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Originally Posted by Galadriel55
I think that the whole point of Frodo and/or Gandalf's aid and support in this case is to provide him with the reason - if not a reason to live, then at least a reason to die as Smeagol and not as Gollum. I believe that Gollum would wither soon because the source of his unnatural lifespan would be gone, but the physical death does not necessarily have to be connected to an utter depression.
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Would the Gollum persona have withered totally? I don't think so. The other Ring-bearers, Bilbo and Frodo (and to a much lesser extent, Sam) all carried a stain from their experience with it. Frodo outright claimed it, and Bilbo, even after its destruction, referred to it as "my ring". Their "Gollum sides" were not exorcised when the Ring was consumed. It took a sojourn in undying Eressëa to cleanse them before they died.
Compound that darkness faced by Bilbo and Frodo a hundred-fold with Gollum. It should be remembered also that Gollum's final act with the Ring was evil: he took it from Frodo, attacking the one he'd sworn to aid. Oath-breaking is a serious business in Middle-earth, and that would be a source of monumental guilt to Sméagol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galadriel55
Furthermore, I think that the Ring never served as a motive to bring out the Smeagol. That was purely Frodo's doing. The only thing that the preciousss motivated was Gollum. Without the Ring and with Frodo's guidance, Gollum still has a fair chance to die a hobbit and not a creature, to have a positive end. So, unless he commits suicide in a fit of madness in the first little while while Frodo is still unconscious (and, much as Gandalf would love to help, we need Frodo here to do the job), he has the best chance in the world to wipe clean some of his inner darkness.
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I still go back to Gollum's own words, that without the Precious, he would die. Frodo himself, after the Ring is gone, is ready to lie down and die on Mount Doom. It was only the exhortation of his long time friend and servant that roused him to do anything to save himself. Sméagol-Gollum would have had no such motivation.