LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 05 - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

But as mentioned on this re-read and in previous CbC posts, this Gandalf is not the infallible Gandalf from The Hobbit. And in fact his death is needed, but not to serve as the fantasy trope to leave Frodo without the "mentor figure," but it was needed for Aragorn's story. It is Aragorn who has to be the primary "mentor" figure for Frodo. Frodo's pure joy when finding out Aragorn is going with him, even if it's just for a certain amount of time. Aragorn takes Gandalf's place for the hobbits in guiding them from Bree to Rivendell. And as long as Gandalf is in the Fellowship, Aragorn is going to defer to Gandalf's judgment and guidance. He might privately disagree with Gandalf, but he ultimately defers to Gandalf. Aragorn is actually the true mentor and guide in Book I, and he can't be that in Book II, as long as Gandalf is with the Fellowship.

I think this is spot-on, but only one-half of the binocular vision. Aragorn isn't just the mentor: he's also a protagonist in his own right. I think you're right that it's not Frodo who loses his mentor figure--it's Aragorn.

After all, Aragorn's role is the story is that of the classic hero-turned-into-a-supporting-character-as-a-subversion-of-expectations. As the classic hero, it is absolutely fitting that he lose his mentor here. The subversion of expectations bit comes back down the road (down the river, actually) when Frodo--the nonconventional hero made the central hero--doesn't lose Aragorn but chooses to leave him. This, ironically enough, sets Aragorn free to actually be the hero rather than the secondary character from then until the plots rejoin.