Would Frodo See Gandalf in the Wraith World?

[Marielle]

In Session 97, we joked about the "thickness chart" (like the pediatrician's pain chart) in Gandalf's evaluation of Frodo's health, in particular imaging Gandalf asking how solid he appears to Frodo. But mightn't Gandalf appear more real to Frodo in the Wraith World, as the Nazgul or Glorfindal did?

Yes, the Maia who became the wizards agreed to the diminution of their available power and a cloaking of their majesty, but Gandalf still speaks of being able to "uncloak" himself and [spoilers] he does appear luminescent in his battle with the Balrog, so some aspect of his divine nature is still visible sometimes during his sojourning in Middle Earth. Would, then, he appear in some other, more spiritually real, form to one in the Wraith World, not fade into indistinct shadows as Aragorn and the other hobbits do?

 

[JJ48]

In Session 97, we joked about the "thickness chart" (like the pediatrician's pain chart) in Gandalf's evaluation of Frodo's health, in particular imaging Gandalf asking how solid he appears to Frodo. But mightn't Gandalf appear more real to Frodo in the Wraith World, as the Nazgul or Glorfindal did?

Yes, the Maia who became the wizards agreed to the diminution of their available power and a cloaking of their majesty, but Gandalf still speaks of being able to "uncloak" himself and [spoilers] he does appear luminescent in his battle with the Balrog, so some aspect of his divine nature is still visible sometimes during his sojourning in Middle Earth. Would, then, he appear in some other, more spiritually real, form to one in the Wraith World, not fade into indistinct shadows as Aragorn and the other hobbits do?

I do believe that Gandalf could "uncloak" to become more visible, but I don't think that would necessarily be his default setting. The Wizards didn't just cloak themselves; they were actually incarnated, and their physical forms are (for now) as much a part of them as any other physical being's. His spirit may still be more visible, but I think that his "true" self now contains both spirit and body, as opposed to just spirit in a body costume.