Frodo Baggins is by far my favorite
character in J.R.R
Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings.
Frodo was a son of
Drogo Baggins and a
close relative of
Bilbo Baggins. His greatest deed was serving as the
Ringbearer; he ended the
War of the Ring by carrying
the Ruling Ring to
Sammath Naur in
Orodreth,
Mount Doom. Later he and Bilbo became the only
hobbits ever to enter
Valinor.
The cataclysmic
events described in
Lord of the Rings are centered around
the One Ring, and as Frodo carries the Ring, he is pretty much in the middle of everything. The other main characters of the
book wage war against
Sauron,
Saruman, the
Witch King or some other quite tangible foe, but Frodo has a constant
battle with the Ring -- or with himself. As the others fight against
orcs, Frodo tries -- usually in vain -- to resist the urge to slip the Ring on.
Frodo and the Ring have a fairly unique
relationship. They are strangely dependant on each other, but still there is only animosity between them. The Ring proves to be a powerful
ally to Frodo by shielding him from the
visible world. Simultaneously it tries to force Frodo to succumb under its power. On the other hand, Frodo brings the Ring back to the wide world and closer to Sauron and his minions, but his goal is the Ring's
destruction.
Frodo's
character changes greatly as the story goes on. The hobbits' gaily walking songs are a thing of the past at
Emyn Muil, and the darker aspects of Frodo's nature come forth. He becomes more
stern and
resolute, and definitely more pessimistic, until he is almost a
fatalist. He bears both
mental and
physical injuries, and the Ring gets heavier all the time. At this point professor Tolkien shows his skills as a character-builder, and lets Samwise observe the change his Master is going through when they enter
Ithilien and finally
Mordor.
Gollum is given to the reader as a point of reference: he is the ultimate victim of the Ring.
The final battle between Frodo and the Ruling Ring takes place in
Sammath Naur, at the place where the Ring was originally made. Frodo loses this time: he slips the Ring on and proclaims himself the
Lord of the Rings, thus the name of the book. Only
Gollum's intervention saves the day. The malicious enchantment upon Frodo is lifted, and he is again Frodo Baggins of
Bag End.
Tolkien once wrote that he hated
allegories, and there was none to be found in his work. Still, some things about Frodo seem quite strange to be just coincidence. For instance, Frodo leaves Rivendell at
Christmas Day and arrives to Mount Doom at Easter. Could Tolkien have meant Frodo to be a
Christ figure with his
cross? We will never know, but at least we can guess.