Frodo’s experience in Rivendell, namely during the Council of Elrond, serves as a catalyzing force towards his maturation. It is at this summit, while surrounded by the mighty nobles of Middle-Earth in unfamiliar territory, that he is able to accept his grim burden: the task of destroying Sauron’s Ring of Power. It marks a shift in his previously naive mindset. As famed Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn notes, “you must put your cozy past firmly behind you” (Solzhenitsyn 63) when confronted with an unjust reality. Frodo, like those forced into the horrid “gulag archipelago,” must forget about the past comforts of The Shire, sacrificing his simple life for meaningful peril.
It is during the Council’s meeting that our petite protagonist realizes this, volunteering (to the surprise of many present) to take the almighty ring to Mordor himself, proclaiming boldly that “[he] will take the Ring” (Tolkien 270) himself. Although some doubt naturally arises, it is the wiser ones present who ultimately accept this as necessary. Hobbits are a breed less susceptible to the ring’s corrupting nature, devoid of power lust or evil intent. This humble nature, in addition to Frodo’s purity, are what cause Elrond and Gandalf to concur.
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