Gandalf's comment about Frodo - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Pervinca Took · 03-10-2014, 07:56 AM

Purely hypothetical, but I wonder if he would have been granted passage West if he hadn't agreed to carry the Ring to Mount Doom. He'd still have had to live with an injury for which there was no cure in Middle-earth. The only other reported survivor of a Morgul-wound died after about twelve years, as I recall.

Inziladun · 03-10-2014, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pervinca Took

Purely hypothetical, but I wonder if he would have been granted passage West if he hadn't agreed to carry the Ring to Mount Doom. He'd still have had to live with an injury for which there was no cure in Middle-earth.

I don't think so. The stain and burden of being a Ring-bearer was primarily what opened the way to Frodo. The Ring had at least for a time wholly conquered him, and in his own eyes he had thus 'failed' in his task. The guilt of that coupled with the aftereffects of longing for the Ring made the West the sole hope for him to find peace. It's notable that Bilbo and Sam, both Ring-bearers too, were allowed to go.

Pervinca Took · 03-10-2014, 08:25 AM

True, but he had already been a Ringbearer, and taken probably at least as much hurt from being one as Bilbo had, if you consider the effects of the Morgul-knife. Of course, it never needs to be considered, because he does assume the role "officially" at the Council. The Wise would have been very culpable, I think, if they'd left Middle-earth without asking for an option for him to join them given all that did happen, but I think they would still have had some level of responsibility to him even if he hadn't taken on the quest. The wound alone would not have been enough to make Frodo want to leave, I think, but still. Perhaps the Wise would have left the Last Homely House open to the Ringbearers as a place of peace and refuge, even if with Elrond and Vilya gone, its healing virtues would have been much lessened (and Bilbo was already resident there, of course). Presumably there were still healers with some of the skill that Elrond had - his sons, and some of the Dunedain, and the remaining Elves themselves.

Belegorn · 03-10-2014, 02:22 PM

Yes Boromir the Steward had a Morgul wound which pained him until he died. He was feared by the Witch-king.

03-10-2014, 07:56 AM	#1
Pervinca Took Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Treetops, C/O Great Smials Posts: 5,035	Purely hypothetical, but I wonder if he would have been granted passage West if he hadn't agreed to carry the Ring to Mount Doom. He'd still have had to live with an injury for which there was no cure in Middle-earth. The only other reported survivor of a Morgul-wound died after about twelve years, as I recall. __________________ "Sit by the firelight's glow; tell us an old tale we know. Tell of adventures strange and rare; never to change, ever to share! Stories we tell will cast their spell, now and for always."

03-10-2014, 08:25 AM	#3
Pervinca Took Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Treetops, C/O Great Smials Posts: 5,035	True, but he had already been a Ringbearer, and taken probably at least as much hurt from being one as Bilbo had, if you consider the effects of the Morgul-knife. Of course, it never needs to be considered, because he does assume the role "officially" at the Council. The Wise would have been very culpable, I think, if they'd left Middle-earth without asking for an option for him to join them given all that did happen, but I think they would still have had some level of responsibility to him even if he hadn't taken on the quest. The wound alone would not have been enough to make Frodo want to leave, I think, but still. Perhaps the Wise would have left the Last Homely House open to the Ringbearers as a place of peace and refuge, even if with Elrond and Vilya gone, its healing virtues would have been much lessened (and Bilbo was already resident there, of course). Presumably there were still healers with some of the skill that Elrond had - his sons, and some of the Dunedain, and the remaining Elves themselves. __________________ "Sit by the firelight's glow; tell us an old tale we know. Tell of adventures strange and rare; never to change, ever to share! Stories we tell will cast their spell, now and for always." Last edited by Pervinca Took; 03-10-2014 at 08:39 AM.

03-10-2014, 02:22 PM	#4
Belegorn Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Henneth Annûn, Ithilien Posts: 462	Yes Boromir the Steward had a Morgul wound which pained him until he died. He was feared by the Witch-king. __________________ "For believe me: the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is - to live dangerously!" - G.S.; F. Nietzsche

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