While I don't think heroism and martyrdom are necessarily antagonistic concepts-- a question of definition/lawyer--, I think the idea of Frodo as a martyr does come closer to the truth and allows us to see what truly sets him apart.
Just did my post about my definition - having realized that knowing what I mean might actually be helpful.
However, this process of integration is bound to fail if there is no foundation left. "
That's it, exactly. If the journey cracks the foundation, then you can't just rebuild. And Frodo couldn't see a way to make a new foundation - the hurts went too deep for him to begin to scour away the blackness. Buffy (and I will always bring her into it) was lucky because she had a physical connection - Dawn. She had something of her blood and breath that she could build a new foundation on.
But he failed, in the end, and he failed spectacularly. The Ringbearer gave in to the Ring, and he would have doomed them all had it not been for a wretched creature he'd shown mercy to...
During the celebration in Minas Tirith, Frodo's smile is broken: he may have been naked in the dark before he entered Mount Doom, but it's only at the edge of the pit, when he puts on the Ring, where he loses himself and is thus lost-- irretrievably so.
Exactly. I think of that look and my heart aches. Because he looks on them and knows himself to be unworthy. That kind of bone-deep knowing that no amount of love or argument can erase.
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Just did my post about my definition - having realized that knowing what I mean might actually be helpful.
However, this process of integration is bound to fail if there is no foundation left. "
That's it, exactly. If the journey cracks the foundation, then you can't just rebuild. And Frodo couldn't see a way to make a new foundation - the hurts went too deep for him to begin to scour away the blackness. Buffy (and I will always bring her into it) was lucky because she had a physical connection - Dawn. She had something of her blood and breath that she could build a new foundation on.
But he failed, in the end, and he failed spectacularly. The Ringbearer gave in to the Ring, and he would have doomed them all had it not been for a wretched creature he'd shown mercy to...
During the celebration in Minas Tirith, Frodo's smile is broken: he may have been naked in the dark before he entered Mount Doom, but it's only at the edge of the pit, when he puts on the Ring, where he loses himself and is thus lost-- irretrievably so.
Exactly. I think of that look and my heart aches. Because he looks on them and knows himself to be unworthy. That kind of bone-deep knowing that no amount of love or argument can erase.