On Hobbits
by Aratlithiel
The question posed was "What draws you to hobbits and Frodo in particular?" Of course, Rose (half of the fabulous GypsieRose writing team) didn't know what she was getting herself into when she dared pose it to me. And I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I began to ponder how to answer.
I'll start with the first half: what draws me to hobbits? I think my blunt answer would be that I'm not drawn to hobbits as whole, but rather to those who are unique and extraordinary within the race. Hobbits, as a general overview, are actually rather arrogant little creatures, eschewing the outside world and all its wonders because they believe their way is the better way and have no interest in growing, either as a race or as individuals. They are content to remain unnoticed by the world around them and have very little interest or sympathy for the plights of the races that suffer and fight along their borders.
Hobbits are a judgmental lot as a rule. They view any hobbit who is not necessarily content to let the world roll along without them with unabashed disdain. They can even be downright nasty and derisive when they think their small corner of the world threatened by a broader knowledge. They don't want to know what goes on outside. They want things to remain as they are for all of eternity and be damned with anything that might happen to the rest of the world.
I think they can be likened to the community that dwells in Little China in New York City. This is a sub-community of Chinese immigrants who struggle to maintain the ways of their own country while surrounded by a world that is, for the most part, content to pass them by and allow them their illusion that life remains constant and unchanging. They are content to pick and choose what outside influences they will allow into their small community, (ex. TV, internet, etc.) but woe to the outsider who tries to introduce even the smallest change to their daily lives without their permission. And woe to their kin if they allow themselves to be influenced by something the community does not approve of.
All of that being said, my attraction is for those hobbits who yearn for something more than their own corner of the world and have love, respect and concern for the fates of others. Bilbo, Frodo, Merry and Pippin are all hobbits who are in many ways "above" their fellows. They care about what goes on outside their borders and recognize the fact that what happens in the world around them eventually affects their own world, regardless of how jealously protected it may be. They have a "higher purpose," so to speak an innate intelligence and humanity that does not allow them to turn their backs on those in need, regardless of how it may affect their standing in their own community.
Sam is a different matter. Sam is most like the general description of a hobbit. He would have been well-pleased if the whole matter of the Quest had passed his master and himself by entirely. Not a bad thing, since I'm sure the rest of the hobbits who undertook it would have preferred the same. Sam, however, did not join with the others in order to make the world a safer place and defeat the Dark Lord. Sam joined for a single purpose to keep his master safe. He had a deep love and devotion for Frodo and put his own fears and opinions aside in order to help the master he loved. In this way, although he was representative of hobbits as a race more than the other three, Sam demonstrated a smaller form of "higher purpose" and was therefore, to a lesser extent, extraordinary in his own right.
But, he maintained his biases and reluctance to be part of the larger world throughout the Quest, even to the point of dooming it to failure twice had things taken a different turn. (As demonstrated in his desire to end Gollum's life on the Emyn Muil and his subsequent rejection of the burden of Ring-bearer when Frodo was captured. But that's another essay in and of itself!) Sam's love for Frodo and his desire to help his master was the only reason he tagged along. His willingness to see and experience the world outside of the Shire hinged solely on that one thing and he probably would not have ventured past its borders in his entire life had it not been for that.
His sense of right and wrong depended wholly on how events affected Frodo. If something helped his master, it must be right and good; if something hurt his master, it must be wrong and evil. A good attitude for someone who eventually had to almost act as Frodo's physical self toward the end, but not necessarily an attitude one might wish for in someone who has such a major influence on world events.
Merry and Pippin had a much more informed and open view of the things that drove the Quest. Either of them would have willingly given their lives for the cousin they so loved, but they too decided to set out only because they knew Frodo would otherwise go alone. Had Frodo not undertaken the Quest, neither of the other two would have gone either. It was their love for Frodo, their desire to protect him on his path and their knowledge that the "problem" was bigger than all of them that spurred their decision.
In other words, they knew that Frodo's cause was a just one and because he was determined to undertake it, they wanted to help him and be a part of that cause. Had Gandalf approached either one of them with the task, would they have accepted? I can't say for certain, of course, but my opinion is that no, they would not. A major part of their decision to join the Quest and to see it through even when given the opportunity to go home, was their love for their cousin. If helping the world was part of helping Frodo, more the better, but I don't think it would have been enough of a factor for them to undertake it without the knowledge that Frodo was going, with or without them.
All of that considered, this enormous love and devotion to Frodo and the recognition each of these three had that he was a most extraordinary, indeed the most extraordinary individual is what makes me adore them. They see everything good in Frodo and love him for it. They are each willing to place themselves in front of danger in order to save him. They leave their homes, their families, their way of life in order to follow and protect him. They do so willingly and without regret simply because they know that Frodo needs them, whether he knows it or not. Their devotion to him is what helps him the most between Weathertop and Rivendell what would have become of him then had he not had them near?
Now, let's move on to: and Frodo in particular.
This is a little more difficult because Frodo is not normally the sort of character who ends up being my favorite in novels. Of course, Frodo is unique and can't really be compared to many other characters, but his admirable qualities do exist elsewhere so his appeal for me was rather unusual. Let me explain
When reading any novel, my favorite character usually ends up being one with which I can identify. For instance, when I read James Fenimore-Cooper's "Pathfinder" series, my favorite character was not Natty Bumpo, but rather Major Duncan. I was able to recognize his dual loyalties and confusion over what was ultimately right and wrong in the struggle of the Native Americans against his country. I could easily imagine myself experiencing some of his hesitation and uncertainty over what course was the "right" one in the eyes of his God, his country and the people his country was oppressing.
When I read Stephen King's "The Stand," my favorite character was Nadine and not one of the real heroes of the novel. I was able to empathize with her anger and sense of betrayal brought about by the misunderstandings and lack of foresightedness of others around her. She wanted so badly to be good, but the judgments and rejection of others made it almost impossible. Though she's one of the lesser villains in the novel, she's also ultimately a victim and tool of both Good and Evil in the whirlwind of greater events she's caught up in.
I recognize my own weaknesses, failures and fears and so usually tend to identify with those characters in any work who exhibit the ones I see in myself. That's why it's so unusual for me to choose a character such as Frodo to tag my affections to. Frodo is above every one of my own failings and has so few of his own that it's surprising even to me that I have such adoration for him. I do not identify with him yet he is my favorite literary character of all time.
OK so why?
Frodo takes on the Quest not for himself or for Gandalf, but because he recognizes the danger of not taking on the Quest. He leaves behind his home and all that he loves because he knows that staying would only endanger it. Not only by his own presence there, but the consequences to it and the rest of the world should Sauron recover his Ring. He does this out of love for his countrymen, even though they are less than loving toward him.
He is in fear at all times, yet never attempts to shirk what he sees as his responsibility. Even when given the opportunity to go home and resume his life and allow someone else to see to the destruction of the Ring, still he volunteers to go into great danger, knowing full well that he most likely will not accomplish his task and will probably die in the attempt.
Throughout his ordeal, he is faced with dangers beyond his imaginings, pain he has never before known and a constant drag both on his psyche and his body. Yet still he plods on, still he endures. Not only does he endure, but even under the worst of circumstances, he maintains the virtue that made him the only person who could have carried the Ring so far in the first place. When anyone else would have succumbed to temptation or just plain buried the thing in a ditch somewhere and gone home, Frodo persists because to do so is right.
Frodo is a very tragic figure to me because even after the task has been completed and he is lauded as a hero, he still believes himself a failure. His humility does not allow him to realize that he succeeded in the only way he could have. Frodo's success was in his pity for others most plainly demonstrated in his allowing Gollum to live when they met on the Emyn Muil. Even though this one act is what allowed the Quest to succeed, he was not able to recognize it as a triumph and instead viewed his claiming at the Sammath Naur as his biggest failure.
He expected too much of himself. Even though he was the only individual in all of Middle earth who could have gotten the Ring to the Sammath Naur, he was unable to understand that to actually throw It in was absolutely impossible. He believed that once he got there, he should have been able to destroy It, even though not even those greater in wisdom and power than he could not have even held It without falling to It, let alone parting with It once they did.
His lingering desire for the Ring after Its destruction, though part of Its remaining power and evil, was to him something to be ashamed of and an indication that he was prideful. He believed he failed at the Sammath Naur and further failed by still aching for the Ring. He was unable to reconcile his desires with an evil aftermath that could not have been avoided and instead saw them as a weakness in his own character. In other words, he was so humble that he thought himself proud.
The attitude of his own countrymen upon his return only furthered this opinion of himself. They shunned him because he was a reminder to them that there were things in the world bigger than themselves and that sometimes even their most concerted efforts might not keep those things from affecting their corner of it. He was a symbol to them of all that could go wrong and they preferred to ignore his presence and pretend that what he had done had nothing to do with them rather than laud him and acknowledge their own precarious place.
The longing for the Ring and the attitude of his countrymen were the main reasons why Frodo ended up leaving Middle earth. He never believed that he deserved the gift that Arwen gave him, but ended up using it because he felt that he no longer had a place in Middle earth and to a great extent he was right. Frodo's own guilt at his perceived failure, the fact that the Ring still called to him and that Its lingering magic meant that he too would fade just as the Elves would were just three of several reasons why he was offered the opportunity to sail West so that he could eventually come to recognize his success and make peace with himself before his death. It's always been the greatest tragedy to me that he was forced to leave behind all that he loved in order to find even a little peace within himself.
Frodo, for me, has always been more heroic than even the most popular ancient or modern heroes. He had a quiet strength and dignity to him. He carried the epitome of evil on a chain around his neck for months and leagues, struggled against its evil corruption every moment, was physically, mentally and spiritually assaulted every second he wore It, yet still maintained his gentle spirit and basic humanity. At times he weeps in fear and exhaustion and is reduced even to crawling at the end, yet still he persists. The only thing he does succumb to is fatalism and even that he accepts with grace. He knew in his heart that he would not make it to the Cracks of Doom and if he did he would not survive, yet he kept going.
He doubts himself, he feels too small for the task, he occasionally weeps, he is afraid, he physically weakens. The Ring has taken his strength, his memories, his hope, his home and even at times his mind. He is spiritually exhausted, physically starved and dehydrated to the point of death, yet still he walks through the dark door, still he faces evil at the place of its strongest power. And when he fails at the impossible task of defeating the evil, he castigates himself, making it impossible for him to have any peace without leaving Middle earth for healing.
But does he then succumb to despair and wallow in self-pity? No. He chooses the only course available to him. He leaves behind everything he loves and sails West, accepting that it is his fate with dignity and grace, refusing to give in to the remnants of the evil that still gnaws at him and refusing to cause pain to those he loves by asking them to witness his own decline. Frodo Baggins, in the end, has sacrificed everything he had to sacrifice and he did so quietly.
This is not a character I can identify with, but it is a character I can wish I could be or even wish I could know. This is a character that embodies everything that we, as human beings, should aspire to be. But the funny thing is, even if I did know someone like Frodo, someone who had his humility and quiet strength and courage, chances are I wouldn't even know it. Such is the nature of this character that his light and strength are there for all to see, but only a very few can.