[Aratlithiel]

I like that. And you're right - it would take quite a compelling reason to get Frodo to leave Sam.

I have been having an email discussion with a friend of mine and he came up with a quote from the beginning of "The Tolkien Reader," that I thought was interesting. I must admit that though the pages of my Reader are permanently open to The Sea-bell, it's been about 100 years since I bothered to read the introduction.

For those of you who don't have this particular book, the introduction is written by Peter S. Beagle. I don't know this man's reputation since I've read mostly Tolkien and not scholars ON Tolkien, if you know what I mean. But reputation or not, this rang a bell for me...

"The Lord of the Rings is the tale of Frodo's journey through a long nightmare of greed and terrible energy, of his education in both fear and true beauty, and of his final loss of the world he seeks to save. In a sense, his growing knowledge has eaten up the joy and the innocent strength that made him, of all the wise and magic people he encounters, the only one fit to bear the Ring."

Could it be that the sea-bell that he clings to throughout the poem and then fianlly lets fall is symbolic not of the Ring (which I have for so long leaned toward), but of Middle-earth itself? Is the "...sea-shell silent and dead..." what Middle-earth has become for him? Is this poem about Frodo trying to cling to the last remnants of himself, his home and his former life, even though all of those around him have already (more or less) written him off? They don't seem to want to know Frodo when he returns, nor do they want to hear about his ordeal, preferring to live in their former bliss and ignorance. Perhaps Frodo is now an unwelcome reminder of the frightening world outside ("But whenever I came it was ever the same: the feet fled, and all was still; nver a greeting, only the fleeting pipes, voices, horns on the hill"). You get the feeling in LotR, The Grey Havens that no one (besides his Fellowship members) will really miss Frodo when he's gone, that they may even breathe a sigh of relief when they learn he's left forever. Doesn't Sam remark to himself about the lack of respect and honor Frodo receives from his own countrymen?

If this is the case, then this dream truly is prophetic and doubly sad. Or, it could very well be that it has no symbolism at all and is simply a very beautiful poem about a very bad dream, as Mark opines. I have been accused of trying to read too deeply into things in the past. What say you all?