Women vs. desire of the ring

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

"...proffered temptation to suit the individual"
Percisely! It doesn't really matter what gender the tempted person is, it is more about how ambitious he/she is. That is why Gandalf and Elrond feared the Ring so much; they have too much to strive for.

It isn't so much the ambition of Gandalf and Elrond (and Galadriel) that make them specially susceptible to the Ring, but the fact that they already have so much native power of their own.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I think that one of the reasons for Bilbo to be able to let go of the Ring was because he didn't want very much from life at that point - just to go "see the mountains" and visit his friends; he's already reached his main goal.

Well, according to Gandalf the reason Bilbo was able to give up the Ring was that at the start of his possession of it, he had shown Gollum mercy in the Orc-cave.

'Be sure that [Bilbo] took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.'

FOTR The Shadow of the Past

Generally I would agree with Squatter: the Ring's call to people was that it offered power beyond that they already had, power to accomplish dreams and prevent fears from coming true. Anyone would be ultimately open to such a call. I could see Éowyn falling under the Ring's sway just as easily as I could her brother, or Háma the Doorward of Théoden.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

It isn't so much the ambition of Gandalf and Elrond (and Galadriel) that make them specially susceptible to the Ring, but the fact that they already have so much native power of their own.

It is true that the ore power you already have, the more dangerous the Ring is. However, someone with power who doesn't want to do anything with it would be affected differently than someone who is trying to achieve a desparate goal. The latter one would likely be more easily tempted by the Ring, don't you think?

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

It is true that the ore power you already have, the more dangerous the Ring is. However, someone with power who doesn't want to do anything with it would be affected differently than someone who is trying to achieve a desparate goal. The latter one would likely be more easily tempted by the Ring, don't you think?

It seems to me that the greater the individual's power, the more the Ring wants them, because such persons are often in positions of responsibility or authority that could provide it with many more inroads to corrupt them. The Ring wants to get back to its master, and in being used sends up flares, so to speak, to tell Sauron where it is. The more powerful the user, the more it can be used to do things that would really get noticed.

But I think that I would not say that ambition is a key; rather, I would call it need. Granted, to ambitious persons, anything that will further their ambition can be perceived as a need. But I think that hobbits like Bilbo and Frodo and Sam were able to resist for as long as they did because they had little in the way of the kinds of need that Elrond and Gandalf and even Boromir had, due to their greater responsibilities. Eówyn, IMHO, is something of an unusual case, because she had already been manipulated by Saruman through Wormtongue, into a state of despair in which she believed that she was in a cage and could only regain her honor and freedom through battle. Even so, I think it likely that the Ring would have gotten to her less through temptations of herself as a war hero and more through making her believe it would give her the power to heal Théoden and restore The House of Eorl to dignity and glory. But alas, as Gandalf said, it wouldn't stop there.

Just my nickel's worth.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

But I think that I would not say that ambition is a key; rather, I would call it need. Granted, to ambitious persons, anything that will further their ambition can be perceived as a need. But I think that hobbits like Bilbo and Frodo and Sam were able to resist for as long as they did because they had little in the way of the kinds of need that Elrond and Gandalf and even Boromir had, due to their greater responsibilities.

It isn't a question of gender, though, which was my point.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

It isn't a question of gender, though, which was my point.

And my point too.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

And a perfectly well-taken point. Women are just as vulnerable to the lure of the Ring as men.