vision of stone -- it's sharon again. Just wanted to get back on a few points.
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I would like to add something about the Frodo/Gollum caring part: Right, I think Gollum, because he was a ringbearer, is able to notice the light within Frodo.
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I think that is a good point. Just as Frodo was able to sense and see some things in Galadriel because they both wear rings of power, so too Gollum was probably more sensitive in his relations with Frodo.
I also like your idea that only we, as readers, are aware of the fact that Gollum's mask has cracked since Frodo and Sam are themselves sleeping. When Sam wakes up, he unfortunately assumes something far different. And knowing this secret about Gollum does make me, as a reader, see him in a less evil way.
It's almost as if, for a minute, the reader is given the chance to see and feel things the way Frodo does. Few of us have the light in our being to the same degree as Frodo. Indeed, without this scene, most of our attitudes and responses are probably closer to those of Sam. But, because this scene is known to us and we are given a glimpse of the hobbit buried deep inside Gollum, we can begin to feel and respond in a way which is closer to Frodo.
One other thought. You can even extend this discussion of the light back to the time when Bilbo first acquired the Ring, only it is a different kind of light. Both Bilbo and Frodo extend compassion to Gollum because they are able to see light, only their perceptions and backgrounds were radically different. Let me see if I can get this down.....
When Bilbo meets Gollum, he feels enormously sorry for him. His main image is of light and darkness, when he contrasts the dark loneliness of Gollum's existence in an underground cavern with his own sunny domesticity in the Shire. Because of this perceived contrast in light and dark, he feels pity, stays his sword and does not strike.
When Frodo comes to know Gollum midway in his quest, he is in a very different situation. The light of the Shire and domesticity seem a distant memory, almost without hope of returning, so there is no sunny image to guide Frodo such as Bilbo had. Frodo has only the spiritual light shining through his eyes and the phial of Galadriel. And that spiritual light has been brought at a price. Frodo has felt the pain of loss and the burden of the Ring, and this will only get heavier as he trudges on. Because of this,he can feel pity for the wretched creature. So, unlike Bilbo, whose pity arose from contrasting his situation with that of Gollum, Frodo's compassion grew out of the much stonger emotion of identification. That is another reason why these two characters are alike, or as you put it "the reverse picture of the other through the hole of the Ring." sharon, the 7th age hobbit
[ May 02, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]