be guarded against an attack. It’s true that the same could be said of Frodo’s time in Rivendell and Lothlórien, and in Lothlórien he was even presented with a similar situation of losing the Ring when he offered it to Galadriel. The difference in Tom’s house was the fear of loss.
Frodo likely feared losing the Ring when Tom made it disappear, when trapped in the Barrow, when the Witch King approached him at Weathertop and at the Ford, when Boromir confronted him on Amon Hen, and at many other points, including at the Cracks of Doom, but the situations at the Cracks of Doom and in Tom’s house (the Ring’s two greatest victories over Frodo) were distinctly different from the rest, because the Ring was afraid too. In every other case, moving to the other party in the situation would have been better for the Ring than staying with Frodo. This includes moving to Galadriel. Only at the Cracks of Doom (where the unwritten Ring-induced monolog must have been mighty) and in Tom’s house did the Ring face the potential of a worse situation than staying with Frodo. It was discussed how neither Tom nor anyone else could be a good guardian of the Ring, but would that entire logic train have been clear in the instant Tom played with the Ring? The Ring appeared to have no influence over Tom so could it be sensed that if Tom kept the Ring it would be unused and have no hope of corrupting its possessor or driving him to its true master? Would that have been as bad as being lost in the Anduin again? If the Ring could sense these things it would make sense for it to scream "run!" with all its might at an unprepared and unguarded Frodo. We can even argue that the Ring was likely trying harder to get Frodo to flee from Tom’s house than it ever tried to get itself taken by a better bearer if we consider the concept of loss aversion.
Originally identified by psychologist/economist Daniel Kehneman and used in behavioral economics, loss aversion claims that an agent (usually human, but similar results have been observed in experiments with other primates) will prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains. In some cases this tendency has been observed to reach a ratio as high as 2:1. It is unclear if loss aversion applies to enchanted artifacts in Arda, but it likely did apply to the author of the story.
Frodo’s unprepared state combined with an effort at corruption by the Ring greater than at any other time, save at the Cracks of Doom, would explain why in Tom Bombadil’s realm of safety the Ring claims its second greatest victory over Frodo of the whole tale. That is, of course, if we accept that the Ring can be afraid. Which I believe is still an open question.