Arwen's Gift to Frodo
by elenna
Just some thoughts as I think
about packing to go home for a visit, I cannot help but think of Frodo
and his journey home to the Shire. I have lived away from my home in
Wisconsin for ten years now; whereas Frodo’s absence from the Shire was
only the span of thirteen months. Yet Frodo and I share something in
common; we are both aware that home will not be the same for we are not
the same. We have grown and experienced many changes in our lives. Not
that our families and friends have remained stagnant. They have gown
through their own series of growth and changes and, yes, in some
instances regressions in their lives. But this is part of what life is
all about: living and growing and changing from birth to death. Frodo
even speaks of this to Gandalf. “There is no real going back, though I
may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be
the same.” Frodo was anxious to return to the Shire just as I am
anxious to go home.
Before Frodo and company parted from Gondor, Frodo meets with Aragorn
and Arwen. Aragorn declares Frodo free to move in the land of the realm
of Gondor forever. He tells Frodo that he and his companions are to
travel with honor. While a most generous gift from the lord of the
land, I believe the greater gift is bestowed by the queen. Arwen
presents Frodo with a gift in offering him her place on the ship that
will travel into the West; a ship that she may never take given her
choice to stay with Aragorn. Arwen also presents Frodo with a ‘white
gem like a star…hanging upon a silver chain.’ She places the gem about
his neck. “‘When the memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you,’
she said, ‘this will bring you aid.’” Frodo does cling to the gem in
time of need as it replaces the Ring he once bore. The gem becomes a
gift to the Ring-bearer to aid in his immediate need.
What of the other gift: that of taking the place of Arwen on the ship?
Does Frodo need to take the ship to the West? I suppose we could debate
this question, but it is a moot point. Arwen told Frodo “But in my
stead you shall go Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you then
desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden
is heavy, then you may pass into the West...” The point being no matter
how much we grieve and wish that Frodo did not have to leave, Frodo
knew he had to leave. The pain from his wounds and experiences were too
heavy on him he needed to take the ship in Arwen’s stead. It was his
choice not ours. Personally as much as it grieves me to read about and
watch Frodo leave on that ship, I can not bear the thought of him
suffering. I have to let him go.
Saruman predicts the future for Frodo in the Shire. “Well, I go and
will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and
long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely
foretell.” Whereas Saruman’s staff had been broken, he was not bereft
of his being. He knew what was in store for Frodo: the remainder of his
life would be wracked with ill health to the point that Frodo would
desire to make use of Arwen’s gift.
This is not the end for Frodo. Arwen had added a codicil to her gift.
She had concluded her statement giving Frodo the opportunity to pass in
the West with these words “…until all your wounds and weariness are
healed.” What exactly do these words mean? The key word here is
‘until’. One does not take the cure in order to lay down and die; one
takes the cure to lead a richer and fuller and healthier life.
Unfortunately with no further books completed by Professor Tolkien,
this is a bit ambiguous. Even though Frodo had not necessarily realized
it yet when he leaves, IMHO I believe the way is open for him to
return. Would Frodo want to return after he is healed? What would be
the manner of his return? How long would his healing take? I cannot
answer these questions, but they do give a person pause. In this
respect Frodo is not unlike King Arthur of whom it is said he will
return to Great Britain when the need arises. Arwen’s gift to Frodo is
one of healing and life and hope. One can only imagine the peace he
felt …
“…and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and
was lost. And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed into the
West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance
on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And
then it seemed to him that as in the house of Bombadil, the grey
rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he
beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift
sunrise.”
