Thanks for your replies! All of you brought important things up. But it'll take some time for me to respond to each post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
I would say Sauron sealed the fate of the Ring by his personal weakness. The Ring itself had actually done what its Maker intended: the "possesser" (in quotes, because in fact the role was reversed) had brought it almost all the way back to him. Sauron had had Gollum as a captive not too long before, and it was his own impatience that pushed him to release Gollum, knowing Gollum would hunt for "Baggins" himself, and thinking thus to be led to the Ring.
Sauron got distracted though, and by the time Gollum had his attention again, it was too late. He had led the Ring-bearer into Mordor.
If Sauron hadn't let Gollum go, trusting in his ability to monitor his movements, Frodo and Sam could hardly have made their way to Mt. Doom.
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That's an interesting point. Sauron's arrogance in his treatment of Gollums most certainly played it's part. That reminded me of another important point about Gollum. I think that the the treatment and interaction with Gollum plays a mayor role. That is, from both sides - good and evil. You underlined how Sauron tried to use him to his his own advantage. He failed because he misunderstood and underestimated Gollum.
I think that "Gandalf's way of thinking", on the other hand, is the opposite from that perspective. This way of thinking grants conscious beings a worth of their own and doesn't degrade them to chess pieces. It doesn't utilize a
cost-benefit analysis to determine the course of action. There are very important points in the story when Gollum receives undeserved (from a certain
rational stance) mercy. By Bilbo, when he decided to take the risky route and jump over his head, instead of hurting this pitiful creature. The decision of the elves to let him out of the dungeon, because they felt sorry for him, turned out to be from uttermost importance as well. Even if the (maybe) undeserved mercy towards him was immediately punished by Gollum's and Sauron's plotting; it was, in the long run, the right decision. Without those
random and small acts of kindness all the important politico-military actions would have been in vain.