Growing From Evil

This week we read "Mount Doom."  We are at the culmination of The Quest.  Finally, Frodo and Sam arrive at Mount Doom.  But they find that Gollum, too, has come.  A series of struggles begin, and we are surprised to find Gollum comes out on top.  But in his victory he missteps and falls into the Cracks of Doom.  The Ring is destroyed.  The Quest has succeeded.

Frodo and Sam escape Mount Doom, but the volcano is erupting and a sudden 'black rain' has begun to fall.  It seems unlikely they will escape alive.  Frodo turns to Sam and says:

But do you remember Gandalf’s words: Even Gollum may

have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed

the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the

bitter end. So let us forgive him!

Gollum had two very pivotal moments this chapter.  After attacking Frodo the first time and losing, Sam attacks him with Sting.  We are told,

'Now!’ said Sam. ‘At last I can deal with you!’ He leaped forward with drawn blade

ready for battle. But Gollum did not spring. He fell flat upon the ground and whimpered.

‘Don’t kill us,’ he wept. ‘Don’t hurt us with nassty cruel steel! Let us live, yes,

live just a little longer. Lost lost! We’re lost. And when Precious goes we’ll die,

yes, die into the dust.’ He clawed up the ashes of the path with his

long fleshless fingers. ‘Dusst!’ he hissed.

Sam is moved to pity and he does not strike.  Gollum slinks away, defeated.  We are told one of the reasons Sam spares him is that Sam recalls his brief time bearing the Ring.  He has some idea of it's burden.  Meanwhile, Gollum bore the Ring for hundreds of years.  Sam can empathize with Gollum in a new way, and this empathy is what moves him to pity.  Soon after though, Frodo betrays the Quest:

‘I have come,’ he said. ‘But I do not choose now to do what Icame to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!’

And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from

Sam’s sight. Sam gasped, but he had no chance to cry out,

for at that moment many things happened.

One of those many things was the return of Gollum.  He returns and fights Frodo one more time.  This time he is victorious, retrieving the Ring in the most violent way imaginable - by biting through Frodo's bone and taking the whole finger with him.  But during victory dance he falls into Mount Doom.  Oops.

Gollum did nothing but evil this whole chapter - but his actions were crucial to the Quest's success.  We know Sam never would have attacked Frodo, and he certainly never would have won such a struggle.  Further, Sam and Frodo only got as far as they did with Gollum's assistance.  Recall he shows them the secret way into Mordor - their plan was to, ahem, "simply walk into Mordor."  Through the front gate, no less!  Gollum also guided them through the Dead Marshes.  Though evil, Gollum was useful, particularly in navigating evil spots.

We'd discussed before how Gollum is like a past trauma - something that follows and drives us forward.  I think Gollum can represent the lessons learned.  If you're in a harrowing situation once, you're more likely to successfully navigate it the next time.  At least, the darkness isn't so blinding, even if it remains dark.  Such knowledge can also give new empathy, such as with Sam's decision to spare Gollum.

Frodo implores Sam to forgive Gollum.  Forgiveness is not in vogue nowadays, and perhaps it shouldn't be on a political scale.  But in our personal realm, it ought to be on our mind.  Evil, and it's more common cousin 'bad', is self-destructive.  In most cases, when someone causes harm, they are hurting and will hurt themselves again.  Badness brings harm into the world, and not always where it's intended.  This is the lesson of Gollum destroying the Ring.  If you carry ill-will within you, it may lead you to destroy the things you care about the most.  Bad is inherently destructive.

Likewise, it is difficult for good to lead to harm.  By it's nature, good helps.  But sometimes good isn't enough.  The Ring was not going to go down easy.  Frodo's desire to do good wasn't enough.  Gollum's darkness, and his familiarity with evil, was needed for success.

We all carry baggage that is akin to Gollum.  Something we loathe, but our familiarity with it also gives us understanding.  It can help us navigate new difficulties, and hopefully we can see how to use it to our advantage instead of always being victimized by it.  We must be willing to reach into the abyss to preserve what we love.

Nevertheless, though the Ring and Gollum are evil, Frodo and Sam remain good despite their close encounters with them.  But it wouldn't be right to say Frodo and Sam are unchanged by the experience.  The Ring does change Frodo - he loses a finger.  He also, as we will see, doesn't quite fit in the world any more.  But Sam also changes.

Sam has wanted to kill Gollum since the moment he met him.  When he finally gets the opportunity he knew too much about Gollum's tragedy to strike.  Beyond knowing he understood and felt Gollum's burden.  Sam shows significant growth here.  His encounter with evil drives him to mercy.

So that's the real lesson here.  It isn't to remain unchanged by evil.  It is to subvert evil, to learn about it and use that knowledge to its own undoing.  Gollum is spared and yet he throws his life away.  If you encounter evil and resist it unchanged that is a worthy feat.  But it would be even better to wrestle with it, grow from it, and find how it can be turned to good.

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