Great topic, Willie. Interesting, that Arwen-Gollum connection.
What I wondered, was, didn't Frodo too recognise his own loneliness in Gollum? He was of course alone when bearing the Ring, even with Sam by his side. But I think that his feeling of "otherness" begun way before.
He was always a bit of a weirdo (what a horrible word) amongst hobbits. He was, afterall, a half-Brandybuck orphand who was well educated, spoke elvish, had strange friends (as Gandalf), and most of all: was extreamely curious about the world outside the Shire. Those things definetly make you an outsider in the world of hobbits. Yes, he did have friends, but none of them as close as Bilbo was. I don't think any of them quite understood Frodo as he did. And Bilbo too eventually "abandoned" Frodo, leaving him once again lonely for many years to come.
And then, along came the Ring. And we all know that "to be a ringbearer is to be alone".
I think that his loneliness, being different, in a way was both the blessing and the curse of Frodo's life. It allowed him to rise above an avridge hobbit, to the world of wizards, elves and greater wisdom. And eventually, he was chosen/destined to bear the One Ring because of that. But because of what he was, he was never going to live an easy, happy life as just one of the merry little hobbits.
This, in my opinion, was one of the many things that made Frodo understand Gollum more than Sam did. Besides being Ringbearers, they both had almost always been alone.
Phew. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] Please, feel free to comment.
[ December 30, 2002: Message edited by: Nenya ]
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