In modern Western culture, a ring traditionally symbolizes marriage. A ring for each party of the union symbolizes the union and serves both as a sentimental reminder of the commitment and a warning against temptation. Additionally, it provides a signal to others that the wearer is “off the market”. Symbolically, a circle is drawn around the parties of the union, providing a barrier against threats from without while simultaneously preventing the departure of those within.
Can we read the Ring as a symbol for a disillusioned view of marriage? Consider: the Ring seems innocuous enough at first, and even highly desirable. It is a plain, elegant golden ring, and it even confers a useful ability upon the wearer – it makes him (or her) invisible to others (a metaphor for the relational unavailability conferred by marriage?). Who wouldn’t want it? Only later does the wearer realize that he (or she) has become its slave and subject to its domination.
Possessing it causes the normal flow of time to be disrupted. Years seem like months, time stretches out, the possessor becomes faded and tired, but merciful death never comes. Only through the destruction of the Ring can the bearer know peace.
Consider Sauron’s bond with his ring-mates. He offers rings as gifts, promising great boons, but it’s only after those he has wooed have accepted the gift (and completed the symbolic union) that the real terms of the commitment become apparent. Of course by then it’s too late, and the doom of the wooed has been sealed.
Finally, Frodo’s journey. Frodo possesses the Ring for years without even realizing its withering effect upon his mental freedom. Once he learns its true nature, he realizes that it must be destroyed. No one else can complete this task for him – it is his alone to perform. But to do so, he faces a great personal test – a battle of wills. The nearer the Ring comes to its destruction, the more burdensome it is to Frodo, and the less his will to finally unmake it. Once the circle finally is destroyed, his burden is lifted – yet the ordeal leaves scars that will never fully heal.
Wow. Either a liberal arts education is a very dangerous animal or else John and Edith had the mother of all bad marriages.
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