LotR -- Book 6 - Chapter 2 - The Land of Shadow

[davem]

I wonder if Tolkien was inspired by the story of The Giant who had no heart - though its a common theme in folklore. The giant is impervious to harm because he has placed his heart in some obect which is hidden away

"Far, far away in a lake lies an island; on that island stands a church; in that church is a well; in that well swims a duck; in that duck there is an egg, and in that egg there lies my heart."

In the same way Sauron's 'heart' is in the Ring. In order to kill him the Ring must be found & destroyed in a certain way.

It has been shown by Shippey that Tolkien often took mythological themes & tried to 'reconstrcuct the 'actual' story that had been lost - see his esay on Light Elves & Dark Elves in Tolkien Studies vol 1 - Norse mythology mentions 'Light Elves & Dark Elves (losalfar & swartalfar), but doesn't explain what they are or what the difference is. Tolkien constructs an 'explanation' & comes up with the Calaquendi & the Moriquendi. Maybe with the relationship between Sauron & the Ring he was doing the same.

Of course, this doesn't offer an explanation in terms of the story of Sauron & its workings within Middle-earth, so we're not much further forward....