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Old 05-21-2002, 02:45 PM   #1
Mithadan
Spirit of Mist
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Tol Eressea
Posts: 3,310
Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
Tolkien The significance of the destruction of the Ring

In one of his Letters, Tolkien comments that the Lord of the Rings began as a sequel to the Hobbit and ended up as a conclusion to or completion of the history related in the Silmarillion. With the end of the Third Age, the time of the Elves comes to a close and the domination of Middle Earth by Man begins.

Yet there may be greater significance to the manner in which the Ring was destroyed in connection with bringing the Silmarillion to a close. The first three Ages of Middle Earth (and the time preceding) were mythical in nature. The Valar lived physically in Arda until the fall of Numenor and their influence continued through the Third Age via the Istari. Throughout the first three ages, evil incarnate dwelt in Arda in the form of Morgoth, then Sauron. Of course, the Elves dwelt in Arda. With the destruction of the Ring, these mythical times draw to a close and the mundane world of Man "begins".

The destruction of the Ring, in its simplest form, brings the mythical times to a close via the defeat of Sauron. But the manner of its destruction may relate to why the time of myth ends. Consider that Gandalf warns that if Sauron retrieves the Ring, his victory will be fast and so complete that none could see the end of Sauron's power in Middle Earth. Why is this so? Couldn't the Valar return to put their upstart cousin in his place? The implication is that they could or would not.

The history of the first three ages and the time preceding them is one of mythical conflict. Morgoth (Melkor) enters the world and vies with the Valar for its domination. He is forced to retreat but later counter-attacks and forces the Valar to withdraw to Valinor. When the Elves wake, the Valar assault Utumno and defeat Melkor, imprisoning him in Mandos. Upon his release, he foments the Rebellion of the Noldor and the Battles of the First Age follow. Morgoth is defeated but Sauron is left behind to war against the Elves and contrive the destruction of Numenor. The Last Alliance defeats Sauron temporarily but he arises again in the Third Age where he is assaulted by the White Counsel but escapes to gain power and inhabit Mordor.

Throughout all these events, the Valar and Elves combat "supernatural" evil in physical conflict, often with disasterous results to the stuff of Middle Earth. However, at the end, the Fellowship is formed, at the counsel of the Elves and the representative of the Valar (Gandalf) and the mythical races are represented in the Fellowship. But then a momentous event occurs. The Fellowship is broken and two men (Hobbits) set out alone. They possess a blade of mythic origin (Sting) and a magical lamp which, after Cirith Ungol, are of no use at all. Through an effort of will and bravery, these two men (and a third, Gollum) succeed in doing what the armies of the Valar and the Elves had never done. The mythic evil incarnate is, at last defeated and ejected from the world. And then, having acheived mythic stature themselves, these two men leave the world themselves to live out their days in the West.

Is there a significance in the fact that Sauron was destroyed by the actions of two men working alone? Yes, Elves and Gandalf and Dwarves were involved in other battles during this time, but their actions were a mere sideshow to the really important effort of Frodo and Sam. Despite the best efforts of the Valar and Elves, mythic evil had never been ejected from Middle Earth before. Can it be that Sam and Frodo's lonely victory was necessary? Could it have shown that Man was at last prepared to ascend to its dominant position? Could it be that only Man could defeat the evil incarnate (with the incidental effect of ending the mythical times) and if they failed Middle Earth would have been doomed to either dominance by sauron or the alternative of physical destruction by the forces of the West (perhaps this is what Gandalf meant)?
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