What was Frodo's temptation - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Fordim Hedgethistle · 08-11-2009, 10:54 AM

Ok, here's a quesion which I've been thinking about for a long time, both in the privacy of my own dark imagination and more openly here on the Downs (and sometimes amongst very forgiving friends over a pint or three):

What did the Ring promise Frodo that made him finally 'give in' and claim it for his own?

In every other case where we see someone taken by the Ring or tempted by it we are given some indication of the lies being whispered to them by the Ring. Off the top of my head I can think of (being too lazy to look up all the references and trusting to someone with more energy to do it for me if it becomes necessary or useful):

1) Gandalf saying that he would take the Ring from a desire to relieve suffering

2) Gollum is promised "fissh" all day long and sitting on a throne and being The Gollum

3) Boromir wants to be a Captain and defeat Mordor

4) Sam has wild visions of himself as a gardener healing Mordor and turning it green

5) Galadriel wants to be a queen and rule/preserve Lorien forever and unchanging

But we don't get anything like this for Frodo. All we get from him about the Ring is the vision of a wheel of fire with a great Eye in it...hardly a tempting proposition for him I would think. And as he nears Mount Doom the visions of the good things he loves (the Shire) fade rather than grow (it would make sense to me that the obvious lie the Ring would tell him would be that by claiming the Ring he will save the Shire from corruption and stain forever).

So what are we to make of this apparent blank in the narrative? Why has the author left it out?

08-11-2009, 10:54 AM	#1
Fordim Hedgethistle Gibbering Gibbet Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Beyond cloud nine Posts: 1,844	What was Frodo's temptation Ok, here's a quesion which I've been thinking about for a long time, both in the privacy of my own dark imagination and more openly here on the Downs (and sometimes amongst very forgiving friends over a pint or three): What did the Ring promise Frodo that made him finally 'give in' and claim it for his own? In every other case where we see someone taken by the Ring or tempted by it we are given some indication of the lies being whispered to them by the Ring. Off the top of my head I can think of (being too lazy to look up all the references and trusting to someone with more energy to do it for me if it becomes necessary or useful): 1) Gandalf saying that he would take the Ring from a desire to relieve suffering 2) Gollum is promised "fissh" all day long and sitting on a throne and being The Gollum 3) Boromir wants to be a Captain and defeat Mordor 4) Sam has wild visions of himself as a gardener healing Mordor and turning it green 5) Galadriel wants to be a queen and rule/preserve Lorien forever and unchanging But we don't get anything like this for Frodo. All we get from him about the Ring is the vision of a wheel of fire with a great Eye in it...hardly a tempting proposition for him I would think. And as he nears Mount Doom the visions of the good things he loves (the Shire) fade rather than grow (it would make sense to me that the obvious lie the Ring would tell him would be that by claiming the Ring he will save the Shire from corruption and stain forever). So what are we to make of this apparent blank in the narrative? Why has the author left it out? __________________ Scribbling scrabbling.