Gandalf's comment about Frodo

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Lotrelf

You said "Sam observes" Frodo's transparency; in the book, when Sam sees the LIGHT in Frodo, he says that Frodo's face looked "old and beautiful." beautiful: Understood. What did he mean by 'Old' ? I thought at this point perhaps the Ring wasn't working i.e. Not Affecting him that much, or the LIGHT was protecting him. But, couldn't this be something about his growing wisdom? After all, Gandalf, Elrond etc. look old. What do you think?

I'm sure the mental strain of constantly resisting the Ring contributed to Frodo's appearance. He had probably been gradually aging in that way since setting out on the Quest, as the Ring's power grew along with Sauron's (and it's growing proximity to Mordor as Frodo and Sam traveled). As in real life, gradual changes often go unnoticed until one has an "aha" moment where life allows a momentary stillness, and time for one to really see something.