Why take a body? Why make a Ring?

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

An interesting topic you have there.

In Sil it says that the valar could choose whether to be without a form or pick an appearance of a male or female - or an appearance that came from their own thoughts. It also says that when the valar were without a form, even the Elves couldn't see them clearly, and that makes me assume that other races didn't possibly perceive even that much.

Now, I could imagine that when interacting with the people in Middle-earth, having a body was only practical. I don't know if it was easy to sense the presence of a vala or maia if it didn't have a visible form, and apparently it wasn't quite clear who they really were even when they had a body - take Gandalf, for example, or Sauron in his pretty form. But surely it's easier to suck up to important characters or boss people around if they can see you.

When Melkor saw that the valar were happy and blessed in their visible bodies and they enjoyed what Middle-earth had to offer, he became jealous and took a form, too. And if Melkor had a body, it seems natural that Sauron mimicked him and took one as well.

Why would a spiritual being want to confine his power to a Ring, or any other material object?

Maybe putting his powers into the Ring wasn't so much a purpose than an inevitable consequence. Again, using the Sil as a source, it says that Sauron didn't like the Elves (well, duh) and he was afraid of the Númenoreans who occasionally dropped by in Middle-Earth. He wanted to have power over all the other rings and therefore the amount of power that he put in the One Ring had to be superior to the other rings, too. Could there have been some other way to rule the other rings, then? That I don't know.


edit: cross-posted with Raynor.

[Raynor]

Concerning the shapes the valar assumed, it is stated in the Letters:

Originally Posted by Letter #212

It was because of their love of Ea, and because of the pan they had played in its making, that they wished to, and could, incarnate themselves in visible physical forms, though these were comparable to our clothes (in so far as our clothes are a personal expression) not to our bodies. Their forms were thus expressions of their persons, powers, and loves. They need not be anthropomorphic (Yavanna wife of Aule would, for instance, appear in the form of a great Tree.) But the 'habitual' shapes of the Valar, when visible or clothed, were anthropomorphic, because of their intense concern with Elves and Men.

In Sil it says that the valar could choose whether to be without a form or pick an appearance of a male or female

Apparently, they didn't have a choice over the gender of their body:

Originally Posted by Ainulindale, Silmarillion

But when they desire to clothe themselves the Valar take upon them forms some as of male and some as of female; for that difference of temper they had even from their beginning, and it is but bodied forth in the choice of each, not made by the choice, even as with us male and female may be shown by the raiment but is not made thereby.

[mormegil]

Regarding the body I agree that it was to have influence and control in the physical world.

Regarding the ring, we can easily see and know that by pouring his power into an artifact his power increased more than the original value. But why a ring? A couple ideas I had is the concept of a ring in the representation of something intimate like a marriage. Sauron had pledged himself to this cause and essentially created a marriage convenant...it's a bit of a stretch but understandable too. Also, rings are not easy to loose if they fit you and you don't take them off. Generally they are easy to guard and you always know it is on. Also it's, especially Sauron's ring, is a fairly innocuous object and doesn't immediately draw attention unto itself.

[Boromir88]

Just to point out one thing that I think is worth mentioning about Sauron taking on a 'physical body.' It appears to be a necessary thing if you want to interact or effect the physical world, you must have a body of your own. Let's take the Witch-King when he is killed for example, as Tolkien tells us in Letter 246:

'Witch King had been reduced to impotence'

If the Ring is destroyed Tolkien writes to Milton Waldman:

...if the One Ring wwas actually unmade, annihilated, then its power would be dissolved, Sauron's own being would be diminished to a vanishing point, and he would be reduced to a shadow, a mere memory of malicious will.

For another example Gimli doubts the Dead Army's weapons would have any 'bite' to them. Which I would agree with Gimli, because the Dead Army are spirits who's body has left them...with their weapon being fear, though they could not physically interact (as in stab, punch, round-house kick - whatever) since they had no bodies.

So, for Sauron to have some sort of interaction with the people on Middle-earth a physical body would be necessary. As Raynor and Spawn explain, not only for 'fighting' purposes, but also to appear fair and noble to get people to do what he wants.

As stupid as the concept of Sauron putting so much of himself into the Ring to the point where if it was destroyed he would forever remain a shadow...unable to reform again. It really wasn't something that was all that stupid:

1) The Ring could only be destroyed in the place it was made, Mount Doom, and more specifically it appeared to have to be destroyed in the Sammath Naur.

2) However you want to see the destruction of the Ring (as Eru getting involved and causing Gollum's fall, Gollum accidentally slipping...etc whatever it is). We have to realize the Ring's destruction was an act or extraordinary strength and will that Tolkien thinks only Frodo could have done during this time (that is getting the Ring to Mount Doom:

'Frodo deserved all honour because he spend every last drop of his power of will and body, and that was just sufficient to bring him to the destined point, and no further. Few others, possibly no others of his time, would have got so far. The Other Power then took over: the Writer of the Story (by which I do not mean myself), 'that one ever-present Person who is never absent and never named' (as one critic has said).~Letter 192

Not only did Sauron believe that destroying the Ring by someone's free will was impossible, Tolkien thought so as well:

I do not think that Frodo’s was a moral failure. At the last moment the pressure of the Ring would reach its maximum - impossible, I should have said, for any one to resist...~Letter 246

So, while putting pretty much all your power into one Ring, so much that if it was destroyed (or someone else mastered it) you also were essentially destroyed (though not completely) seems rather foolish. It really wasn't. Sauron was able to enhance his own power, desired to control all the Ring's of Power (to a certain extent I'd say he was successful), and the very fact that this little Ring had to be destroyed in one specific place...which to do so was beyond anyone's free will, we see it wasn't all that stupid at all.

Edit: X-posted with morm

[The Saucepan Man]

Agree with all that is said about taking on a physical body to interact with the physical world. In most cases, the Ainur retained tha ability to abandon their earthly body and revert to their natural form. My understanding however is that, the more an Ainu indulged in taking on a physical form, the greater the likelihood that it would become permanent. This, I assume, is what happened to Sauron.

As for the One Ring, while its main purpose was to gain control (via the other Rings of Power) over the Free Peoples of Middle-earth (and particularly the Elves), it also, as Boro has indicated, made Sauron practically invulnerable. Having taken on a physical body, that body could not permanently be destroyed while the One Ring remained in existence (or, if it was, he was able subsequently to rehouse his spirit in another). And given that virtually no one could willingly destroy the One Ring or master it to the exclusion of Sauron, it made him more or less invincible.

But for two brave Hobbits and a wizened proto-Hobbit with dual-personality disorder ...

[Lalwendë]

SpM is onto something here, saying that while the One Ring existed, even if his physical body was destroyed, he could maintain his power, and tha chance of being 'rehoused'. Its a very old idea and occurs in folklore, how a spirit or soul may be confined within an object instead of a body. If you want another example then I'm sure a lot of you will have read the latest Harry Potter and learned how Voldemort has maintained a semblance of immortality by doing exactly that, by containing aspects of his soul/spirit within the Horcruxes.

I think Tolkien was working from an old idea that is still inspiring wrieters today. And if you think about it, it also makes a perfect literary device - trapping the soul/spirit within an object or objects might seem foolproof (and you can imagine our Dark lord laughing at his cunning plan and going "Mua-ha-ha" at his own cleverness), but like all 'bad guys', the act of doing this actually turns out to be a fatal flaw when the hero of the story comes along.

I wonder why Sauron chose to use a gold ring - not exactly unobtrusive is it? Especially with bling-hungry Hobbits around. Yes he also wanted to control the other rings, but he could have made the One an ugly ring - the kind that leaves a green stain on the finger! Maybe that reveals something about his vanity too?

I hope that makes sense, I'm not exactly lucid right now, as I'm running an horrific fever.

[littlemanpoet]

So Maiar (such as Sauron) want bodies (at least as clothing) in order to interact in (and/or control) a material world.

And Sauron wanted a Ring in order to control a certain collection of other Rings. He also knew that Ring would be virtually impossible for anyone to destroy. However, he never expected to be destroyed himself, and never expected the Ring to be destroyed. I think that that much can be read from Gandalf's words in the Council of Elrond and other parts of LotR. That is, Sauron's and the Ring's near-invincibility are at best by-products of its making. So if Sauron didn't make the Ring with great concern for his own and the Ring's destruction, then the remaining motivation was domination of Arda. Fair enough.

Why would these Maiar be so bent on affecting material Arda? I suppose the only answer provided from our vast resources of Tolkieniana, is pride, envy, ambition and all that for the evil Maiar, and love and its related virtues for the good Maiar.

It should be pointed out that the Ring is, unless heated, unobtrusive, though made of gold. So it appears unextraordinary.

I think Folwren's speculative answer bears some consideration as well.

And much thanks to Raynor for providing the background information from the various works.

The Ring served to focus Sauron's power in terms of the other rings, but not only. There seems to be some ability to affect others from great distances, such as whole armies. Did that come from the Ring, or just from Sauron's power? Was Sauron's native power increased by the fact of the Ring? That is, let's say Sauron = 7 and the Ring = 6; does it make sense within the way LotR was sub-created that Sauron increases, by virtue of the Ring, from a 7 to a 10? ...such that even while dispossessed of the Ring, he functions effectively as a 5 (instead of the expected 7-6=1)? (the numbers are of course arbitrary and meant strictly for illustration).

[doug*platypus]

Hello again littlemanpoet and Saucepan Man! It's been a long time since I posted on The Barrow Downs, but I remember you both fondly. Thanks, Raynor for providing those quotes!

I believe that the Valar and Maiar were fascinated with the Children of Ilúvatar and took bodies to interact with them more fully, and on a more personal level. That at least would explain why they took bodies after contact had been made by Oromë with the children. As for before that, the theory that has already been expounded as to wishing to exercise control over the physical matter of Arda seems sufficient.

Interesting that these demi-gods did not wish to remain aloof from the children, but sought a peaceful co-habitation in Valinor, at least with the Eldar. I think that they most likely also wished to experience all the sensations that the Eldar could. Why would anyone wish to have a physical rather than solely metaphysical embodiment? I'm talking about eating, drinking, perhaps also sports, and other pleasures of the flesh which I won't delve into further to avoid getting banned!

As for the reason behind the creation of a ring, I would guess that this was necessary in order to control the other Rings of Power. Like controls like, kind of thing. If you want to beat other cars in a race, you build a faster car, rather than an airplane. I think Sauron's main purpose in creating the One Ring was to exercise control over all that was created with the others, rather than simply to increase his own innate power. Surely it also would have pleased him to beat Celebrimbor at his own game. Sauron was, after all, of the Maiar of Aulë, and we may guess that he was a master craftsman in his own right. He would have taken great pride in his creation, and may have been the first being to call It preciouss?

[Raynor]

Was Sauron's native power increased by the fact of the Ring? That is, let's say Sauron = 7 and the Ring = 6; does it make sense within the way LotR was sub-created that Sauron increases, by virtue of the Ring, from a 7 to a 10? ...such that even while dispossessed of the Ring, he functions effectively as a 5 (instead of the expected 7-6=1)? (the numbers are of course arbitrary and meant strictly for illustration).?

To address both bolded issues, I think that Letter #131 comes in handy :

While he wore it, his power on earth was actually enhanced. But even if he did not wear it, that power existed and was in 'rapport' with himself: he was not 'diminished'.

this source also reinforces the previous argument various posters have made about Sauron's intent with the ring:

This was the essential weakness [the possessing of the ring by someone else] he had introduced into his situation in his effort (largely unsuccessful) to enslave the Elves, and in his desire to establish a control over the minds and wills of his servants.

Edit:
Concerning the statement in letter #131 that Sauron was not diminished without the ring, it seems to be at odds with LotR:

Originally Posted by Shadow of the past, FotR

This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power.

unless the first quote means that the _potential_ power was not dimished.

[Tarpaladin]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

So, while putting pretty much all your power into one Ring, so much that if it was destroyed (or someone else mastered it) you also were essentially destroyed (though not completely) seems rather foolish. It really wasn't. Sauron was able to enhance his own power, desired to control all the Ring's of Power (to a certain extent I'd say he was successful), and the very fact that this little Ring had to be destroyed in one specific place...which to do so was beyond anyone's free will, we see it wasn't all that stupid at all.

A similar sort of thing occurs in the Harry Potter series with Lord Voldemort. By splitting his soul into seven pieces he makes his mortal self impossible to kill, but if the Horcruxes containing the six split pieces are destroyed and then his physical body is killed, he gets not even a normal death but is reduced to something less than a ghost, a mere seventh of a shadow of a soul. Pretty much fits the description in Tolkein's letters about what happens to Sauron when the One Ring gets toasted.