The One Ring and split personalities - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

CaptainFaramir13 · 03-23-2013, 02:40 AM

I am sorry if this has been discussed before but I could not seem to find anything, also I think this is in the right place, sorry if it is not.

I was thinking about Gollum today, and I thought of something that I had never thought of before. It seems that the whole Gollum persona of Sméagol’s personality is there because of the Ring. Does the Ring create a new personality in people? Perhaps this is a part of its corruption process, that it takes the darkness within you and strengthens it until it develops into a personality of its own, a personality completely dependent on the Ring. So could anyone who has the Ring long enough develop the secondary personality like Gollum/Sméagol? Are there any signs of a secondary personality developing, due to the Ring, in other characters?

If so, would the Ring-generated personality be the same as the Gollum personality, or would it be different depending on the person? I would think it would be different as the Ring tempts different people with different things. It would seem that if you had the Ring long enough the personality it develops remains even in the Ring’s absence, as the Gollum persona is still there even though he no longer has the Ring. I thought this would make an interesting first topic, so what do you guys think? Does the Ring create a new personality in others, or is Gollum unique is this regard? Did the Ring create the Gollum personality or is it simply exploiting it?

03-23-2013, 02:40 AM	#1
CaptainFaramir13 Newly Deceased Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 5	The One Ring and split personalities I am sorry if this has been discussed before but I could not seem to find anything, also I think this is in the right place, sorry if it is not. I was thinking about Gollum today, and I thought of something that I had never thought of before. It seems that the whole Gollum persona of Sméagol’s personality is there because of the Ring. Does the Ring create a new personality in people? Perhaps this is a part of its corruption process, that it takes the darkness within you and strengthens it until it develops into a personality of its own, a personality completely dependent on the Ring. So could anyone who has the Ring long enough develop the secondary personality like Gollum/Sméagol? Are there any signs of a secondary personality developing, due to the Ring, in other characters? If so, would the Ring-generated personality be the same as the Gollum personality, or would it be different depending on the person? I would think it would be different as the Ring tempts different people with different things. It would seem that if you had the Ring long enough the personality it develops remains even in the Ring’s absence, as the Gollum persona is still there even though he no longer has the Ring. I thought this would make an interesting first topic, so what do you guys think? Does the Ring create a new personality in others, or is Gollum unique is this regard? Did the Ring create the Gollum personality or is it simply exploiting it?