[The Saucepan Man]

Welcome to the Downs, Wisdom of Wizardry. It sounds to me like you qualify for the
Tolkien Coming of Age Club. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

And yet, three Hobbits possess it, and all three resist its power to a degree far beyond what any other being could have done.

Four Hobbits possessed it if you count Gollum, who was originally of Hobbit stock. One question that has always occurred to me, but to which I have never received a satisfactory answer, is why Smeagol was driven to murder for the Ring without even touching it, given that Hobbits are otherwise so resistant to its corrupting influence. Perhaps proto-Hobbits had not developed "Ring resistance". [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Imagine what effect it might have had on Legolas. He is immortal, and his lineage is strong. He has great strengths already: long sight, endurance, a supreme sense of 'balance'(in emotional terms), skill with weapons, courage. One can imagine that, had he possessed the ring, he would have increased those powers a hundredfold; and thought to use those powers.

An excellent point! I have often seen it said that Legolas, being an Elf, would have had strong resistance to the Ring's powers. But, as you say, it is the very fact that he is an Elf which would make him a dangerous Ringbearer.

I have the feeling that Galadriel's flash of ambition and vision of herself as a dark and powerful queen were feigned. She had long ago considered what her choices would be, should the One Ring ever come within her grasp; and she had long ago decided that she could not safely wield it.

I disagree with you here though. Although there are various ideas presented on this issue in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien did, I believe, conceive that the test of temptation by the Ring was a very real one for Galadriel and that it was not until she was truly tested (by Frodo presenting it to her) that her ban on returning to Valinior was lifted. Also, I think that in one of his Letters, he speculates that she was fooling herself in believing that she would be able to supplant Sauron by wielding the Ring against him, which suggests that, rather than being feigned, her temptation was very real.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 8:48 PM December 13, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]