Have Elf, Will Travel

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

To begin with, I do not think that it is a question of character that "qualifies" or "disqualifies" a Ringbearer. Bilbo simply picked up the Ring and slipped it into his pocket. I don't suppose Prof T is justifying the "Finders, Keepers" maxim, but Bilbo never did have an opportunity to return the Ring to Gollum, (who did bloody murder for it, by the way) so I guess you can say that he is pretty much entitled to keep or "bear" the Ring. Subsequent transfer of the Ring from Bilbo to Frodo and then to Sam is perfectly justified.

If there is one quality that "qualifies" a Ring Bearer, I suppose it is the legal transaction by which the Ring is obtained. Taking one situation for example, during the Council of Elrond, Master Elrond placed the responsibility of destroying the Ring to Frodo. Is there really any other characters that can possibly contest that decision? Yes, Bilbo has borne the Ring before, and he had all the "Elvish cum Hobbit" quality aforementioned, he is also a more experienced adventurer. But Gandalf told him that the Ring has "passed on". With Sam, it is even more interesting, since Sam Gamgee loved Elves, but he would prefer his tatters and tomatoes to travelling with an Elf any day. Then again, one could hardly observe anything Elvish about Sam until his return to the Shire.

Besides, Frodo failed to destroy the Ring in the end, didn't he?

P.S. Yessss! My Finals are OVER! Back to La-La land!

[Guinevere]

Well, as Gandalf said, Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and Frodo was meant to have it.
So what you really ask is why Eru (or Providence, or whatever...) chose them... Or do you mean why Tolkien, as their creator (and the creator of that world) described the Ringbearer's character such as they are?
I guess it had to be a hobbit, because hobbits do not desire power, as you said. But most ordinary hobbits were quite narrowminded and only concerned with their own affairs, so they wouldn't have been willing to go on a dangerous journey, let alone to sacrifice themselves to save the world. They probably wouldn't even have understood the importance of it all. So it had to be an extraordinary hobbit that had a wider view,a deeper understanding and an interest beyond the boundaries of the Shire. Is that what you call Frodo's "Elvish" qualities? Anyhow, it comes from his beeing taught by Bilbo and Gandalf, as well as his innate charactertraits.
But I think the "Elvishness" grew only in Frodo on the quest. (I'm thinking of Gandalf's remark at Frodo's bed in Rivendell, about the light shining in him, and Sam who sees that light as well)

[Olorin_TLA]

The like/love of Elves and Elvishness is because they're interested in things outside the mundane everyday, they're open-minded, and strive for the beauty that they know exists elsewhere. After all, they'd liked Evles way before they ever met them: it's a sign basically that they're "bigger" than the rest of their Shire, many of whom are small-minded...such as Sandyman the Elf-hater. Or even the Gaffer, who values "cabbages and potatoes" more ans think they'r ethe "proper" thing" for Hobbits to be interested in. So it's because they like Elves that they make good Ringbearers (after all, it was made by Sauron, so...) but the good souls/personalities/whatefer-you-want-to-say that are them mean they're going ot be attratced to Elvishness.

[symestreem]

What if it was just coincidence? Yes, Frodo was meant to have the ring, but was he meant to carry it Mt. Doom? Or was it just because he was there and had shown resistance up to that point? Would another hobbit have done as well, or would they have been overcome by the force of the Ring? Would they have put the Ring on, not knowing why, just having a primal urge to do it? How much of Frodo's resistance to the Ring was innate, and how much was because he knew what would happen if he did not resist? He understood the Ring and its evil, yet in the end he still fell to it. Would a different hobbit have been more resistant? If so, why did Frodo end up carrying the Ring? Was it coincidence?

[Son of Númenor]

I don't think it was coincidence by any means. It was that mysterious force at work in the world of Middle-earth, the same force that nudged Gollum into the fires. The force of Good, Providence, Eru, whatever you want to call it. It wasn't blind luck or mere chance that a hobbit of the Shire came into possession of the One Ring, escaped the Ringwraiths & made it to Rivendell, & not only chose to go to the heart of Mordor but was actually unanimously approved for the task by a council of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.

Here is some more food for thought:
Might Gandalf have had a 'Divine Premonition' that hobbits would someday play a crucial role in the fate of M-E, thus leading him to become the only member of the Istari to have dealings with them? If so, why was this premonition denied to Saruman, Radaghast, Alatar and Pallando?

[Dininziliel]

Olorin_TLA comes closest to the mark that this thread aims for. This is not about how one comes by the Ring, or qualifications for bearing the Ring. This has all been discussed before. This is about three hobbits who bore the Ring to its final end (I'm considering that Bilbo started its journey), and who were granted their own journey to the Undying Lands. Being a tad slow about certain things, I happened to recently notice that these three hobbits differed from all their contemporary hobbits in their affinity for Elves. This includes their having some elvish qualities, e.g., love of & extemporaneous composing & performing of poetry incorporating elven lore. It seems logical to assume there must be something about the nature of Elves when mixed w/the nature of hobbits that results in "producing" right & proper Ring Bearers. It must be something about the mix of the two races because no other beings bore the Ring on its way to Doom and then were granted passage to Aman--just Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam.

Another way to look at it would be to wonder if an Elf could have hobbit qualities, and, if there had been an Elf w/hobbit qualities, if this Elf could have been a Ring Bearer, too. If something had happened to Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam, would the Council of Elrond be looking for other hobbits who exhibited elvish traits, or their Elven counterparts? I stretch the point to clarify the the focus of the question. Not a major question, but hopefully an amusing one.

And, did Tolkien intend to make our three hobbit heroes a bit elvish, or is that a coincidence?

[tar-ancalime]

Originally Posted by Dininziliel

And, did Tolkien intend to make our three hobbit heroes a bit elvish, or is that a coincidence?

Sure, I think so.

The other hobbits of the Fellowship are also rather special--their noble birth, their bravery, Merry's Bucklandish interest in life outside the Shire (he's the only one who had been previously to Bree, for instance), and Pippin's most unhobbitlike curiosity set them apart. And both Merry and Pippin develop affinities for people of other races, but in their cases they are races of Men, not Elves. They never touch the Ring and hardly even see it; Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam, on the other hand, are all Ring-Bearers. It seems at least plausible to me that Tolkien did this on purpose (though of course there's no way to be sure): all five major-character hobbits develop special relationships with other races, but only the three who feel the affinity for Elves (very early in the story Gildor names Frodo Elf-Friend) become Ring-Bearers and sail away to the Undying Lands.