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Re: Gildor Inglorion
I doubt Gildor in his wildest dreams would have imagined that the burden Frodo carried was the One Ring. First, very few people knew it had not been distroyed and it had been found. A wandering Elf wasn't likely to have heard that news. Second, Frodo was a hobbit -- an entirely unlikely fellow to be carrying around the Ring. He probably thought Frodo just knew more than he should have about Gandalf's business ("don't meddle in the affairs of wizards!"
While it's true it may seem Gildor should have done more to help Frodo, we have a very different perspective than he had on the situation. We all know why Frodo was fleeing the Shire and what dangers he was facing. I also doubt Gildor knew how determined the Riders were to find Frodo. We know because we know Frodo has the Ring and we've read the next chapters...
From Gildor's viewpoint, encountering Frodo was very much like having someone stop one of us on our way to work (or school) and ask for directions to a place that is many miles away and directly opposite from where we were going. In that situation, most of us would probably give the person directions, but few of us would turn around and accompany them to make sure they got there safely.
We'd be especially likely to content ourselves with just giving good advice if it looked as if the person could handle the situation on his/her own. And, to the limited extent that an Elf would bother to size up a hobbit, Gildor probably thought Frodo would be able to handle himself. After all, Gildor recognized Frodo and clearly accorded him some measure of respect (if only because Frodo knew some Elvish)
I think Gildor did what he felt was appropriate for the situation. He sheltered Frodo and the others for the night and sent word out about them. Also, that "elf-friend" designation Gildor gave Frodo clearly had some sort of meaning. Goldberry identified Frodo using that term immediately after meeting him. Perhaps, such a designation bestowed some protection (albeit limited) from evil and made it more likely Frodo would find the help he needed along the way.
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