The One Ring and invisibility

[Galendor]

Hi all, I have a question that has bothered me for years: is invisibility a built-in attribute of the Ring's power, or more a random manifestation of its power that only occurs for certain wearers? If so, why invisibility?

I have only read The Hobbit and LOTR, in that order. Perhaps this question has been answered in other works of Tolkien. If so, please enlighten me. In The Hobbit, the Ring is presented more as a simple magic invisibility ring that Bilbo was lucky enough to find. Obviously that notion gets blasted into oblivion in LOTR.

As I understand it, the Ring's power depends upon who wears it - this is evidenced in statements made by Gandalf and Galadriel, wherein they refused the Ring because of the horrible power (and ultimate corruption) it would bring to them. I understand that the Ring's power is relative to whomever wears it, and that is why the Hobbits were able to bear it for relatively long periods. They inherently had very little "will to power" for the Ring to corrupt, so it had less immediate effect on them (correct)?

If I understand LOTR properly, it seems like the true power of the Ring is the ability to bend peoples minds to the will of the wearer, to subjugate them, and ultimately send the wearer back to Sauron.

So why does it turn Hobbits like Gollum, Bilbo, Frodo, and Samwise invisible? And their clothes, (but not their unsheathed swords, but that is perhaps for another post). It did not turn Tom Bombadil invisible, and these are the only people besides Sauron and Isildur who wore the Ring in LOTR.

If Aragorn had put on the Ring, would he have become invisible? What about Elrond, or Gandalf the Grey? Sorry I know there is more than one question here, but hopefully one or more of you Tolkien scholars can get me thinking correctly about the Ring and invisibility. Thanks!

[Findegil]

Well, I don't think that question is ultimatly answered by Tolkien in any of his writings. But he gave some hints. At least part of your question can be answered:

If Aragorn had put on the Ring, would he have become invisible?

Devinitley yes. We have the example of Isildur. In Unfinished Tales it is in detail told how he used the invisibility that the Ring granted to escape the Deaster of the Gladden Fields until he lost the ring in the river Anduin.
And from what we hear in the Silmarillion chapter Of the Rings of Power and the Thrid Age about the men that took the Nine it was not only the One Ring that made its manish wearer invisible.

What about Elrond, or Gandalf the Grey?

This is quiet another matter. We see Galadriel wearing her Ring and beeing visibile nonetheless and the same seems to be true for Elrond and Gandalf. Since we see the least mighty of the rings (the Nine) and the most mighty (the One) grant their manish wearer invisibility, it seems most probable to me that all the Rings of Power would have such an effect on man. But as we have seen not on Elves or Istari nor on Bombadil for that matter.

Why this is so is a question of pure speculation for which I will not go on. But I would like to remark, that even the Elves and Gandalf wearing their Rings did some tricy invisibility stuff with it, since no one could see the Rings on their fingers.

Respectfully
Findegil

[The Might]

The Ring's power was definitely not to turn a person invisible, as it would have made little sense to do this. Why would Sauron had given it this power, if he himself was visible while wearing it?
My suspicion is that its power was to transport a person from the Seen into the Unseen World, also called Wraith World, but the reason for this I could only speculate, perhaps that Sauron could thus better control or communicate with the Ring-wraiths.

About other wearers...most would be turned invisible.
But certain beings existed in both worlds. Ringwraiths had a more material look in the world and High Elves (those that had journeyed to Valinor and seen the light of the trees + Elu Thingol) appeared as a shining figure.
It could be that they would not disappear, as they already existed in the Wraith-world.

As for Bombadil, as he is not of Middle-earth he is not really bound to the laws that exist in the world but only to his own laws. As such the Ring had no power over him and also he could see Frodo while he was wearing it.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

We can't base anything on the Keepers of the Three, because the Three were different. "They did not confer invisibility." Thus spake Tolkien.

The OP brought up 'unsheathed swords.' This apparently is a reference to The Hobbit, where Sting's 'light' is visible as the Ring-wearing Bilbo attacks the Spiders. One could of course just dismiss this as being The Hobbit, when Bilbo's ring wasn't yet The Ring. But we might combine it with another quasi-canonical text, The Disaster of the Gladden Fields, and conclude that if a person bearing a (magical?) light-source puts on the Ring, he and everything he wears or carries becomes invisible- but the light escaping from the source becomes visible as soon as it leaves. This would explain why the Elendilmir continued to shine until Isildur covered it with his hood, and why Sting shone when drawn but not when sheathed in the presence of enemies.

It does seem that a Ring affects that which its wearer is wearing or holding at the moment he puts it on, but not items picked up subsequently. The Nine's original mail and helms etc became invisible as a product of their ring-induced fading; but the cloaks they put on subsequently, and the physical weapons of the Witch-king, remained visible. Of course this could just as well be explained by the fact that by the end of the Third Age they had long ago handed over their Rings to Sauron.

[Galendor]

...but the light escaping from the source becomes visible as soon as it leaves. This would explain why the Elendilmir continued to shine until Isildur covered it with his hood, and why Sting shone when drawn but not when sheathed in the presence of enemies.

That makes sense - as soon as the light (photons) leave the source, they become visible. Just like if the wearer of the Ring throws an object, it becomes visible the moment it is no longer touched.

But the notion that objects one is holding or wearing at the moment one puts on the Ring also become invisible raises silly questions. For example, if Frodo were holding a pint of ale and slipped on the Ring, the pint of ale should also become invisible. And if a pint of ale, then also what if he was holding, say, a chair? Does it have to be suspended in the air to become invisible? Does the pint? What if the pint is on the table, but Frodo is firmly grasping it?

I also like the explanation from The Might that the invisibility of the wearer is caused by transportation to an alternate "wraith" dimension, that is "alongside" the one other normal people inhabit. Perhaps entering this wraith dimension allows a knowledgable wearer (like Sauron) better access or immunity to magics, and this was the true intended power of the Ring.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo wears the Ring constantly for a period of days or weeks (longer?) while figuring out a way to free the dwarfs from the Mirkwood elves' dungeon. I know The Hobbit is pre-LOTR and not necessarily consistent with it, but if it were consistent then Bilbo would have existed in the wraith dimension for a relatively long period of time. Fortunately the Necromancer did not sense him there!

[Melilot Brandybuck]

I've wondered this before also. When Bilbo wore the Ring in Mirkwood, he did not appear to suffer from any effects of the Ring, other than invisibility. No distorted visions or hallucinations, no watching eyes or other unbidden images of past/future like what happened to Frodo. Was this because Sauron's powers were diminished at that time? Could Sauron have sensed that someone was wearing his Ring?