From Frodo’s reaction to Gandalf’s story to the end
of the chapter
Summary — The Shadow of the Past
“Many that live deserve death. And some
that die deserve life. . . . even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Hearing Gandalf’s story, Frodo is frightened and angry,
and he wishes aloud that Bilbo had killed Gollum when he had the
chance. Gandalf reprimands Frodo, however, saying that it is precisely because
Bilbo did not kill Gollum—therefore beginning the
hobbit’s ownership of the Ring with an act of mercy—that Bilbo was
able to withstand the Ring’s power as long as he did. When Frodo
counters that Gollum surely deserved to die, Gandalf agrees. However,
the wizard adds that many who die deserve life, and until Frodo
can give them that life, he should be less eager to condemn the
living to death. Moreover, Gandalf feels that somehow Gollum still
has a part to play in the fate of the Ring.
Frodo asks why the Ring cannot simply be destroyed. Gandalf invites
Frodo to try. To his surprise, Frodo finds that he is unable to bring
himself to destroy it; instead of throwing the Ring away, he unknowingly
puts it back in his pocket. Gandalf warns Frodo that he is already
falling under the Ring’s power. Frodo asks Gandalf to take the Ring,
but the wizard refuses vehemently. With the Ring, Gandalf says,
he would become too powerful, and he would inevitably be corrupted
like Sauron himself. Even if Gandalf took the Ring simply for safekeeping,
the temptation to use it would be too great. Even if he used the
Ring out of a desire to do good, it would corrupt him.
Frodo realizes that it is no longer safe for him to stay
in the Shire, and that something must be done with the Ring. Gandalf
tells Frodo that the Ring can only be destroyed at the Cracks of
Doom in Orodruin, the fiery mountain deep inside Mordor itself.
Frodo volunteers to keep the Ring and guard it, at least until someone
else can be found to destroy it. Frodo quickly realizes, however,
that he must take the Ring somewhere else, in order to avoid endangering
the Shire. He is terrified of what he has to face, but also somewhat excited
to be going on an adventure. Frodo is well aware, though, that the
Ring may begin to exert its influence on him just as it did on Bilbo.
Gandalf, impressed by Frodo’s courage, recommends that
Frodo take reliable companions along with him. At that moment, the
wizard happens to catch Sam Gamgee, who has been eavesdropping through
a window. Sam is embarrassed, but clearly well meaning, and he has
evidently been entranced by the talk of magic and Elves. Gandalf
laughingly decides that Sam should go with Frodo on his journey.
Analysis
Frodo’s response to Gandalf’s story about Gollum, and
his regret that Bilbo had not killed Gollum when he had the chance,
introduces us to some of the moral complexities of Tolkien’s work.
Gandalf is the moral arbiter throughout The Lord of the
Rings, and his views of good and evil are quite stern and
inflexible. He firmly acknowledges, for example, that some living
creatures actually deserve to die. This view is harsher than the
Christian doctrine of forgiveness for even the greatest criminal,
as no earthly being can assume the divine role of judging right
and wrong or conferring life or death on his fellow creatures. But,
on the other hand, Gandalf reprimands Frodo for wishing that Gollum
had been killed, approving of Bilbo’s mercy that allowed the monster
to escape unharmed. Gandalf feels that some good may come of Gollum
someday, that the creature has a role to play in the scheme of fate
that Gandalf can dimly glimpse. This notion that even a horrible
monster could one day produce something good is closer to the Greek
idea of fate than the Christian value of forgiveness.
Gandalf’s attitude toward the Ring also, surprisingly,
raises moral questions. We might expect the great figure of good
in the novel to be able to rise above the wicked power emanating
from the Ring, transcending its ability to seduce its bearer into
selfishness and greed. If anyone is superior to the Ring’s evil,
it seems, it should be the morally unimpeachable Gandalf. But, in
fact, when Frodo offers the Ring to Gandalf, the wizard pulls back
sharply, refusing even to touch it. His explanation is candid and
revealing. He says that his power makes him too susceptible, and
that his great moral goodness could turn to equally great evil under
the Ring’s influence. The Ring’s power is greater, he admits, than
his own moral strength. Gandalf is not set above the Hobbits or
other characters in the work; he does not float over the plot like
an otherworldly angel. Instead, he is a creature of flesh and blood
like all the rest. He is perhaps stronger and wiser and more skilled
than most of the others, but he is not perfect, and has the same
weaknesses as the others, the same potential for failure.
