Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivriniel
I'm not exactly sure we get an exact definition of 'what' the Ring does to character and what character traits are varied. I understood that appeals to domination and control were a part of the transition. I see appeals to greed, themes of seduction, to self-serving behaviour, and also lust of sadism implicit in the transition. I'd add increased tendency for objectification, and for callous lack of empathy. If I had to draw on modern day conceptions, I'd be looking at psychopathy/sociopathy for assistance to clarify how the Ring exerted influence.
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What the Ring offered its possessor was
power, whatever the individual felt he needed such power for was really unimportant.
Isildur was a king with the attendant desire for strength to rule his realm and secure it; Gollum wanted to be able to sneak around and spy on others; Bilbo wanted the Ring's invisibility effect to aid him as the 'burglar', though he had also come to enjoy the power itself, feeling pride when it hid him from Smaug, and so forth.
The Ring called to the chink in one's armor which was one's greatest want, and it offered the power to effect it. Gandalf said the Ring would weigh on his innate feelings of pity and the desire to do good to corrupt him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivriniel
There are several tacit themes in the book that don't square with the explicit prose. One is the delay Bilbo had in declaring he had the Arkenstone. A number of weeks prior to the arrival of the Elven armies was involved.
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After Bilbo took the stone, the more time passed, the more difficult telling anyone he had it became. I can relate to that myself. The longer you keep some unpleasant secret, it gets harder and harder to let it go.
Also, he may have had some inkling that it would be useful in some way unrelated to him, whether that was a conscious thought or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivriniel
His delay at telling his comrades about the Ring a second. His habituation/attenuation to long-term use of the Ring a third (which was amoral. He ceased caring that he was an unwanted spy and became duly self-focussed in his motivations). His delivery of the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elven King was also just weird. The explicit prose states that he had no coveting of the stone and was pleased to be relieved of it. But, the problem with the behaviour was lack of affect and attachment to his Dwarf pals after the betrayal.
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The Ring certainly could have been a factor in Bilbo's keeping it a secret so long. But he also was proud to have shown he wasn't as useless as some of the Dwarves seem to have thought, by the way he made it past Balin with appeared to be clever 'burglar' professional technique.
As for his 'betrayal' of the Dwarves
after giving up the stone, he could hardly have stayed with them when Thorin had made it pretty clear he wasn't welcome anymore. Being picked up and threatened with being thrown to one's death wouldn't exactly make one want to stay with the person making the threat.
