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So this leaves me, I realise, with having to contend what function or place the Scouring does hold in the overall structure.
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Sam & his helpers (including, indirectly, Galadriel) create a hobbitish earthly paradise with an air of elvishness wafting around the tree branches. The best ale in decades is flowing freely, young hobbits are bathing in strawberries and cream, and prosperity is **everywhere** you look...
Except in the heart of Frodo Baggins. There it has no hold. Frodo is too broken to enjoy it, and must leave Middle-Earth. That he leaves in the midst of this astounding bounty makes Frodo's departure all the more wrenching.