LotR -- Book 6 - Chapter 2 - The Land of Shadow

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Are you implying that the Ring is driving Frodo to Mount Doom because it knows what will happen there and thinks that will give it an insurmountable chance to get back to its master?

An interesting theory, I'd never thought of it like that before.

An interesting theory, I agree, but one that would be very risky on the Ring's part. After all, it would know (in so far as the Ring is sentient) why it is being taken there- for destruction, and Orodruin is the one place in Middle-Earth where "mislaying" the Ring would be catastrophic for its continued existence. And then there was Sam... The Ring would clearly be aware of his presence- and the fact that he gave up its lure very easily. Sam would be a very dangerous wildcard where the Ring was concerned, because the Ring could not count on its temptation to prevent him from forcing its destruction.

On the other hand, the Ring was certainly without many cards to play. It had been unsuccessful in drawing the Nazgul's attention, and the Nazgul were no longer around to draw. Sam had proven incorruptable. Gollum was gone, and none of the Orks had yet caught a glimpse of it.

And too, the Ring (again, assuming it capable of complete thought), could have been "overconfident" for lack of a better word. After all, Frodo was almost totally under its domination as it was, and its powers increased the nearer they got to Mount Doom. The idea that Frodo could destroy it was laughable- as we indeed learn in another chapter. And, in fact, it took was may best be called a Divince Act of Providence (ie. Gollum's fall) to destroy it.

An interesting theory, indeed...