A very intriguing question, Child. I fear all I can give is an opinion, or a guess. Maybe that's all there is available. Elf-friend seems to be significant. Elves, I think, were more pure essence of spirit than humans. What I think is being suggested by Tolkien here is that there is indeed something Elvish about Frodo, that through his travails the chaff is being burned away quickly. (Uh-oh, a Pauline reference there - sorry to bring out a particularly christian analogy [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] ) I don't think Frodo has been holding the ring enough years for that stretching to occur; rather, it's the hard road and his self-sacrifice that is purifying him to be akin to Elves, a being of light while remaining hobbit. It's no wonder that he couldn't stay in the Shire.
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