A few things -- Some of my ideas come from Flieger such as the two possible ends for Frodo, and how Gandalf's quote could tie into the end of the book.
The minute I read it, however, I did have images of the phial of Galadriel and how the word "glass' in the quote could relate to both the earlier dream and Gandalf's words, and how Frodo himself could be transmuted into something like a phial.
I'd also been inching towards the concept that Tolkien's innate pessimism deeply influenced his view of things in his writings--whether we're talking about the extremely sad tales of the Silm or the question of Frodo's ultimate end. Flieger only mentions it in relation to Frodo's sacrifice, but I think it bears equal if not greater weight on the shape of the ancient myth.
Loss of his parents, especially his mother, and his enforced separation for many years from Edith--in some ways Tolkien was an expert on separation and doom at a very young age. I think all that tied in to and reinforced his ideas about what it meant to be a Christian, at least within the circles of this world. It was part of the whole concept of history as a long defeat and the fall as severence from God.
Tolkien was further reinforced in all this by the ancience myths which, even more than Christianity, stressed stoic pessimism and Fate as being at the core of the universe. It's interesting that this is one of the points where his views as a Christian and as a scholar of the ancience epics come very close to touching.
Given this pessimism and his experiences as an orphan, it's not surprising that an element of Frodo's sacrifice would involve separation or severence. And that the reader, as well as the writer, would never be able to say what really happens to Frodo in the end. (Sniff!)
And I did realize that Flieger's book could easily be used as a counterweight to the too narrow focus of the earlier essay. Flieger acknowledges the concept of dispair, but puts it in such a wider context.
Another related issue.....If you look at Tolkien's mythology as a whole, not just LotR, you could easily make a case that the most important image in the legendarium (not theme, but image) is the Light. A thread on that would be most interesting.
Flieger's book explains how the Light became increasingly splintered into smaller pieces. She relates this to the philosophy of Owen Barfield which Tolkien knew and admired. Flieger discusses the Silmarils, the trees, etc. but doesn't tie in the light images to LotR except for the concept that Frodo himself represents the smallest beam or mote of light. (I didn't mention this in the post.)
There are many other references to light in LotR which she doesn't explore--the kind of things that were in our other threads dealing with the concept of the Elf-friend and the Light in Frodo's face.
You know, I'm just beginning to read and understand the Silm, and the more I read, I can't understand why so many Elves turned their back on the Light to head east. Flieger paints the interesting image of a few Men struggling towards the west like Tuor and Beor. These men come across Elves who, for whatever reason, have turned their back on the Light to go east and stay in Middle-earth. The two paths cross. The Elves may make a comment or render brief assistance. They then go their own way.
Her images have actually made me more sympathetic to Man in the stories as a whole. And Frodo, even as a hobbit, fell into the latter category. It's interesting to me that Frodo's people seem to instinctively live by at least some of the precepts of the Light, although they are not even aware of its existence.
Frodo is one of the few who seems to be awakening to that possibility. One of the more poignant scenes in this regard is when Frodo sees Faramir's men stand and face the West before dinner as a kind of prayer, and, he feels strangely inadequate:
Quote:
They were led to seats beside Faramir: barrells covered with pelts and high enough above the benches of the Men for their convenience. Before they ate, Faramir and all his men turned and faced west in a moment of silence. Faramir signed to Frodo and Sam that they should do likewise.
"So we always do," he said as they sat down: "we look towards Numenor that was, and beyond to Elvenhome that is, and to that which is beyond Elvenhome, and will ever be. Have you no such custom at meat?"
"No," said Frodo, feeling strangely rustic and untutored. "But if we are guests, we bow to our hosts, and after we have eaten we rise and thank him,"
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The attention to courtesy and decency to others, joined with a total lack of any wider understanding -- that is the strength and weakness of Shire culture. And I don't see Frodo fitting into that anymore after the quest. Sam, on the other hand, is still close enough to the people, that he can act as an example and leader.
sharon, the 7th age hobbit