What was Frodo's temptation

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Define, please.

To do his duty by seeing his task through to the bitter end. His task, of course, is to destroy the Ring and thereby rid the world of a great evil. There is no hope of reward for Frodo in this ... the likelihood is that he (and Sam) will die even if they are successful.

Nonetheless he undertakes this task, not because there is much chance of success but because it is the only hope the enemies of Sauron have. Therefore it is the right thing to do. It is the duty of all right-thinking people to oppose the encroaching threat of Sauron with whatever means possible. Frodo is the only possible person who can take the Ring to Mordor, consequently doing so is "the right thing" in the sense that it is morally superior to any other option.

Also, in order to keep going on the quest, Frodo has to maintain hope in the face of hopelessness. It is this hope, this faith in the rightness of his quest, that is all he really has to sustain him (other than the support of Sam).

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheHalflings

Nonetheless he undertakes this task, not because there is much chance of success but because it is the only hope the enemies of Sauron have. Therefore it is the right thing to do. It is the duty of all right-thinking people to oppose the encroaching threat of Sauron with whatever means possible. Frodo is the only possible person who can take the Ring to Mordor, consequently doing so is "the right thing" in the sense that it is morally superior to any other option.

Interesting. So in your interpretation of the tale, Frodo's motive for destroying the Ring is explicitly NOT to save the Shire...that is just an ancillary effect, or secondary condition to the real moral obligation he feels to oppose Sauron. Your further point that his duty includes a sense of his uniqueness for this mission (Frodo's belief that he is "the only possible person") perhaps points to an understanding of why he fell to the Ring's power...of the Ring's 'in' with Frodo...

He set out on the quest holding the morally right but rather grandiose belief: "I am the only person who can save Middle-Earth from Sauron." I would think that there's ample material there for the Ring to work on, given that this belief (which is, as you say and I agree, morally right and quite a sound interpretation) verges on a particular kind of pride. I'm not saying that Frodo is naturally prideful or that he begins in that way, but from this perspective it would look as though he's leaving himself open to a temptation from the Ring based on pride: "Yes," it whispers, "You are the only one who can stop Sauron: only you, and you alone. You are very important. Perhaps the most important person in the world. You are the most important person in the world..." and so forth.