Prepare for a horribly long and rambling post that repeats former theories and basically says nothing of interest, besides asking more questions than posing answers, because Ionia can't phrase her thoughts correctly:
Quote:
Originally posted by Mister Underhill:
<STRONG>I think by the time he was standing at the brink, Frodo had no real will left in the matter.</STRONG>
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Exactly what I was thinking. I believe that sometimes the desire to pick apart these issues can shadow what can be an utterly simple truth: In this case that Frodo claimed the Ring because there was simply no other way of getting around destroying it - something Frodo couldn't do by this time because of the overwhelming hold the Ring had over his soul; something he couldn't even do back at Bag End before he set out (even though I acknowledge the situations were drastically different).
Of course, as mentioned many times before, the question is how binding Frodo's giving in at that moment was... When did he actually give up hope? Assuming it was some time before reaching Mount Doom, and that his constant echo of "Don't even try anymore" was brought on by a subtle pleasure in self-sacrifice, why did Frodo even bother making it all the way to Mount Doom? What made him cling to his journey that far? Why didn't he give in immediately?
Obviously, Frodo had a very strong will
not to succumb to the temptation of the ring. Which means that some catalyst must have very suddenly made him lose that willpower and give in to the power-vision of the Ring. Of course not being able to destroy the Ring would force Frodo to give in, but here's another thought:
You've all mentioned that the Ring had somewhat of a "mind of its own." And we also know full well that the closer Frodo drew to Mordor, the stronger the Ring's influence became. So, my question is, did the Ring somehow "know" (and I use that term loosely) why Frodo had journeyed to Mount Doom and (here's the important part)
force Frodo to give in? To be sure, I don't know why the Ring would "care" what happened to it... but if it didn't, why did it choose its bearers? Or maybe it did "care" or was "programmed" to "care" (quote barrage)... Because after all, it had a prophecy to fulfill, didn't it?
NOW who's trying too hard to find a reason behind a supposedly simple problem? I certainly diverged from my original topic >:]
P.S. Bye bye all my eloquence comments. That was highly incoherent.