What caused Frodo to finally give in to the power of the Ring and claim it?

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Marileangorifurnimaluim

Back to the simple question, who spoke, the ring or Frodo? "...or be cast yourself into the flames.."

It was Frodo, his will defeated at last by his own weaknesses which the ring played on, until he claimed it at last.

He sounded different because... well, you guess. What was Frodo's key weakness that finally caused him to put on the ring?

The ring is subtle. It doesn't work the user like a puppet, it's not so simple. The ring amplifies the capacities of the user -- especially their weaknesses.

"Yet it's way to my heart is through pity" - said Gandalf.

Galadriel said with the ring she would become a beloved queen - "beautiful and terrible..."

The ring did not have a will of it's own, merely the imbued shadow of the will of Sauron. That's why it did not work on each bearer in the same way.

Frodo was losing an internal battle, and his defeat revealed his own weaknesses which we only saw in glimpses previously.

Remember Sam's vision of himself, when he wore the ring, his inner desire to turn all of Middle Earth into a garden after he had seen so much desolation? We got to see through Sam what Frodo's inner battle was like. But Frodo's actual battle was hidden.

What do you think was the avenue through which the ring at last defeated Frodo? What was that weakness? I think Sam had a talent for seeing the truth, whether the truth he was just a gardener when he finally took off the ring, or the truth of the ring of fire, when it finally took hold of Frodo. I think Frodo's behavior with Gollum and Sam's visions are the clue as to what it was.

What do we know about The Ring?

The Ring had the greater measure of Sauron's power imbued within it. Sauron was the archetypal seducer. Give in to your greed, power and lusts with the promise of eternal--what? The Ring enslaved. Yet, certain beings, of enough power of their own fibre, had the potential to 'wrest' the power of The Ring and make it their own--and counter-enslave, Sauron! I seem to recall that was one of Sauron's great fears about The Ring.

What else do we know? That over time, the being affected starts to crave The Ring's proximity, but that it left them feeling 'thin' (Bilbo) and 'stretched', and restive, perpetually. Behaviours like murder, eating other beings start to become 'normal' (Gollum). That Elvish Waybread 'stank', and that rabbit was ruined by being 'scorched'.

On Mount Doom--the presence of The Ring was as a burning wheel of fire in the mind's eye. Who commanded Gollum? I would say it was 'The Ring--THROUGH--Frodo'. I.e. Frodo was "sauron-ised" and "sauron-ising". As such, Gollum, already warped by The Ring, was enslaved to it, and able to be commanded by the wielder of The Ring. Interesting hey. I'd say that would mean that Frodo, having a 'kind of' telepathic-ish association to Sauron--fibres of Sauron's consciousness, as tendrils invading Frodo's mind--such that--Sauron would have commanded Frodo to yield The Ring, and Frodo would have done so--as the last of his former Mind and Self was subverted.

Frodo did, indeed become commanding and imperious in ways he never would have been, on Mount Doom, had he not have ever touched The Ring. There--the added power of his voice--the flow of Sauron's Will empowering the wielder, tricking them into thinking this new 'Voice' was their own.

Bearer beware!

Frodo did not 'fail', as I read, upstream. He bore the Ring further than perhaps, any other being could have.....

[tom the eldest]

What cause frodo to give in?

The same reason that make isildur fail:the ring's power is too strong to resist if its in mordor.

[Lotrelf]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

What cause frodo to give in?

The same reason that make isildur fail:the ring's power is too strong to resist if its in mordor.

It isn't that simple. What was it the Ring offered to Isildur? What was it the Ring offered to Frodo? Isildur being a King, proud and powerful was more susceptible to the Ring's power. Also Men are said to be "weak" when it comes to resisting the Ring's power. What caused Frodo to give in? What was his deepest desire? What was it he needed that the Ring could give him? Sam rejected the temptation because he thought he doesn't need any of the stuff the Ring promised him to give. Would he have been able to do that in Frodo's place? Nope. Frodo lost EVERYTHING. Tolkien says "He had spent every drop of his power of will and body", and he lacked everything at this point. It is likely the Ring offered him that, that he lacked. What was it he lacked? Everything.

[tom the eldest]

Originally Posted by Lotrelf

It isn't that simple. What was it the Ring offered to Isildur? What was it the Ring offered to Frodo? Isildur being a King, proud and powerful was more susceptible to the Ring's power. Also Men are said to be "weak" when it comes to resisting the Ring's power. What caused Frodo to give in? What was his deepest desire? What was it he needed that the Ring could give him? Sam rejected the temptation because he thought he doesn't need any of the stuff the Ring promised him to give. Would he have been able to do that in Frodo's place? Nope. Frodo lost EVERYTHING. Tolkien says "He had spent every drop of his power of will and body", and he lacked everything at this point. It is likely the Ring offered him that, that he lacked. What was it he lacked? Everything.

Probably the ring oberloaded frodo with so much despair,an illusionary vision,like all his friend dead,sauron rule middle-earth,darkness upon shire,etc.even though hobbit are though,they still can be break with enough despair.i think that what made frodo give in,a vision of what if he fails and sauron take the ring.after the ring suceeded in misguiding frodo,it will pretend that it will follow frodo and betray sauron,when it is the other way around.sauron find frodo,grab the ring,kill frodo,and the west will fail,and sauron will rule middle-ear5h

[Pervinca Took]

Very interesting thoughts, Lotrelf and Tom. That it offered him *everything* back - that really made me think. I had thought of its offering him peace and rest before, but never a restoration of what he had lost. I think that the Ring would have appealed to his intellect, too, though, not just a wish for restoration of self - of what he previously was and had. In fact I think a promise of deliverance and relief might have been more potent than a promise to restore all that he had lost. What he "might have had" became, perhaps, more of an issue after he survived, having not expected to. I see Frodo as having increasingly adopted a kind of "tunnel vision" to keep going and try to get the job done - everything else was sacrificed. The symbolism of the orcs physically taking *everything* from him in Cirith Ungol is a part of this process and perhaps accelerates Frodo's own internal sacrifice of being "stripped to his essential self" (I'm echoing a piece of Tolkien literary criticism here, and can't remember the exact source). What happened to him physically in the tower then happens to him spiritually - even more is taken away from him - taste, sound, even memories of anything beautiful. Perhaps "you can have your old life back" was used as a temptation across the plains of Mordor, though ... but I think he'd accepted the loss and just wanted ending, release.

Tom's theory is also intriguing ... I'll try to come back with some thoughts on that later.

The thing is, the Ring wouldn't have had much more work to do in appealing to Frodo's logic and intellect; it had already won that battle in Bag End when he had been unable to throw it into his own fireplace "because" "the gold looked very fair and pure ... a thing altogether precious." How much more powerful would this argument of "logic" have been in the Sammath Naur? I think the torment and "stripping" process was how the Ring worked in trying to stop him getting to the Sammath Naur in the first place. A simple but powerful intellectual argument would be all that was needed in the Chamber of Fire itself, when it had already worked in the comfort of his own sitting-room. It's a different kind of temptation, because he's trying to do a different deed. Up until now he has tried to avoid claiming it and putting it on, but hasn't had to give up possession. Now he has to try and not only give up possession (the ability to do which he once had, but had lost by Cirith Ungol), but destroy the thing as well. As Tolkien stated in one of the Letters, he could only have done the latter by not doing the former, and hurling himself into the lava with the Ring. Thankfully that wasn't necessary ....

[FerniesApple]

I think Tolkiens experiences in the trenches would have told him that sheer physical exhaustion, lack of sleep, hunger and fear itself can demoralize the strongest soldier. Hobbits being more resilient than men just lasted longer before the corruption entered his soul, and then like a dam bursting all at once the Ring held him in its grip. It could have felt in danger so put forth its last attempt to survive.