Gollum's sacrifice

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Lotrelf

Professor, in one his letters, states that if Sam had not be harsh on Gollum, Gollum would have sacrificed himself.

And also:

Professor says Sam prevented Gollum's redemption, and Shelob's Lair becomes invitable. So, if Sam had acted differently, would Gollum have not taken them to Shelob's cave? Gollum had already planned to do so, why Sam's actions affect Gollum so deeply that he cannot come back!
Later, he says that Gollum would have sacrificed his life for Frodo's sake. How was that possible when the pressure of the One was too great for the person who was strongest when it came to resisting it? When Frodo "gave in" and could not do what he desired to, how Gollum could have done: knowing he could not use the Ring, and sacrificing himself?

Gollum was a being that had for so long given up on love, in exchange for stealth, cheating, eating other sentient beings. That exchange (love for greedy predation) was, in fact, the first premise of Sméagol's claiming of the Ring. This was the 'original sin' of Gollum's taking of the Ring, which was enacted through Deagol's death. To put this another way, he exchanged love for greed in a murderous act, which is precisely how Sauron seduces. His tools are about setting the context for the being to have a change of attitude about all their commitment to beauty and love. Sauron's lure tricks people into disconnecting from their 'herd', which is the people they came from, and who nurtured them.

Beings who take that road, such as Gollum, and who then begin the great, arduous journey back, are particularly susceptible to succumbing again, to that process that subverted them in the first place. Samwise, through his overuse of scorn, re-shamed Gollum, which was to reopen that very wound in Sméagol's mind where he separated himself from his people, and became two personalities.

Sam's was a cane for his own back in re-entrapping Sméagol within Gollum's control. Gollum only had the balance of power in the dual-personality structure where Sméagol had no join to other souls. What Frodo offered Gollum, was, through identifying with Sméagol's suffering, a love-join for Sméagol, which tilted the balance of power back to Sméagol for a while. That's because Sméagol could identify with Frodo's suffering as Ringbearer, preventing Gollum from getting hold. Until this time, there had not been any living being who Sméagol felt 'seen' and 'understood' by. Frodo's empathy (the love join), then, was a dispelling of great darkness in Gollum's mind, and a point of flow of 'seeing' from Frodo into Gollum. Sméagol must have felt great love for Frodo because of this great power that was Frodo's kindness.

Samwise Gamgee sacrificed all that.

[Lotrelf]

Aha! Thanks, everyone. I'm proved wrong, and I'm glad for that!