This week begins the winding down of our text. The Ring has been destroyed, and now we only must see through our characters and where they all end up. Frodo and Sam, rescued by Gandalf and the Eagles, are now in Gondor, and - having slept for some days - are told they will be honored for their success.
Frodo and Sam were led apart and brought to a tent, and there
their old raiment was taken off, but folded
and set aside with honour;
and clean linen was given to them. Then Gandalf came and in his
arms, to the wonder
of Frodo, he bore the sword and the elven-cloak
and the mithril-coat that had been taken from him in Mordor.
For
Sam he brought a coat of gilded mail, and his elven-cloak all healed
of the soils and hurts that it
had suffered; and then he laid before
them two swords.
‘I do not wish for any sword,’ said Frodo.
‘Tonight at least you should wear one,’ said Gandalf.
Then Frodo took the small sword that had belonged to Sam, and
had been laid at his side in Cirith Ungol.
‘Sting I gave to you Sam,’
he said.
‘No, master! Mr. Bilbo gave it to you, and it goes with his silver
coat; he would not wish anyone else to wear it now.’
Frodo gave way.
We understand why Frodo doesn't want a sword. He's been through a lot, he's missing a finger on his sword-hand, and at no point in the Quest was he a particularly eager or skilled fighter. He also gave Sting to Sam and may feel some dishonor at taking it back, even just for a performance.
We'd expect Gandalf to be more sympathetic. We've already learned Gandalf thought the Quest was a fool's hope. Having gone through with it, succeeded, and survived(!), why is Gandalf pressuring him to wear a sword in a ceremony? If anyone can be exempt of expectations, it should be Frodo!
But Frodo, the hero, still has a role to play. Middle Earth will not endure any more because of Frodo's choices. He has done the Quest and now must accept the gratitude of Gondor. That means appearing as they expect him - ready to do battle. Perhaps one day they will understand Frodo's Quest is not comparable to the defense of Gondor, but the people had just survived two terrible battles, and decades of aggression (not to mention the battles in their histories against Sauron). It may be difficult for them to accept a hero who was also not a warrior. Gandalf knows this. If they see Frodo as he is, they may be resentful the solution was so simple - or resentful their savior didn't take it as seriously. Resentment is a powerful poison. They require the hero they imagine. Frodo sticking to his self-image will only undermine the victory he worked so hard to gain.
Sam is much more surprising in his stance. Sam would do anything for Frodo - what does he care that he not only has a sword, but Sting in particular? Sam, again, realizes the importance of meeting the expectations of others, but Sam's focus is on who Frodo cares about, which is not the people of Gondor, but of Bilbo.
Bilbo will hear of this celebration - he will certainly ask Frodo to describe it to him even if he's heard it before. He'll feel very good knowing he contributed to his nephew's prestige, and Frodo will enjoy seeing his uncle's pride. Sam knows this, and so he pushes Frodo because he knows Frodo will, eventually, wish he had done it, if only for the sake of a good tale.
Often we want what is easy for ourselves, but what is best for others. We're all familiar with seeing a problem clearly when someone else is facing it but somehow be paralyzed by indecision when that problem is our own. Sam knows what Frodo will want to have done, and that Frodo will have to endure the consequences of his actions for longer than the actual actions. Sam also knows Frodo will oblige if he thinks his uncle will gain satisfaction from it. Frodo will only do the harder thing if he believes it is for the benefit of another. Indeed that's been Frodo's MO all along.
If Frodo had gotten his way he would have taken part in a celebration which would belittle him, and thus the Quest he endured so much to achieve. He would have had to face Bilbo's pity that he did not enjoy the revelry, rather than bask in his joy at his own success. Forever.
Forever is a long time. The present pleasure or leisure will be fleeting, but we can carry the sense of accomplishment of a hard task for a long time. We can carry the shame of shirking our duties for a long time, too.
The lesson, then, is not just to push ourselves toward accomplishment, but to understand we will all fail to do so if we are alone. We must surround ourselves with people who want what's best for us, not best for their comfort (which would lead them to avoid arguments and to indulge us). If someone is pushing you it is because they value not just the present-you but future-you who will have to deal with the consequences of your actions. They want future-you to look at present-you and be proud.
I have occasionally heard people say an accomplishment wasn't worth the effort - I have rarely heard them then say they wish they'd never done it. I've never heard someone say they were glad they gave into their impulses. But give in we will, unless we have someone else with us who will remind us of our values and that our life's worth is not measured in pleasure or leisure, but in our accomplishments and what we did for other people. The easy choice can give us a moment of pleasure followed by a lifetime of regret.
Update: In the next chapter we hear someone from Gondor say, "One of [the hobbits] went with only his esquire into the Black Country and fought with the Dark Lord all by himself, and set fire to his Tower, if you can believe it."
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