[Child of the 7th Age]

Pio -- Yes, I have read it and she does a very thorough job analyzing all the hurts and disappointments that Frodo has. She has pulled in a ton of references and is very thorough.

She may be a bit heavy handed on the "post traumatic survivor symptom" theme. I'm not sure if it's that or simply the process of acute grieving which is similar to but not exactly the same.

I'll tell you a personal story. This is long in the past and we are fine now, but my husband and I lost our 7 month old baby to SIDS (crib death). Immediately after that, whenever I read about Frodo's behavior following Mount Doom, I could strongly identify with him. One minute feeling ok, the next minute in deep despair. The worst times were always the anniversaries. And truly the worst thing a person could do in that situation was to sit and do nothing. It is impossible to change your attitudes just by wishing it. The only alternative was to change your behavior so that an attitude change could then take place.

In a way, I think this is what Frodo tried to do by sailing to the West. So I see it less as a response to despair or post traumatic defense syndrome, than as a positive step and an attempt to turn the corner on grief. I have no professional background in this, but I do know how I felt and reacted after facing a terrible tragedy and loss.

My other problem is this --as you can probably tell from the way I phrased this question, I think hurting and despair may be only half the story.

In the very earliest drafts of the story, while Frodo was still called Bingo, Tolkien said this character would sail at the end to the uttermost West. This was even before Tolkien knew how the story was going to end on Mount Doom, and before he knew just how injured Frodo was.

In fact, in the earliest drafts, Frodo takes an active leadership role in the Scouring of the Shire and also receives a lot of praise and gratitude from the Shire--of course, all that would change in later versions. But even with that positive spin in the earliest drafts, Tolkien still had Frodo sail West. So may be it was just inherent in who he was.

It's so easy for us to relate to the Shire. We understand the beauties of this world and of family and friends. But maybe a seer and prophet, which Frodo has become, needs something else, a different path, which most of us have trouble comprehending.

sharon, the 7th age hobbit