Friday 26 June 2015

tolkien - Why were the three rings allowed to go to the Undying Land?


“And they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.”




This can have two interpretations:
1. The ring belongs to Middle-earth so we can't bring it to Valinor. Therefore we have to deal with it here
2. As the ring belongs to Middle-earth, we are responsible for dealing with all the problems it's causing it; we can't hide it in Valinor.



I am in favour of the second interpretation: the problem is not the characteristics of the ring, if it's powerful or corrupting, the problem is that Sauron wants it and bringing it to Valinor will (eventually) cause conflict as Sauron will scheme (maybe send Saruman as a spy?) to get it back. And They don't want conflict, that's why Valinor was hidden in the First Age.



Additionally, it fits the theme of leaving Middle-Earth alone and letting people handle the problems (e.g. by imposing restrictions on what the wizards can do); allowing the Ring in Valinor would contradict this completely.



On the other hand, nobody (powerful) desires the Three (especially if they've lost their power) so allowing them in Valinor will not bring any more conflict than bringing a sword.

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