February 17, 2003

Frodo in TTT
Danny

Don't hate me for saying this, but Frodo's almost giving the ring to the Nazgul is not too far fetched for the situation. Recall in the book when they pass Minas Morgul. The story reads, "suddenly as if some force were at work other than his own will, he began to hurry, tottering forward, and groping hands held out, his head lolling from side to side." The influence of the Wraith City and the power of the ring overwhelmed Frodo at this point. Had Sam not grabbed him before he got there, the quest would have failed. So it is not too far a stretch to say that if Frodo had ever found himself face to face with a wraith, with the influence of his previous wound, Frodo very well could have been overwhelmed. I don't say that I think that the chnages in the movie are ones I agree with, but I am saying that PJs interpetation of how Frodo would have reacted in that scenario are not neccesarily wrong.

Another complaint about Frodo is that he has succumb too early. TTT the book is full of Frodo's despair, though it also has plenty of his strength. Frodo despairs when he sees the army thinking to himself, "All is lost. I tarried on the way. All is lost. Even if my errand is performed, no one will ever know. There will be no one I can tell. It will be in vain." At this point and many others, Sam is the strength to Frodo. By the end of TTT Frodo already had sunk into despair almost always being helped up and prodded on by Sam's encouragement. So while the Movie depicted a vastly different sequence, it was true to Frodo's struggling with despair, and Sam's strengthening Frodo at every step.

I suppose it bothers me a bit to see Frodo like he is in the movie because as I read the books I tend to resit the notion of Frodo succumbing and tend to see him as an unfallable heroe. However, there is plenty of material in the text to justify a portrayal of Frodo like he was in the movie. PJ didn't shy away from Frodo's weeknesses, but I feel he did ignore his strength more than I would have liked.

Sorry for the long post.

I do wish that the overall interpetation of Frodo in the movies would do more to show his strength. Some say that Sam is the stronger of the two and the true hero, but I feel that is an unfair judgement. Sam only had to bear the ring for a brief moment, and he immediately recognized what a burden it was. Frodo passed through all the physical hardships Sam did with the added burden of the ring. In the end, Frodo made the greatest sacrifice losing the happy peaceful life he had. To say Frodo is not one of the novel's heroes because he tried to claim the ring is unfair. Neither Aragorn nor Gandalf would take the ring because they knew that the same would have happened to them. I don't really say one is stronger than the other or more heroic.