The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
According to Tolkien, the mission to destroy the One Ring was doomed to failure from the start, but was saved by the supernal traits of forgiveness and mercy (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, letter 191):
| If you re-read all the passages dealing with Frodo and the Ring, I think you will see that not only was it quite impossible for him to surrender the Ring, in act or will, especially at its point of maximum power, but that this failure was adumbrated from far back.
He was honoured because he had accepted the burden voluntarily, and had then done all that was within his utmost physical and mental strength to do. He (and the Cause) were saved – by Mercy : by the supreme value and efficacy of Pity and forgiveness of injury… |
In order to understand Tolkien’s reference to mercy and pity, it is necessary to refer back to the way in which the One Ring passed from Gollum to Frodo’s predecessor, Bilbo. This transfer of ownership occurred in The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings.