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Bilbo alone was the only ringbear to give up the ring of his own free will.
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Samwise also gave it up pretty quick when Frodo demanded it back! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
As for your theory
Tar-Alcarin (welcome to the Downs, BTW! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] ), I would say that Frodo IS connected to the Dark Lord, but only through the means of the One Ring, just as the Elven realm of Lothlorien owes its continued preservation to the continued existence of the One Ring. But the side effects of the Quest and the way Frodo is beset by the Dark Lord and his minions serve to break him completely down into a being of a "clear light for those to see who can," as Gandalf mused in Rivendell. This transparency and "fading" effect I would put under the heading of "effects of the Ring and its interaction with Frodo and Frodo's response to the challenge," so any connections between the Dark Lord and Frodo would have to be through this intermediary, this part of Sauron that Frodo carries with him physically. Without that, Sauron would still be a far off name, the Necromancer, vaguely feared and never glimpsed but by the trickle-down evil his minions wreak, and Frodo would have no more cares about him than to protect the Shire from him in any way he could.
I think the finger correspondence is merely emblematic of the natural consequence of wearing a ring and the nature of the Ring in its power and the logical way to rid a bearer of a stubbornly held treasure.
Cheers!
Lyta
EDIT:
ainur you beat me to the Sam reference! If only I didn't proofread my posts several times...oh well!
[img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Good point about the Balrogs, too! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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OR: One could draw a parallel in their character. Sauron is what Frodo might have become. "There but for the grace of Eru . . ." Sauron is diminished beyond recovery. Frodo is wounded beyond recovery. The only difference here is Frodo's ultimate redemption by sailing west.
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I actually think that Frodo and Sauron are less
akin than they are sort of opposite mirrors, if you posit that Frodo is Gandalf's pupil and Sauron Morgoth's. Sauron had previously served Aule but had been won over to Morgoth. Frodo 'serves' the Valar through Gandalf but it is through strength of character that he is NOT co-opted by evil as Sauron was. Also, we must keep in mind that Frodo is a much lesser being in the scheme of Arda than is Sauron, a Maia who served two Valar. Frodo may be a sort of microcosm if one looked at it this way, a source of light from a source unlooked for in Middle Earth. Like Gandalf, he is humble and willing to be taught, whereas the forces of evil do not admit of showing weakness. (On a side note, I think Pippin taught Gandalf a whole lot! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] )
Also, I think Frodo's redemption was constant and ongoing; his selfless behavior throughout the Quest led up to the grace that was given to him in the end and the sailing West was a reward, the only one that could possibly heal him of the inevitable injuries that his fulfillment of the impossible task caused.
[ 3:18 PM December 03, 2003: Message edited by: Lyta_Underhill ]