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Originally Posted by Raynor
Davem, if I remember correctly, it was either you or Lal who who mentioned how haunted Gollum is by the killing of Deagol; remorse and the defense he builds can only show a presence of morality.
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I accept that there was a 'remnant' of Smeagol in there somewhere. But there's too much else in there too for us to come to a simple judgement.
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So, of what would he have repented, if not of his evil? How can we read repent in any other way than the moral one? You ignore Tolkien's opinion on him too, but I have gone throught that way too many times; or maybe not enough?
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I meant to put 'repentance' in brackets.
Oh Tolkien was always changing his mind on stuff & too much in the letters is (in Hutton's words ) 'reflective glosses', written after the event. He is giving his own interpretation of events/characters. The story stands or falls by its own internal logic - whatever the author wants the reader to think.