[The Barrow-Wight]

Not to defend him, but Gollum was tragic. And his inability to find redemption is exactly what makes his story a tragedy. Though in the beginning he was an vessel eager for the evil of the Ring, throughout The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings we are shown just how close he came to escaping its control. We are given brief glimpses of his internal battles which almost return him to humanity (hobbitry?, Smeagolry?). The Stinker/Slinker debate in the Dead Marshes demonstrates perfectly the forces that were tearing at poor Gollum. No matter how bad an egg he was to start with he didn't deserve the terrible life the Ring granted him.