Still forming your own images of Middle-earth, or stuck with Elijah and co.?

[Child of the 7th Age]

Diamond18--

You cited the quote below as an example that Elijah Wood did indeed fit Tolkien's portrayal of Frodo, and that those folk who wanted an "older, rounder" Frodo were wrong:

As time went on, people began to notice that Frodo also showed signs of good 'preservation': outwardly he retained the appearance of a robust and energetic hobbit just out of his tweens. 'Some folk have all the luck,' they said; but it was not until Frodo approached the usually more sober age of fifty that they began to think it queer.

I respectfully disagree with your view.

Listen to this description which Gandalf gave to Butturbur of Frodo:

'A stout little fellow with red cheeks'......this one is taller than some and fairer than most, and he has a cleft in his chin, perky chap with a bright eye.

PJ's Frodo is a very slight fellow, and he has a dreamy look about him even before he actually gets the Ring. He looks and acts nothing like the above. And, once in possession of it, PJ's Frodo almost instantly becomes a haunted figure, with terror mirrored on his face. This is not the Frodo of the book who struck back at the Barrow-wight with a sword, and who stands up bravely in a number of scenes where the movie portrays him as being carted around like baggage. It's not the Frodo of the book who rather foolishly stands up on the table to dance and sing a silly song to divert attention away from the indiscretions of his younger hobbit friends.

As far as age goes, remember this. Bilbo was supposed to be "stuck" at he age of 50 on account of the power of the Ring; Frodo at age 33. That would mean a 17 year difference between them in terms of appearance. Yet, if you look at the beginning of the movie and compare Bilbo with Frodo, it looks as if Frodo is much more than 17 years younger than Bilbo.

And it's not just a matter of appearance. Whatever Frodo may have physically looked like, there was a definite difference in experience and authority between him and the younger hobbits who were also part of the Fellowship. There is, for example, a 15-year gap between Frodo and Sam. Often, in the earlier pages of the book and even sometimes in the middle, Frodo acts almost as a teacher for Sam (much as Bilbo must have done). It is only as they trudge towards Mordor that these roles are gradually reversed. And the age differenial was even greater with the other hobbits. The difference between Frodo and Pippin, for example, was a full 22 years.

Yet, PJ never gives us a sense of Frodo's role as the older leader. I certainly enjoyed the movie, but the portrayal of Frodo in the book was very different (and preferable in my mind). Since I read the book many years before seeing PJ's film, I don't have too much trouble keeping my older images intact.

sharon, the 7th age hobbit