and in the middle of a casual discussion of our ideas about the Ring, Faramond let slip a chance remark which set me thinking in new directions and precipitated this post.So, if you don't like it, you know who to blame!
Before I really throw myself headlong into this outrageously lengthy diatribe on Tolkien's Ring, I should mention that I have no answer to the question of why he had Sauron pour most of his power into a thing that could so easily be separated from himself. As it was by a single sword cut. It has always struck me as a foolish, not to mention short-sighted, conceit, and the author's contention that, yes, Sauron was that egotistical and in hubris was further incapable of imagining defeat, also leaves me unconvinced. His primary failing was lack of imagination, for all intents and purposes that lack left him blind, you see.
How the Dark Lord actually survived relatively unscathed for Three Ages while parading such arrogance is a mystery to me! But be that as it may, without the Ring there would be no story ..... and so .......In the beginning,
Far back in the distant reaches of time before history was recorded, during the Years of the Lamps maybe, it is said that the maia Suaron changed his allegiance from Aulë to Morgoth, swearing to serve and aid him in all of his malicious pursuit for mastery over the whole of Arda. There were five great wars before the Valar thought to bestir themselves, coming to the aid of Middle-earth in the sixth and final War of Wrath to thrust Morgoth, finally defeated, through the doors of night into the void where he is condemned to eternal wandering. It is also said that Sauron denied the voice of Eru the One, preferring to continue to take up the evil cause of his master.
In about the year 1500 of the Second Age, Sauron conceives of a plan which will allow total dominance of all living things but this plan requires the aid of Elves, against whom his master had long warred. Technical knowledge he has in abundance but yet lacks the artistry needed. He must seduce Elven smiths into freely helping make the Great Rings of Power and so assuming the guise of Annatar, Lord of Gifts, manages to do just that.
In the beginning the Ring is an object. Functional. The imagination which conceived it makes of it a receptacle, a thing which will hold the greater part of his overwhelming power, power which must, by its very nature, also include his experience and his knowledge. And so, he conceals his thought in the shape of a plain gold ring and it was to be a mighty weapon. It would amplify his own natural power and give him advantage in war, for who, at first, would look to a simple band of gold worn on the finger of the adversarial hand as the instrument of their destruction? Clever Sauron. With the Ring on his finger all wills must be subjugated to his one will, for surely the Ruling Ring will deliver his heart’s desire: He has the means to conquer all of Arda . His rule will be unchallenged. He will finally outrank all others. He will be Supreme.
Ah, but great plans such as these often have a way of turning on their head: The Ring will not always be a tool for its maker and its travels will be far beyond those intended. We shall see it mine the dark corners of the world and unearth many secrets best left undisturbed.
What reason, I wonder, does he give to the Elves as justification for these rings? Does he deceive and suggest that they may compliment life or offer redemptive gifts? Is it the promise of unchanging conservation, a singular conceit of which Elves are guilty, that prevails and permits their participation? Whatever words are used or however slyly the needs are presented, collusion is achieved although it is obvious that neither fully trusts the other. All four of the greatest rings are made in secret: the Three by Celebrimbor are untouched, unmarred, unsullied by Sauron while the One is surreptitiously made and kept apart, unseen but by the eyes of its maker.. The prevailing attribute of the Three is Grace linked to Art in unyielding preservation whereas in Sauron's Ring an elemental metal is transmuted, merged in an amalgamation of gold and ineffable power. It is a mighty artifice. It is the ruling ring and though the Elves perceive Sauron's intent and remove their rings they know they may not remain unscathed; they shall stand or fall by the One Ring.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for mortal men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
Of the Nine there is no doubt. Proud 'Kings of Men' who wear rings on their grasping fingers are easily assimilated for they are plainly often corruptible ...... but the Seven now, if the seven were intended to ensnare Dwarves, I say that here Sauron miscalculated. Dwarves have an odd and strange history; created or hewn rather by Aulë and kept asleep under the fastness of mountains until the firstborn awaken. Dwarves manifest the stubborn immovability of rock and throughout the long ages have proved resistant to the seduction of any power not of their own choosing. Though sanctified by Eru, they are the bastard children of Arda, and it may be that the strangeness of their creation has imbued them with an impervious nature. Dragons may well have consumed five of the seven and Sauron may have the others in his possession but you will note there is not one single Dwarf wraith amongst all of his multitudes of slaves!
Well. Returning to the matter of the Ring and the manner of its birth: in his inestimable greed the Dark Lord saw fit to conquer the world and in considering how to achieve his desire, decides that a transfer of his primary strength will magnify, consecrate and yes, facilitate his desire for utter dominance. Ah, but because the Ring is fashioned from power and that power involves intelligence and continues with connection to previous knowledge, the Ring will evolve; it must live. In rudimentary fashion at first, responding only to Sauron's will, but wait a while, in the progression of time and as it absorbs experience, it will slowly develop a will of its own. It seems to me that there was some other power loose in the cosmos overseeing the Battle of the Last Alliance when the Ring last was used as a weapon, where Isildur found courage to sever the ring-finger from the body of Sauron. I deem that the deaths of Gil-galad and Elendil were small price to pay for the dissolution of such a power.
Can I stop for a moment to consider what if? What if Sauron had well and truly been killed in that battle? Dead, no pulse, no heart-beat, no breath, no spirit. Dead. Would the Ring have sputtered out and died instantly with him? Or might it have taken shards of time for each molecule of gold to release the mote of power that clung to it? Would that power disintegrate, turning to dust, leaving behind only a ring made of yellow metal? I do wonder sometimes, but because Sauron does not die, because only his corporeal body is lost, momentarily quiescent the Ring survives. It remains replete with power. It is intact.
It 'betrayed' Isildur said Gandalf. Bereft of its master, the Ring is faced with maybe what might be the first decision of its 2,000 years existence. We can assume that hitherto it has never been parted from Sauron and for the first time it lack direction and there is no Will to drive it. Its master lives, or say instead he is not dead, so at all costs it must survive and I surmise that rather than engage in a struggle for the soul of Isildur, who has shown audacity and courage ........ and yet, even in that moment, has unwittingly submitted to the lure of the Ring .......
as told by Elrond:
"this I will have as weregild for my father and my brother" he said; and thereafter whether we would or no, he took it to treasure it."'
and in his own words:
"But for my part I will risk no hurt to this thing: of all the works of Sauron the only fair. It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain."
It is neither coincidence, nor random chance, that the Ring chooses to slip loose from Isildur's finger and tumble into the murky depths of the Gladden Fields, I think it is expedience and deliberate choice that it may lie unseen for passing ages, forgotten by all but few of the Wise, waiting, resting at the bottom of dark still water, listening for signs of its maker recovering his far-flung, scattered spirit, waiting for the mark of Sauron's renewal. The One Ring it seems has acted wisely in leaving Isildur; Sauron has required centuries to heal and all the while the Ring has held itself in abeyance and so removed a major distraction to its master’s recovery.
When the time comes for the Ring to surface and re-enter the world it is one hundred years after Sauron slinks into Mirkwood. Forces prime Déagol’s innocent discovery of this golden ring laying serenely at the bottom of a pool. Yet how quickly it rejects the simpler hobbit and turns to the other more suitable candidate, Sméagol, small-minded, mean-spirited and inherently more prone to evil. Yes indeed. Sméagol will serve the immediate purpose very well and thus his malicious little brain is compliant; he will not hesitate to justify murder. The Ring never wavers and soon enough adorns a finger which will become a talon. Only perhaps the Ring has not bargained that Gollum is quite so loathsome. Loathsome enough to be shunned and reviled, loathsome enough to need to escape by crawling under the roots of the Misty Mountains. It has not bargained for the many centuries it must stay beneath tons of immutable rock, quite unable to move, it is stultified; effectively nullified. Silenced.
Enter Bilbo. A fortuitous meeting between Gollum and Bilbo, serving two opposing purposeful wills. Bilbo was 'meant to find the Ring' by the forces of good and by the forces of evil. It really is astonishing when you think about it; that Bilbo is an agent for change on two distinct fronts. Bilbo really he tricks Gollum out of the precious and carries it (in his pocket) out into the clean clear air of Middle-earth, bringing the Ring one step closer to doom and simultaneously one step closer to reuniting with Sauron. All would be well with this were it not for one minor problem; Bilbo, our rotund and cheery hobbit, is well nigh incorruptible ....... The Ring will find itself unable to further advance any foul or crooked scheme safe and secure inside the pocket of one of the colouful waistcoats belonging to Mr. Bilbo Baggins.
Ah, but now it is over one thousand years since the prince of darkness has emerged from torpor, gathered once again into bodily form though he is said to have lost the ability to appear as the beautiful Annatar, Lord of Gifts. They say that he is blackened and hideous; one wonders if perhaps the Valar have exacted punishment of sorts in that the only shape he may assume must reflect his inner malevolence. If he lost a battle at Dol Goldur it hardly concerns him because the move from the one stronghold into a greater fortress at Barad Dur has long been planned. The name of "Baggins" has been heard, his servants are set loose and wise Gandalf makes certain that the One Ring is passed on to Frodo ........ and yet here again, I will presume, that two opposing forces are again at work. The Ring depends upon a courier to carry it closer to Sauron, yet even so, Gandalf finds encouragement in the thought that Frodo was "meant to have it."
Gandalf does not believe that the Ring's maker intends for either Baggins to possess it ......... except I'm not sure if this is exactly true. Think on it a moment, Isildur has been rejected as an unsuitable candidate yet surely he was corruptible, he took it to treasure it for it is precious to him. It has rejected the petty evil of Gollum, too small, too mean, too limited, and has instead contrived to be taken up by hobbits. At the very least, the Ring will embark on a journey that should potentially carry it beyond the confines of a neatly ordered Shire; it escaped from under the weight of the mountain's immovable dark. Gollum's clutches are eluded. For the first time in eons .......... Possibilities exist.
Frodo puts on the Ring:
By this stage of its several thousand year life, the Ring begins to show signs of animation. Small hints as it natters away at Frodo's mind. Beginning, at first, by subtle nudges though it does not ever abandon its press to be worn. Frodo actually succumbs on six different occasions.
Before the first instance there are moments at Bag End when the Ring presents itself to Frodo as something more than merely a decorative object. It looks much more than a lovely piece of jewelry with a strange history. Told to fling it into the fire, Frodo finds himself curiously reluctant,
'It was admirable and altogether precious. When he took it out he had intended to fling it from him into the very hottest part of the fire. But he found that he could not do so, not without a great struggle. He weighed the Ring in his hand, hesitating, and forcing himself to remember all that Gandalf had told him; and then with effort of will he made a movement, as if to cast it away --- but found that he had put it back in his pocket.'
Of course he has. The Ring would not wish to be discovered. His reluctance is twofold. First is the growing allure of the thing it as a necessity, the Ring would quietly impress bonding upon his mind; he should not wish to part from it and soon will be incapable of it. And then there is the need for secrecy; it may travel further if its identity is unrevealed. After all, there is hope in subterfuge.
In the House of Tom Bombadil:
The very first time that Frodo puts on the Ring after learning the terrifying fact that it is the One Ruling Ring is in the house of Tom Bombadil. A most curious caprice. What, one asks, is the possibility of advancement for the Ring in the remarkable person of Tom? A test? At test that negates the force and the drag of Sauron's precious. Is it whimsy or sheer fancy which prompts Tom to dismiss the Dark Lord's terrible power as inconsequential ------- to him? I don't suppose we will ever really know or understand Tom but what is clear is that he is not affected by the same laws which govern all others under the sun of Arda. Excepting the gods, which other living beings can show they are exempt from the influence of the Ring? If even Istari fear to fall prey to it (Saruman fears it though for different reasons, and he will fall prey to it) and Galadriel fears to wield it, then Tom is not subject to natural law ..... the Ring itself is unique although I think it is still governed by the laws of Arda.
Tom has put it on his finger and is not invisible!. Frodo jealously re-assures himself that no cheap conjurer's trick has replaced it, his Ring, as he feels ...... for that is a trick and one at which the Ring is very adept ...... those who willingly, or unwillingly suffer the Ring will eventually claim ownership. As if such a thing could ever be owned --- by anyone --- ever! .
The Barrow-Downs:
Got to digress to say that this chapter makes me tremble with fearful apprehension. Here Tolkien's writing approaches the otherworldly in the malevolent way the hobbits are herded onto the Downs, the dank stench inside the barrows, bone-chilling cold and the gruesome wights will cause me to look up and reassure myself I am not really there. It is so real and one of the most intensely atmospheric yet utterly believable chapters of the book. Shudder.
Ahem:
Digression ended. This is a frightful place and rife with ancient evil. It is ancient, a perfect setting for the Ring to force its will upon Frodo but any advantage it may have wished to gain is foiled by closeness of marvelous old Tom with his boots and his jacket and the feather in his hat. It is almost as if the Ring wishes to test Frodo's resolve and the limit of its own power.
'He wavered, groping in his pocket, and then fought with himself again, and as he did so the arm crept nearer.'
The Ring is changing. It is no longer inanimate or merely a weapon of singular purpose made for the victory of its maker ....... by some alchemical chance, raw power combined with enhanced metal is evidence of a sort of sentience. You just know it is aware of set and circumstance and when best to insist and when best to keep silent. In other words, its will is emerging and it can make decisions!
At the Prancing Pony:
Ah. The hobbits hope they are safe inside the warmth of the common room at the inn. The Ring knows better, knows that they are not safe because, like the high-pitch of a silent whistle, it can surely hear the call of the Nazgûl.
'Frodo leaned back against the wall and took off the Ring. How it came to be on his finger he could not tell. <snip> For a moment he wondered if the Ring itself had not played him a trick; perhaps it had tried to reveal itself in response to some wish or command that was felt within the room. He did not like the look of the men who had gone out.'
The Witch-King, as well as the lesser Nazgûl, are conduits for Sauron; I wonder if the communication goes as strongly both ways? Does the presence of the Ring directly palpate through Nazgûl to Sauron? How he must quiver with desire when it catches, touching his senses and still leaving him frustrated. But, you know, despite following commands and forcing Frodo to reveal it, once again, there are other mitigating forces at work . At the Barrow-Downs Tom is there, and here at Bree, is the one man in all of Middle-earth whom Sauron must fear ..... half-hidden in the gloom of the corner seat, here is Aragorn ...... it is no coincidence that two forces meet. No harm will come to Frodo inside the Prancing Pony. The Ring has not yet found its way for it is too far from Mordor and it has not accounted for the small, quiet heart of the hobbits.
The Ring must learn to choose. Must cope with being carried by one purposefully chosen by its master's enemy and must learn new ways of bending, swaying and manipulating. Can the Ring learn to reason? Not yet, I think, but it will. It can. It does.
Weathertop:
The watch-tower of Amon Sûl is dangerous since none of its former virtues remain amongst the ruins. On all sides it is open and the Ring is a beacon to Black Riders. It's potency expands, the threat of Aragorn is lessened, the Ring begins showing awareness of surroundings and circumstance. It can call and it can decide when to call. Frodo has never yet been so vulnerable as he is trapped among the crumbling stones of Weathertop.
'Frodo was hardly less terrified than his companions; he was quaking as if he was bitter cold but his terror was swallowed up in a sudden temptation to put on the Ring. The desire to do this laid hold of him and he could think of nothing else. He did not forget the Barrow, nor the message of Gandalf; but something seemed to be compelling him to disregard all warnings and he longed to yield. Not with the hope of escape, or of doing anything, either good or bad: he simply felt he must take the Ring and put it on his finger.'
You can almost hear the Ring singing in triumph. Its will has usurped Frodo's will. Aragorn has not strength to directly aid him and Gandalf is not with him. There is no impediment to Frodo's capitulation: it is inevitable.
'He could not speak. He felt Sam looking at him, as if he knew that his master was in some great trouble, but he could not turn towards him. He shut his eyes and struggled for a while; but resistance became unbearable, and at last he slowly drew out the chain, and slipped the Ring on the forefinger of his left hand.'
Frodo is instantly flung across the barrier that separates dimensions. Thrust into a shadow world, into a world which exists side by side parallel to ours, a world populated by the dark and the undead.. The Ring lives here, too; this is its native world and here its power is manifold and magnified, and here the Nazgûl rise to meet it, and to render the bearer's soul into tatters. They are merciless.
'Immediately, though everything remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white aces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and they rushed towards him.'
All seems so lost and so desperate but there still is hope........... and help. Frodo is never abandoned. Not now, not ever. At the very last moment, he is prompted to use an ancient hymn, crying Elbereth, Gilthoniel! as a device of magical warding. How that invocation must startles the senses! and must provoke some deep and fearful memory in the the Witch-King enough so that his knife thrust will go awry causing the Ring to hesitate just long enough, 'Frodo, dropping his sword, slipped the Ring from his finger and closed his right hand upon it.'
Rivendell:
The Ring finds itself surrounded in the camp of a sworn enemy. Does it sense there is a lesser ring of power here. Vilya, Elrond's ring?. Patience is a learned commodity, the Ring learns to forebear and lay on its chain, quietly probing the council for weaknesses. And finds it. Ah, there! Boromir, proud man of Gondor; is he like to the nine who were taken long ago? A similar stiff desire for order and tradition ..... it may have found a potential suitor in Boromir. Complications will arise, we know, but for now the Ring is content to bide time and wait.
Before I reach Amon Hen, I want to stop for a minute and address something Jnyusa said in the Sam thread when she was talking about Aragorn ( I paraphrase) and how he could resist the Ring because it had nothing to offer him.
See, I don't think that the Ring need offer anything at all to anyone. It's genius lies in its malleability, in its ability to adapt and change and become a thought and a presence which begins as a hint within the mind of the bearer and progresses into a unification.
The fact that several holders imagine themselves according to their individual desires is more of a by-product of its potency. (Sam and his garden, Gollum and his fish, Boromir (potentially) and his victory) Really, its primacy is in easing itself into the mind and of joining with it so that ultimately there is no separation between Ring and Ring-bearer. They are one and there can be no will beyond the will of the Ring.
Right.
Amon Hen:
Boromir is hot tempered and hasty. The Ring has hardly needed to stir in order to insinuate desire inside his mind. Convincing is unnecessary since the lust comes sharp and immediate and overwhelming. Boromir is a good man but a simple one and has no defense against the sophisticated manipulation of a thing that is built on the avarice of Sauron's power. Boromir moves fast and in doing so frightens Frodo into using invisibility for escape. Here on the pinnacle of Amon Hen that other world comes once more into focus and the might of the Dark Lord is laid across the land for Frodo to consider and despair. Again, Frodo's mind is penetrated and though the Ring has not yet taken up residence, with each new incursion, the spiritual gap between himself and Ring is shrinking.
But, as I have said before and as I still believe, Frodo is never abandoned: once more although poised on the edge of falling rescue comes:
'Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another thought: Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!'
The two powers strove in him. For a moment, perfectly balanced between their piercing points, he writhed, tormented. Suddenly he was aware of himself again. Frodo, neither the Voice not the Eye: free to choose, and with one remaining instant in which to do so. He took the Ring off his finger.'
The Journey into Mordor:
In Gollum the Ring has an abject slave, except it does not care, is indifferent, having already discarded this snarling, sniveling, despicable creature. His purpose may be served but he still can be used, oh yes,
circumstance and situation can be twisted as it certainly will be when it becomes necessary for Gollum to swear obedience.
'For a moment it seemed to Sam that his master had grown and Gollum had shrunk; a tall, stern shadow, a mighty lord who hi his brightness in a grey cloud and at his feet a little whining dog.'
Another opportunity for the Ring to usurp a little more of Frodo's mind. Soon, quite soon, it will find a way into Frodo's heart and then, lamentably, a little death begins.
Some way more than 100 miles lie between the breaking of the fellowship and the outskirts of the Morannon. The nearer to Mordor the more the intense is the Ring, gnawing ever more insistently at Frodo's mind. Our beloved hobbit is staggering under the psychic weight of his burden; I think that even more than the pain and the doubt and the fear it is the loss of freedom which is most troublesome, that ineffable sense of belonging to oneself. Because, you see, Frodo can no longer claim to be wholly self-contained, a little part of treasured independence has fallen to the Ring. It has insinuated itself and now that Frodo is (very) slightly less individual, they are starting to meld. Oh, not completely, no, not even overtly and not yet to any overwhelming degree; nevertheless transition has begun. Some of the increasing intensity he feels is attributable to proximity with Gollum, I suppose, as now he is beset on two fronts yet still Frodo retains one enormous advantage: he has Sam. Sam is his hope, his rock, his truth. Sam is faith. Without Sam the quest will fail but with him, and all of his many unspoken, often unrecognized, virtues, the chance for success is so much more.
The One Ring is growing and changing, understanding many previously inaccessible things and is learning to think in many ways. It is devious beyond words, in ways we cannot imagine; but because it was made with Sauron's intelligence there is no place for humility, or for friendship, within its emotional lexicon. It is utterly selfish and the bond that binds the two hobbits is unknown to it. The concept of love that is understood by both Ring and maker, such as it is, is the salacious and greedy love of desire. The love that is shared by Frodo and Sam, neither Ring nor Sauron can comprehend nor use, and such love it has, to its peril, overlooked. This, I am certain, will be the downfall of the Ring. Not in battles fought, nor challenges won, nor even the with wisdom of Elrond, Galadriel or Gandalf, none of these great things can precipitate the final destruction. In the end what will eventually triumph and banish this singular evil from Middle-earth is the purity of love held fast by Sam and by Frodo.
'It was more than the drag of the Ring that made him cower and stoop as he walked. The Eye: that horrible growing sense of a hostile will that strove with great power to pierce all shadows of cloud, and earth, and flesh, and to see you; to pin you under its deadly gaze, naked, immovable.'
The three of them are scrabbling, clawing, crawling their way into peril, passing through the Dead Marshes with their tricksy little candle lights, closing in on the Black Gate where there is no entrance but suicidal and where the Nazgûl are terrifyingly airborne, the Ring itself is strangely and uncharacteristically silent. One would expect, anticipate even, that so close, its master, a few scant miles away on the other side of the barrier, the Ring would attempt to reveal itself to orcs, to slaves, to Sauron? And yet it stays quiescent on the chain about Frodo's neck. Why so, one asks. Why now does it choose inaction? This thought has been steadily ingratiating itself into my mind as I read and reread: it is true that the Ring is transforming into something half way between object and living thing. It has thought, and will, and desire and I am slowly convinced that the will of the One Ruling Ring is disconnecting itself from Sauron's will. It does not wish to be an extension of the Dark Lord, used as he chooses for his purpose. It is changing, evolving if you will. It desires self. It wishes to belong only to itself. It wishes for authority and it wants independence!
You may say that this is simply conjecture on my part and well, you would be correct.
it's just that it makes sense to me. I've long believed that the Ring is far more than a made object. That it shows decided signs of an ability to make decisions and to manipulate circumstances around it. Only now I take that one step further into the contention that it is indeed alive, that it is a vital, aware, peculiar thing, stuck half way between intelligence held captive by its form and true living, breathing, thinking identity. One could almost feel a certain sense of compassion were it not so ruthlessly selfish.Where the Ring meets Faramir:
Well. We are traveling in the land of Ithilien toward Cirith Ungol and the first great betrayal levied by Gollum against Frodo.
It cannot be helped, I suppose, because Gollum is abjectly servile, enslaved to dreams implanted by the Ring which is now caught between the insatiable need of this creature it helped shape and the known consequences of returning to four-fingered Sauron. I do not think that the Ring wishes to be returned. No, it does not. It wishes for domination, surely, but not to be used at the will of another. There is also this to consider: the possibility the Ring has developed a conscience? A primitive, unformed conscience, to be sure but if it can gain insight and the will to implement that insight (and it can, it does) then awareness of right and wrong might follow?
What will the Ring do with such knowledge?
How does someone like, say, Faramir fall inside the Ring's perception? There is no evil at Henneth Annun and it does seem that surrounded by the men of Gondor invariably the Ring stays silent. Does it listen when Faramir tells tales of Númenor? Might those stories stir up fragments from days Sauron spent on that island in the company of Kings and of Elves? I like to think that it does remember; that a fleeting sensation remains for what was before Sauron turned manifestly towards darkness. Are we not told that once upon a time he wanted only to restore and maintain order in a chaotic world? I humour myself by believing that a conscience evolving in the Ring might still retain a mote of this buried deep inside. However, now, in the last days of the Third Age, the evil is an uncomplicated thing. Uniformly black with no place among its machinations for remorse or regret, indeed no, the dualistic opposite of Light expends all devotion, all allegiance in the pursuit of power for its own sake. But the Ring, the One Ring, created with gold, structured from memory of power and the power of memory contains change, and its memories do not follow the same exact path as those of its maker. Therefore active sentience is probable and motives are possible.
In a way, following its journey, the Ring begins to remind me of another story, Pinocchio, the boy carved of wood who dreams of becoming a real boy. Except there are no blue faeries in Middle-earth, and besides there are additional complications: it is forever linked with Sauron because, the stuff (inadvertently) that bestowed life is also the stuff of which it is composed. Energy. Power. Will. and despite its divergence from the original intent it cannot detach into absolute autonomy. (surely the Ring must recognize the mockery of its shared bond?) juxtapose this bond against the lucidity of two small hobbits trudging their weary way into Mordor and you have the means to an end.
That the Ring can manipulate Gollum into action I am certain. This then is a perfect example of what i mean when I say that the Ring strives for unification. Gollum is owned. Those few brief hints which have brushed his perceptions in the immediate past have been just so ..... small and trivial ..... so easily dismissed should the Ring wish to provoke certain behaviors. Gollum is perfectly assimilated. He has no will but the Ring's will. Like the Nazgûl, he has lost his soul.
Minas Morgul:
The call is virtually irresistible. Tolkien describes the valley of the Ephel Dúath with almost Lovecraftien excess, it is all deadly pale and luminous, every living thing is loathsome and perverted, nothing is as it should be and oh how the Ring responds ..... were it not for Sam the Ring could drag Frodo through the gates of this dreadful tower,
'Then suddenly, as if some force were at work other than his own will, he began to hurry, tottering forward, his groping hands held out, his head lolling from side to side.'
I say that it is only the strength of Sam in collusion with the Ring itself! because it could easily dispose of Gollum should it be necessary, and also perhaps there is that benign power keeping watch which will not allow the Ring-bearer to be drawn inside the city of the Nazgûl.
'At last with great effort he turned back, and as he did so, he felt the Ring resisting him, dragging at the chain about his neck; and his eyes too, as he looked away, seemed for the moment to have been blinded.'
You know, despite that the pull towards the tower appears considerable, I am not positive that really it is much more than a token gesture. I know that might seem a ludicrous contention, but considering the amount of sheer force that is the Ring, the closeness of the Nine, the fact that Sauron's army is mere steps away from the hobbits ........ that any compulsion is thwarted without a huge struggle; had the Ring put forth all effort to be discovered .... all the stars were aligned for it .... its ducks were in a row and it should have fought harder and longer. And so I tend to believe that it does not really want to cross that barrier from the living world into a dead one.
<<<<Ahem: An aside.
I'd better start bringing this huge post to a close else I will find myself rambling on for another ten pages. It's only that I have so much to say and I don't think I'm saying it very well. It's difficult to present these ideas in a straightforward and/or logical fashion. Most of what I contend is intuitive thinking and I know I'm in danger of constant repetition in the effort of clarification. Never mind. Maybe I can wrap this up in two paragraphs or less (don't count on it)
>>>>Mount Doom and the Sammath Naur:
Frodo, Sam, and the Ring are on the slopes of the mountain. Gollum is here too, alone, having discovered that his plan to retrieve his precious has been thwarted. Frodo has come to a place where he is trembling, he is tottering on an edge perfectly gripped between his own voice and the voice of the Ring. He is paralyzed into inaction. Trapped. Sam is here and his voice is clear, not mesmerized like Frodo's, he is here and he will countermand the voice of the Ring but he will not succeed.
I have said before that I think the Ring has evolved into sentience, that it has a mind and a will and cognition and that it can decide. Strange as this may strike some (many?) of you ...... while I have been reading and writing and thinking, I've moved into the belief that in the very end the Ring will use Gollum as a means to achieve its one last final desire: Death.
Look, it has achieved a separation from Sauron and it knows it does not wish to submit to him again and it has understood that the link between itself and its maker can never be unmade; it was forged in perpetuity. Knowing that it can never be truly autonomous and lacking means and circumstance in which to find the perfect host (Gollum is rejected, Frodo is not strong enough, Aragorn is too strong) and perhaps, just perhaps, a touch of morality has crept into its new-found consciousness, the only viable solution left to the Ring is dissolution. Therefore it will use the oath Gollum swore to Frodo and both will plunge into the fiery depths of Mount Doom.......
'Out of the fire there spoke a commanding voice,
"Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall cast yourself into the Fire of Doom"'
I do not know that the Ring is motivated by altruism, instead its motive is selfish and full of self-pity, I think, in that it cannot have what it wants, cannot BE what it wants and so, rather like the truculent child with under-developed emotions, it chooses destruction rather than be used in ways which do not suit.
One final thought: Ironically, I suspect that the perfect mate for the Ring would have been Isildur.
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). The "signal" seems to be most dangerous when tightly focused (Amon Hen for example) or amplified by a nearby relay (the bridge to Minas Morgul). 
and it took me to some very strange places. I found myself imagining a whole lot of 'what ifs'. Starting with the basic question of what is the nature of power? And assuming that power naturally includes components of Will and knowledge ... and from there it was easy to extrapolate that the Ring did develop a sort of conscious awareness.
