[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Lyta_Underhill

This reply was made earlier today, but did not make the transition to the new forum, so I'm pasting it from the old. To continue:

As I recall, even Tolkien was reticent to speculate on the final fate of Gollum, assigning it to the realm of "Goddes privitee" (I hope I spelled that right!), but he does say that Gollum ended his days in "persistent wickedness" and the fact that his final action worked to the good is no credit to Smeagol himself. It is interesting to speculate on the possibility that there is a seed of evolution of Gollum's psyche to encompass a dawning love for Frodo and perhaps a subconscious desire to sacrifice himself for Frodo's good, but it seems to me that the Ring is overwhelmingly the dominant influence in Gollum's decision at Sammath Naur. (But, like Frodo, he would not have been able to resist its power here.) One can only speculate whether his deeds towards the end of his life would be judged by Iluvatar to his favor or not. But, it is always irresistible to peer over the edge into the great unknowable, isn't it?

Cheers,
Lyta

I could be wrong, but I thought that Tolkien never provides any suggestion about what awaits men after death. We have hints and suggestions about dwarven mythology and elven fate tied in with that of Arda, but of men's fate we know nothing. So how can we speculate about "eternal damnation" or any kind of judgement? Isn't the emphasis on how men live their lives rather than on any kind of eternal reward or punishment?