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Does anyone have any further thoughts?
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On that subject just two. One came from earlier in this thread, a quote from one of Tolkien's Letters:
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The domination of the Ring was much too strong for the mean soul of Smeagol. But he would have never had to endure it if he had not become a mean sort of thief before it crossed his path. (letter #181)
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The second thing that sticks with me, although it is short I believe it fits well with the Semagol/Deagol incident. It is from Elrond speaking at the Council in Rivendell:
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The very desire of it corrupts the heart.
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The meaning of that sentence is quite clear. But what is not clear is whether or not that applies to one who does not know it is a Ring of Power, but rather thinks it's just a ring of beauty/value. I would guess it applies anyway because of the intelligence/power of the Ring, calling out to even the ignorant mind. It may have called to Smeagol, as if sensing his desires and his suitability for corruption. Perhaps being 'suitable for corruption' was not the case with Deagol and the Ring chose Smeagol, just a thought. Also, we have a plea in murder cases these days called crime of passion. His lapse may have been minute and due to overwhelming desire, but as to whether he regretted it, who knows, I don't think he did regret it. And if he didn't, then that throws out 'crime of passion' or 'momentary insanity' theories out. Because how could the Ring be 100% control in such a short (less than a day) period of time? It wasn't. So my conclusion is that Smeagol was a mean little sort who was not against murder for the right reason, the Ring pushed him just enough by amplifying his desires, the murder took place and Smeagol went about his business of being mean again. His tricks got worse and worse due to the Rings influence, his heart got twisted more and more, and eventually he was booted out by his Grandmother. Then eventually came isolation and unfathomable torture for the next 500 years at the whims of the Ring.
Kinda rambled on at the end there, but that's my take. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
[ February 17, 2003: Message edited by: Tar-Palantir ]