February 19, 2003

Frodo in Scouring the Shire
Copans

I'd like to add a note to Everett on the Scouring of the Shire. It's always seemed to me that the most moving part of LOTR is Frodo's inability to return to his old life with any pleasure. He has sacrificed to preserve the Shire but not for himself. The Shire accords its praise mainly to the other three, not that Frodo cares.

I know many readers feel that Sam is the hero and Frodo loses their respect as his spirt and will weaken. However, at the end, Frodo retains the respect of Gandalf and Aragorn, which is worth more -- let's face it -- than the praise of a Bracegirdle or Boffin. I've always wondered how much Frodo is tormented by the knowledge that he could not actually commit the ring to the fire. Doesn't the praise on the Field of Cormallen grieve him a little?

On returning to the Shire, Frodo seems weary of life and is bothered by wounds, but there is little direct evidence that he is conscious of guilt or shame at having succeeded in his quest only by grace. However, his unwillingness to judge Saruman comes from a place of wisdom built from experience beyond that of other hobbits (and most readers as well. "Don't let him go, you fool!" I thought when I first read it as a 14-year-old.)

If a reader "gives up" on Frodo, I just can't see how Scouring of the Shire be as moving as it should be.