Did Frodo REALLY volunteer to Bear the Ring?

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

But, hang-on, are you putting this forward as a actual theory, or just your own personal "head-canon"? Because what you're describing here certainly sounds more like what I would call head-canon-level "evidence".

Well-canon will certainly contribute direct matters and particular features. There are, for example, exact quotations, dialogues, and characterisations as Tolkien or his son has put them. And certainly 'letters' from Tolkien, and of course, the other Tomes, and I find that it's the mismatch in materials that sometimes means there's room to extend canon - only by inference - and certainly never 'in concrete'.

As for the basic theme - it certainly is Canon, I'd have thought, to quote Sauron as having '...lied even unto himself...' before The Herald of Manwe at the start of the TA. This, of course, must mean that Sauron has insight about how the Mind (with a Fea) can deceive, conceal, equivocate, and veil inner motivations. I'd have imagined that he crafted the Rings with that exact knowledge, in part to guide.

After all, Ash Nagz Durbataluk - and even Celebrimbor was deceived. We see a strong theme in the narrative about Noldorin Vanity (and indeed, the more I ponder the works, the greater is it apparent to me that Vanity of Elves, of Maia, of Men, of Valar, was always the confounding and ruin of Works of Arda. For example, consider Aule and his fashioning of the Dwarves, an act of Conceit (Vanity) (upper case), only in part, as was both the Making and Coveting of the Silmarils. Yet, Eru (as I've said in another post) spares even craftings borne of Vanity. Where Love guides - and Aule certainly did misconceive of Eru's intentions for the Firstborn, yet his creations were spared, and imbued with Fea (or the Dwarvish equivalent. Do they go to Mandos?)

And so - we see the paradox of Vanity again and again. The Vanity of devising even things that Preserve (Narya Nenya Vilya), tho for Love, were yet governed by Sauronic expansion, and territoriality over the Metaphysical...

Frodo's claim at Rivendell stank of Vanity-greatly.