Did Gollum deserve death?

[Lalwendë]

Bb, well Death is a good topic to discuss at any time as it is one of the major themes of LotR - didn't Tolkien himself say that the book is "about Death" (as opposed to just being about good versus evil - which is reductive - and wrong). Men do have the gift of Death, but they don't all approach it in the same way; the Rohirrim for one have a distinct cultural notion of Death. Might be worth a thread of its own? Exploring cultural attitudes towards death (and maybe funerary practises too) in middle-earth?

And in that sense of the word 'deserve', Gollum does indeed deserve Death in that it is natural and will bring him rest and succour from his troubles (presuming that in Middle-earth there might be some kind of afterlife as opposed to being superior worm fodder!). Mithalwen also brings this up and you're both right when looking at it that way. But was that the definition of 'deserve' that the OP intended? Not everyone is defining it the same way are they?

Originally Posted by Bb

Even more, his fate is one of the strongest aesthetic elements in the story. To imagine any other ending for him would, I think, rob the story of one of its most poignant moments. Its irony and the unexpected climax represents poetic justice, of the kind we often see in stories and rarely in history. (Well, I suppose we could, along with Batman's The Penguin, debate whether this is simply tragic irony.) This is one of the traditional markers used to suggest the priority of story over history.

Nice one! I'm with you all the way so excuse me while I drag this point out! I often marvel over the way Tolkien brought the story to its climactic moment - it provides the perfect ending for Gollum - he could not live without the Ring, nor could the Ring live, and like a pair of star-crossed lovers they plunge to their end together. Gollum gets the happiness of being reunited with his Precious (not for nothing did Tolkien choose that word) and although he dies at this point, he also gets release from the suffering his love has brought him. And this is not just tragic, and masterfully consistent with character and plot, (and unbelievably twisty!) but it is also deeply, deeply ironic.

It's probably one of the biggest "Ha!" moments in literature when Frodo fails and claims the ring only to be attacked by Gollum, who in his dance of euphoria falls to his end, taking the Ring with him. Deep irony on so many levels. Perhaps the biggest irony of all is that if people had judged Gollum and put him to death - ho! the whole of Middle-earth would have fallen to Sauron! You can imagine Gandalf saying "Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, self-righteous brigade!"

And at the same time, its utterly tragic. Tolkien actually wept as he wrote of Gollum's end.

Its on a par with the climax to Romeo and Juliet! Just unimaginably perfect.