The Consequences of the Events at Mount Doom

[Arathiriel]

Excuse me, but is there any proff that Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo ever went to the Halls of Mandos? Or did they still life forever ater coming to Valinor?

Uh, I don't think Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam became immortal like the Elves just because they were all allowed to go and to live in the Blessed Realm...

Also remember Gimli also came to the West with Legolas and I too doubt he became as in immortal as his Elven friends were...

I have posted about this very subject elsewhere and a friend on a list pointed out something that was in along the lines I was thinking when I originally posted on this subject. I am not going to directly quote this friend here since I won't have his permission but I will post the gist of it:

in his post, my friend said that Tolkien said in his letters after LOTR that Frodo failed in his quest, failed to destroy the Ring, and that was the source of his pain afterwards. Because he had claimed the Ring for himself - well after it was destroyed Frodo could never be free of his longing for the Ring. Remember this quote from The Grey Havens in the RoTK:

'It is gone forever, and now all is dark and empty.'

But he also noted that Tolkien said because Frodo had show pity to Gollum, he was given a sort of "grace", as he didn't judge Gollum for the same weakness he himself later showed, and so he escaped the flames with everything but one of the finger's of his right hand.

It was after this after this Frodo got to go to the West for healing...

Incidentially, you can find all of this in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien - a book I intend to read at some point in the very near future!

Believe me when I posted originally I didn't mean to imply that going to Valinor was a punishment but rather I meant it was because of what happened at Mount Doom Frodo had to go into the West to be healed because he was haunted by his guilt over what happened at Mount Doom...

Gosh, but I love this story!!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]