Thanks for resurrecting this thread, doug-platypus.
By way of expanding on the final sentence of my previous post in this thread, it seems to me that the breakup of the Fellowship was fated not merely by the Ring, but by the very nature and make-up of the Fellowship, as well as its purpose.
Two men, a wizard, four hobbits, a dwarf, and an elf. Both men were aimed toward Minas Tirith from the start, although Aragorn was of two minds (which is an important aspect of his internal conflict, making the story that much more interesting). Gandalf had intended to go all the way to Mount Doom, had he made it as far as Rauros. Pippin and Merry wanted to go with Frodo, but even if the orcs had not captured them, I think Frodo would have given them the slip (Wow! I didn't even know I thought that until I wrote it!). Gimli and Legolas might have gone with Frodo, but I think only Legolas would have managed to stick with them had it come to giving the others 'the slip'. Hmm! There's an interesting possibility for a fan-fiction - What if the orcs had not captured M & P, and only Legolas had managed to stick with F & S? Sorry, major tangent. Maybe I ought to start a new thread....
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