XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: jon.lennart.beck.its.my.name@mail.its.in.danmark   
      
   "Stan Brown"  skrev i meddelelsen   
   news:MPG.28dd06c562d6299198d13e@news.individual.net...   
      
   > Unless you think the Ring chose Sméagol over Déagol?  That seems   
   > pretty far fetched to me.  We understand that in some sense it was   
   > always "trying" to get back to its Master, but I can't think that it   
   > could make fine character distinctions between two Stoors.   
      
      It may not have had to, nor tried.  It may in its semi-sentient fashion   
   have exerted its influence upon any who came near.  Desire, violence.  I   
   presume without knowing that Sméagol was already mean enough, even before he   
   saw the Ring, to fall very quickly to its lure.  Had he been of a better   
   sort he would not have fallen, or at least not so swiftly, and the Ring   
   would have had less use for him anyway.  Although he was presumably not mean   
   enough to murder his cousin witout the added unwholesome influence of the   
   Ring, such as if it had been an ordinary golden trinket.   
      
   > A new thought: Gandalf knew that Frodo could not destroy the Ring.   
   > In Frodo's own home, in Book I Chapter 2, Frodo is unable to put the   
   > ring into the hearth fire.  When Gandalf sent Frodo to the Black Land   
   > to throw the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, the idea that Frodo   
   > would ever have been able to destroy it was *really* nuts.  I suspect   
   > that Gandalf had planned all along to accompany Frodo, and if   
   > necessary, to take the Ring by force and destroy it.   
      
      I disagree.  If Gandalf had taken the Ring by force he would have been   
   caught like a bug in a Venus Flytrap, and he knew this.  Gandalf's plan was   
   another, and it had to do with his trust in Providence.  He knew full well   
   that if the Ring never came near the Cracks of Doom no miracle could have   
   caused it to fall into the Fire, short of eg. Ulmo or Aulë grabbing it and   
   dealing with it personally, sort of thing.   
      If it came near the only place where it could be unmade, the chance of   
   such a miracle would be present.  Many different little miracles would have   
   sufficed.  Frodo stumbling near the brink and accidentally dropping the Ring   
   into the lava, a piece of rock crumbling underneath his feet as he stood on   
   the brink contemplating his choices, Frodo actually growing in resistance   
   against the Ring faster than the Ring growing on him until he had a flash of   
   decision to throw the Ring in, Sam realizing what was going on and throwing   
   a stone at Frodo's hand...   
      In the books, God, after the downfall of Númenor, does not work grand   
   miracles, but lets people do what they can and then may add a subtle and   
   very clever touch to bring about the desired result, if the participants   
   have merited it.  In the event this is what came about.  Frodo's pity   
   towards Gollum, and his heroism in trying as hard as he could, sufficed.   
   Gandalf of course did not foresee this particular chain of events, but had   
   this gut feeling, as we might call it in the primary world, that sending the   
   Ring with Frodo to Mount Doom would be the best choice.   
      
   Cuervo.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)