His purpose was to align Gollum and the Ring more closely with the radical new identities they had assumed in the forthcoming epic. And Gollum, as described above, was a lot more innocent – a mere figure of passing comic-horror in the same league as the three Cockney trolls, and the cattily hissing spiders.Īs Tolkien’s more scholarly fans know, he re-wrote the “Riddles in the Dark” chapter of The Hobbit in 1947, when The Lord of the Rings was completed. ![]() Who now has read the first edition of The Hobbit, written years before The Lord of the Rings was even thought of? In that quaint book, Bilbo’s ring is truly just a ring of invisibility, introduced into the story to better his chances of success as the world’s most unlikely burglar. Back when he would abjectly apologize for breaking a promise, and ever so politely show his guest the way out of his cavern. Back when Gollum was just a scary but funny ghoul who ate passers-by, but loved riddles. If he succumbs to the Ring, he will become another Gollum – who was, originally, a hobbit!īut who remembers Gollum from the good old days? Back when the Ring was just a ring. Gollum’s degradation and tendency to evil also shows us the danger that Frodo is in. Doom to destroy the Ring, in which he is guided for much of the way by Gollum, who treacherously hopes to recover it for himself. The identity of Gollum with the Ring is one of the driving forces behind the primary plot of the book: Frodo’s quest of Mt. They explain his extraordinary behavior and bizarre speech patterns. I think most readers of The Lord of the Rings would agree with these characteristic statements about Gollum. ![]() ![]() Gollum’s personality has been nearly destroyed by possessing and being possessed by the Ring for hundreds of years. Gollum identifies with the Ring, calling both himself and the Ring “my precious”.
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