[Child of the 7th Age]

In his Letters, Tolkien states that Aragorn and Gandalf learned of the true events on Mount Doom, and that Frodo did nothing to conceal the truth:

I do not myself see that the breaking of his (i.e. Frodo's) mind and will under demonic pressure after torment was any more a moral failure than the breaking of his body wold have been--say, by being srangled by Gollum, or crushed by a falling rock.

That appears to have been the judgement of Gandalf and Aragorn and of all who learned the full story of his journey. Certainly nothing would be concealed by Frodo! But what Frodo himself felt about the events is quite another matter.

I think Frodo can be accused of many weaknesses, ranging from pessimism to self-doubt, but I do not think, by any stretch of the imagination, that he could be accused of trying to turn himself into a public hero, by lying about what happened. His behavior in the Shire was exactly the opposite of this.

Gandalf would certainly have asked Frodo for the account of Mt. Doom. I think it is equally certain that Frodo would have been honest, and perhaps even self-effacing, in discussing what happened.

sharon, the 7th age hobbit

[ November 10, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]