What a lovely thread. As it happens, I'm currently re-reading; Frodo and Sam are on the last part of their journey to the mountain and I'm sniffling with sadness. I have this feeling I am going to have to promise myself to start all over again as soon as I get to the last page of the story proper.
While going on the ship to the West is as much of a reward as Frodo can have, it's still sad. IMO, Frodo would rather be in the Shire, which he has saved, but he just can't go home again.However, I'd like to think that when Sam gets to the West, he'd find Frodo still alive, for a while at least, otherwise, what's the point? Maybe the healing would help Frodo to live his normal lifetime, and he was, after all, only 50ish when he left, which is not old for a Hobbit.
Bittersweet is right. Yet it's nice that, despite having his mind on the West, Gandalf still thinks to make sure Sam doesn't have to go home alone after the Grey Havens, by letting Merry and Pippin know what's happening. What a nice man - er, Maia.I would love to share a pint and a darts game at the pub with Gandalf... (I keep having this vision of Gandalf arriving home in Valinor and finding several thousand years' worth of mail waiting...
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