Why was Frodo made Ringbearer?

[Goldilocks Gamgee]

My question is simple -- why was Frodo made Ringbearer? Yes, he was a hobbit and had apparently shown resilience to the Ring's power for quite some time, having brought it to Rivendell, where the further decisions were made. However, while still in the Shire, there is a scene in which Gandalf asks Frodo to toss the Ring into a fireplace, to check if it is, indeed, the One Ring. Frodo does it, but barely, despite having never used the Ring. He thus proved that the chances of him being able to throw it into the Crack of Doom and destroy it forever are very, very low. Would it not have been wiser to choose almost any other Hobbit to be Ringbearer? A hobbit who wasn't already under the influence of the Ring?

The only explanation I have found is that Frodo being Ringbearer highlights one of the main themes of Tolkien's works -- "even the smallest person can change the course of the future". Those seemingly insignificant coming to shape the fates of the mighty. However, there is a key difference between insignificance and incompetence, and since Frodo shows himself early on to be in the latter of those two categories, making him Ringbearer seems foolish.

 

[Deimos]

Wasn't he "appointed"? And not by the Council.

 

[Olorgando]

... despite having never used the Ring.

This assumption is probably wrong. Frodo probably did use the One Ring occasionally, in circumstances like those Merry described at Crickhollow, having seen Bilbo disappear because the latter wanted to avoid a meeting with the Sackville-Bagginses.

Would it not have been wiser to choose almost any other Hobbit to be Ringbearer? A hobbit who wasn't already under the influence of the Ring?

What Hobbit, aside from the odd Took or Brandybuck, could you get to leave the Shire and go even as far as Bree???
Pippin was a Took, half Banks, but young and in the early part of the quest foolish; Merry was a Brandybuck, half Took; he would have gone as far as Bree, certainly. But neither knew as much about the One Ring as Frodo. Elrond wanted to send Merry and Pippin back to the Shire, at least he did not consider them fit for the Quest. Gandalf, knowing a lot more about Hobbits than Elrond did, had to convince him. Sam was chosen to go along due to his devotion to Frodo. Bilbo was too old. So which of the Hobbits who were at the Council of Elrond could one choose? Send back to the Shire for another one? And Frodo volunteered.

 

[banakil]

Inheritance is a central theme of LOTR, and Frodo was Bilbo's heir. This was made explicit as a theme when Gandalf helped ensure the ring's transfer from Bilbo to Frodo. Even the red book about the ring was a matter of inheritance. In real life too we see parallels with the matter of JRR Tolkien's literary inheritance stewarded faithfully by his son.

The power of the elven rings was to preserve the estate of the elves.

Elessar was the rightful king because he was Isildur's heir. That name Elessar also comes from biblical Hebrew (a language Tolkien studied), as it was the name of Abraham's heir. But that heirship was unclear, just like in ROTK. Aragorn proved to the people his rightful heirship when he went throughout the City healing many people in a single night.

 

[Ellessor]

A fair question, Goldilocks.

As Olorgando pointed out, what other Hobbit would have taken up responsibility for the Ring? Consider:
-- Anyone too eager for the task would likely have been easily corruptible, or simply a fool.
-- The Council knew, or at least feared, that the quest was a death sentence, and to force it upon another Hobbit would be morally bereft.
-- Sam, Merry and Pippin all joined the quest for Frodo's sake; their courage was for the sake of friendship, not the free peoples of M-E.

And as banakil points out, Frodo inherited the Ring. He did not ask for it to be given to him, he understood the weight of the task (even though he could not know all he would have to endure) and chose it still, and to save the Shire. The Council had good enough reason right there to support him as the ringbearer.

Your question presumes it would need to be a Hobbit because of the resilience factor, but other than Gandalf, no one thought this to be particularly the case. You say also that Frodo was incompetent... I'll return to that in a moment.

There was quite a lot of tension at the Council due to each race not trusting the others to carry the Ring, perhaps a valid concern, given the history between them. Dwarves and men had been corrupted by lesser rings. Aragorn could have claimed/been given the Ring and subsequent quest as inheritance after all, a claim exponentially outranking Frodo's. The Nazgul were reason enough not to entrust it to a man.

When Frodo the Hobbit says he will take it, I think the Council instantly saw the diplomatic value of this. Hobbits, unlike the other races, had no kingdom to enlarge, or army to mobilize. If things had gone South (as in badly, not cardinally, since there is a chapter called 'The Ring Goes South' after all 🤣), the whole legion of Hobbits would not threaten the end of freedom.

Finally, I wonder why you think of Frodo as incompetent. Unless you've only seen the movies, in which case I can maybe understand feeling that way. But movie or book, Frodo gets the Ring from the Shire to Rivendell, for the first part more or less unaided. In fact, from Hobbiton to Crickhollow is easily one of the most dangerous parts of the whole journey -- 'touch-and-go' as Gandalf would say -- even if the Nine had not regained their full strength. Then at Weathertop, Frodo resists the Witch King to the last while wearing the Ring. Impressive! Not to mention surviving the morgul blade.

In summary, I think Frodo really was the right one for the job and the Council knew this.

 

[Deimos]

Uh pardon me for asking the obvious but where does the Council actually appoint Frodo?

Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance. "If I understand aright all that I have heard," he said, "I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and if you do not find a way, no one will."

"...is appointed for you..." by whom? The phrase is in the passive tense.

If the Council appointed Frodo, why didn't Elrond phrase it as "this task is appointed for you by the Council" or something like "the council has deemed that the task be appointed for you".
Elrond knows that it's a near certainty that the quest will kill the Ringbearer (i.e., whoever takes the Ring to Mordor.)
Surely he and everyone of the represented races has enough humanity to take responsibility for sending someone to certain death, if it is indeed the decision of the council; to say "We are sending you into mortal danger."

But no one says that (or anything like that) Why? Did the Council really decide this? Everyone one of them sat there mute, with eyes downcast.
Who finally appointed Frodo?

 

[Ent]

Uh pardon me for asking the obvious but where does the Council actually appoint Frodo?

The whole issue before us is not one of ‘appointment’ at all.

Frodo CHOSE to bear the ring. The whole Council was seeking guidance and wisdom, not seeking to appoint anyone.
The charge was so desperate…so hopeless…we see even the wisest sitting in silence wondering what to do.
We MAY even say, waiting on a certain providential guidance to reveal itself in some way.
The key is as is noted: once Frodo chooses to bear it, then lets them know he has done so .. i.e. he is ‘willing’ to bear the ring, the words are: “If I understand aright…this task ‘is appointed for you’.
The syntax of the language Tolkien uses here clearly indicates the operation of a 3rd party ‘external’ force…. Not appointed by the council… not appointed by the ring… not appointed by Frodo himself…. But by another external force…. The same one appointing Bilbo to ‘find’ the ring to begin with.
This providence is a thread throughout the entire work…. All part of Eru’s note to Melkor: ‘you will see nothing can be done..’. &c.

Note Frodo’s words:

“An overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace by Bilbo’s side in Rivendell filled all his heart. At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice. ‘I will take the Ring,’ he said, ‘though I do not know the way.’

What he said was entirely contrary to his desire. This type of syntax indicating an external force at work in the scene can be found in many places.

Only a willing carrier… one central to the events leading up to that time… would have been able to put aside the petty squabbles between Elves and Dwarves over carrying the ring, or resist the general weakness of man with regard to resisting its pull, etc.

Bilbo offered… but of course, he was not the selected candidate.
Frodo was simply the only choice there was. And he had to be the one doing the choosing.

 

[Deimos]

I dunno.... He was already destined to carry the Ring to Mt Doom.
We know that from Gandalf's words (and Gandalf is a Maia) that Frodo was meant to have the Ring.
So to put it in Christian-like terms, it was Eru's will that Frodo do this.**
But Eru does not violate a person's free will, so He doesn't force Frodo to decide to take the Ring.
He does give him the grace ( call it "heightened virtue") to volunteer.
Frodo wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice.
It was he himself making the decision, he absolutely knows, but it's also him wondering at himself... what we sometimes think when we do something that surprises us ..."what's gotten into me to do such a thing??!"

**Since it's Eru's will that Frodo be the Ringbearer one can speculate all day about the reasons---about the small person doing great things, about diplomacy, about being Bilbo's heir--- and yet come nowhere near the [in universe] answer as to why He chose Frodo.
We don't know why, and we never will know why.

 

[Inkling]

and yet come nowhere near the [in universe] answer as to why He chose Frodo.
We don't know why, and we never will know why

I like that commentary. I could be off the mark, but I personally think of Frodo as being the "everyman" archetype in this story who is a regular person who has been given a challenge greater than they can handle. So I think, ignoring fate for a second, that it is plausible that many different hobbits would have been good, or even better ringbearers than Frodo. C.f. Farmer Maggot or Fatty Bolger. However, I think its absolutely intentional that Frodo, at first blush, appears to be randomly chosen, as he isn't particularly special in any way. He is a fairly average hobbit that has a task thrust upon him that is greater than what he could ever hope to accomplish by himself, which I think is the whole point. Frodo being a clearly weak and flawed character strengthens the themes of fate/doom and eucatastrophe in the series (I don't mean to bash Frodo at all - he has his strengths as well, but Tolkien paints him both his flaws and his strengths clearly). Eru's providence can work within Frodo more fully than some other characters precisely because he is weak, because he spares Gollum, etc. If Frodo had been spectacular like Aragorn or Gandalf, then I don't think you could see the workings of providence so strongly in the books.

Also, I think his character resonates with the experience of the human person as I think the reader is able to more closely identify with Frodo as he is a character that I think is most similar to us, and points to the experience of the human person? I suppose this is assuming you hold that we are all called to greatness, or to take part in something greater than ourselves?

Note: I'm thinking here Tolkien may have been influenced by Catholicism on this aspect, particularly 2 Cor 12 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"

 

[Deimos]

Letter 144: “There is of course a clash between ‘literary’ technique and the fascination of elaborating in detail an imaginary mythical Age (mythical, not allegorical: my mind does not work allegorically.) As a story, I think it is good that there should be a lot of things unexplained (especially if an explanation actually exists); and I have perhaps from this point of view erred in trying to explain too much, and give too much past history. Many readers have, for instance, rather stuck at the Council of Elrond. And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally). (Emphasis added)

ROFL.....JRRT must be much amused at this thread, that once again the Cof E (probably second in perplexity after Tom Bombadil) has confounded his readers.

 

[Olorgando]

as he isn't particularly special in any way.

Objection.
Frodo, like Bilbo before him, was still a bachelor at age 50. That is very unusual for a Hobbit.
And Frodo was known to go hiking in the Shire, and actually meeting Elves (the latter may only have been suspected by other Hobbits, but is plausible). And Gandalf, and Dwarves (at least Balin, see the last page-and-a-half of The Hobbit) visited him - such strange outsiders that Hobbits were habitually suspicious of. No, Frodo was quite an excptional Hobbit, also through his living with Bilbo for twelve years before the latter left the Shire on his 111th birthday.

Eru's providence can work within Frodo more fully than some other characters precisely because he is weak, because he spares Gollum,

I definitely do not see Frodo's sparing of Gollum (twice!) as a sign of weakness, quite the contrary. Frodo had begun to understand Gollum, and what the One Ring had wreaked on him, at least a little bit. And it is the pivotal scene (or scenes) in the entire book: without Gollum at the Cracks of Doom, the (anti-) quest would almost certainly have failed.

 

[Radaghast]

In a 'meta' sense, why not Frodo? Putting aside the fact that the Ring was left to him by Bilbo, there's the consideration that Tolkien was asked specifically to write a story about hobbits. So, naturally, if anyone was going to carry the Ring to Mordor, it would have to be a Hobbit. Tolkien obviously decided it couldn't be Bilbo (and I can understand why he decided against Bilbo even if I can't quite put it into words at the moment). But it would have to be someone very like Bilbo, someone mature and wise enough to understand the task. It would also have to be a bachelor, again like Bilbo.

As far as Frodo's reaction to the Ring being thrown in the fire it's a bit of a stretch to assume another Hobbit wouldn't have reacted in the same way. Also, Gandalf tosses the Ring into the fireplace before Frodo even fully knows what it is. For all he knows, it's something valuable that Bilbo left him.

 

[Deimos]

Objection.
Frodo, like Bilbo before him, was still a bachelor at age 50. That is very unusual for a Hobbit.
And Frodo was known to go hiking in the Shire, and actually meeting Elves (the latter may only have been suspected by other Hobbits, but is plausible). And Gandalf, and Dwarves (at least Balin, see the last page-and-a-half of The Hobbit) visited him - such strange outsiders that Hobbits were habitually suspicious of. No, Frodo was quite an excptional Hobbit, also through his living with Bilbo for twelve years before the latter left the Shire on his 111th birthday.

I definitely do not see Frodo's sparing of Gollum (twice!) as a sign of weakness, quite the contrary. Frodo had begun to understand Gollum, and what the One Ring had wreaked on him, at least a little bit. And it is the pivotal scene (or scenes) in the entire book: without Gollum at the Cracks of Doom, the (anti-) quest would almost certainly have failed.

Objections sustained.

 

[Ellessor]

Rereading the FOTR today and a passage stuck out to me in regards to this thread, when Gandalf tells Frodo that his ring is the One Ring (The Shadow of the Past).

"'I really do wish to destroy it!' cried Frodo. 'Or, well, to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?'

'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it is not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.'"

I do think Tolkien's religious beliefs shaped this sense of being chosen - not through merit, but chosen nonetheless.

 

[d4rk3lf]

Gandalf asks Frodo to toss the Ring into a fireplace, to check if it is, indeed, the One Ring. Frodo does it, but barely, despite having never used the Ring.

Little correction.
Frodo never tossed the ring into the fire, neither in movie, neither in books.
Gandalf did it, and in the books, Frodo had much stronger reaction then in the movie, screaming and trying to get out the ring from fire.

 

[Muskrat]

Frodo IS incompetent . He fails on the Barrow Downs, at Bree, on Weathertop, and at the end. But he does not give up when any noormal person would have quit. That is admirable. Would anyone have beeb competant to take the Ring? It was an impossible task, and only by providence was is accomplished. Better bets would have been Aragorn, Glorfindel, etc. But Frodo was meant to carry the Ring, he chose to do it, and Gandalf and Elrond were so intuned with the Great Beyond that they could perceive ? Intuit? that.

 

[Ent]

But Frodo was meant to carry the Ring, he chose to do it, and Gandalf and Elrond were so intuned with the Great Beyond that they could perceive ? Intuit? that.

Ah, so much could be said here. But I refrain.
Suffice it to say another "element' of religion Tolkien is incorporating... particularly seen in the Council of Elrond, but also at other points... is 'faith,'

He does not demonstrate it in the 'Christian' way...it appears entirely differently than 'Christian' faith would. But it is threaded through his work throughout, because faith is a core of many religions. This is what brings Elrond and Gandalf to perceive there is and has always been a 'plan,' and that plan will inexorably be brought to its conclusion.

Of course, Gandalf was there to hear of the plan originally... (Silmarillion - beginnings)... we are never advised, really, how Elrond and Galadriel come to the knowledge and 'intuitions' they demonstrate.

So while Faith helps Gandalf and Elrond at the council, they're well aware Providence is able to keep all things together... though their "sight" really sees it as a massive and impossible undertaking. Had they no Faith, they would never have considered sending the ring. It simply wouldn't have occurred to them...much as it never occurred to Sauron it would be attempted. He had faith only in himself and his own power....as did Melkor.

p.s. - the syntax of the words Frodo uses as he accepts responsibility for the task and journey is also key. Something Tolkien uses throughout the works to point toward Providence at work. (Also points to Frodo's own faith.)

 

[Ent]

Frodo IS incompetent

Thank you for your choice of the word 'incompetent.' We tend to hear it and give it such a negative turn. Similar to the word 'ignorant.'

Incompetent: "not having or showing the necessary skills to do something successfully."
Ignorant: "lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing"

Incompetent describes Frodo "to a tee" as the old worn out phrase goes.

Of course, as one writer says, 'language is always in motion'... and constant use of the negative connotations of those two words will have their 'primary definition' changed in dictionaries soon.... if some don't already include it as the 'primary.'

Sigh. More nice, userful words successfully ruined by misuse.

 

[Radaghast]

Frodo IS incompetent . He fails on the Barrow Downs, at Bree, on Weathertop, and at the end. But he does not give up when any noormal person would have quit. That is admirable. Would anyone have beeb competant to take the Ring? It was an impossible task, and only by providence was is accomplished.

How does Frodo fail on the Barrow-downs?

Better bets would have been Aragorn, Glorfindel, etc. But Frodo was meant to carry the Ring, he chose to do it, and Gandalf and Elrond were so intuned with the Great Beyond that they could perceive ? Intuit? that.

How would Aragorn, etc. have gotten into Mordor?

 

[Muskrat]

Frodo fails on the barrow downs by going to sleep near a barrel when he was specifically told to avoid them. Ranger that he was, the greatest huntsman in this age of the world, I have no doubt that Aragorn could’ve easily found his way through the mountains of shadow. I am sure that he could have crossed the redhorn pass, were he not encumbered by the hobbits.