Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotrelf
So, if Sam had acted differently, would Gollum have not taken them to Shelob's cave? Gollum had already planned to do so, why Sam's actions affect Gollum so deeply that he cannot come back!
|
Presumably no, Gollum would not have betrayed them to Shelob had it not been for the fact that he was pushed over the edge by Sam's mistrust. The precise moment is when Frodo and Sam have been sleeping on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. Sam wakes up to see Gollum expressing a moment of tenderness - touching Frodo's knee - and thinks Gollum is "pawing at master." He accuses him of "sneaking" and being an "old villain." Gollum's affection for Frodo, one of the only people he had ever met to show him any pity, was perhaps ill-timed, but Sam was possibly overprotective. Gollum is trying to express a long-subdued side and Sam rebukes him. For such a corrupted creature, I don't think it stretches our credibility too far to see how the denial of even such a timid attempt at "human contact" would drive him back into evil permanently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotrelf
Later, he says that Gollum would have sacrificed his life for Frodo's sake. How was that possible when the pressure of the One was too great for the person who was strongest when it came to resisting it? When Frodo "gave in" and could not do what he desired to, how Gollum could have done: knowing he could not use the Ring, and sacrificing himself?
|
The answer is in the exact letter you are quoting, Letter 246. In fact I think the exact quotation you provided does, assuming I am reading your question correctly. The only way to simultaneously spite Sauron and to "keep" the Ring (as it were) was to destroy both oneself and it simultaneously. As such one did not have to live without the Ring, but Sauron did not get it back. If you're talking about Frodo (I'm not sure if you're talking about Frodo or Gollum) he says in the same letter that Frodo would have done the same thing. Or at least, he would have done so in the scenario where the Ringwraiths were not quick enough to entice Frodo back outside so that Sauron could come and retrieve the Ring in person.