The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien (Harper Collins 1991, 2007) pp. 902-907
When I first sought for a title for this blog and all that I am trying to achieve in reading and rereading The Lord of the Rings at this point in my life I decided to call it Wisdom From The Lord of the Rings because that is what I was looking for. And when I first began to write it twelve years ago I never thought that one day I would be writing about unwisdom and that I would be doing so approvingly. You, my dear readers, must judge if I am right to do so and whether you think that Frodo is right to do as he chooses to do here or whether, with Sam, you will sigh audibly when Frodo declares to Faramir that he will take Sméagol under his protection and that he will go with him to Mordor.
“Frodo, I think that you do very unwisely in this,” said Faramir. “I do not think you should go with this creature. It is wicked.”
“No, not altogether wicked,” said Frodo.
“Not wholly, perhaps,” said Faramir, “but malice eats it like a canker, and the evil is growing. He will lead you to no good.”
And Faramir is right. Gollum has told him that he intends to lead Frodo and Sam into Mordor by way of the pass of Cirith Ungol, or cleft of the spider, and that there is “no other way”. And we know that in that place Gollum will betray Frodo and hand him over to Shelob, deadliest of the children of Ungoliant, a malicious and monstrous spirit in spider form who, long ago, had aided Morgoth in the destruction of the trees of light and in the theft of the silmarils of Fëanor.
Gollum will lead Frodo to no good because he intends to regain the Ring from him and he will not rest until he has done so. We know that and Frodo knows it too. He does not know exactly how Gollum will seek to do him harm but he knows that he intends to do so.
So Denethor is right to call this a fool’s hope when he learns of what his son has done in setting Frodo free and not bringing the Ring to Minas Tirith. Faramir’s action is an act of foolishness and so is Frodo’s. It is utter foolishness to go to Mordor carrying the Ring of Power into the very heart of the Enemy’s power. It is foolishness to entrust the task to a “witless halfling”. And before we leap to Frodo’s defence here and speak of his wisdom we might recall that when Frodo asked Gandalf why he had been chosen for this task and not another, Gandalf replied to him:
“You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”
Faramir tells Frodo that he does not think that Gandalf, the wise one, would have made the choice that Frodo makes. But even Gandalf has never entered Mordor but only Sauron’s lesser fortress of Dol Guldur. There is no guide that Frodo could possibly choose to take him into Mordor than Gollum and Gollum will only take him there because of his desire for the Ring and it is almost certain that Gollum will betray him.
If wisdom means making the best choice among all available options then surely we must say here that no such choice exists. Faramir cannot think of one and neither could the Council in Rivendell. Frodo must give himself up to a wisdom that is so unwise that maybe the Wise would be incapable of doing it. Maybe this is why all the other members of the Fellowship are given other work to do, absolutely necessary work without which Frodo could never accomplish his mission.
Gandalf did come closest to the unwisdom that Frodo now chooses back in the study at Bag End when he spoke about Gollum.
“My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end…”
Gandalf, more than anyone else in the whole story, knows that there is a Power at work in the story that does not work primarily through the wisdom of making the right choice among available options but a wisdom of such things as Pity. Frodo will make his choice through this wisdom. It will almost cost him his life. It will certainly cost him the possibility of a happy retirement in the Shire among those who love him. But it is through this unwise choice that Middle-earth will be saved.
Wisdom from The Lord of the Rings 
very moving. I enjoy reading your blog.
Many thanks for letting me know.
This is a wonderful example of Tolkien’s faith. He was perhaps thinking
of 1st Corinthians, verses 18-19:
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-19.htmFor it is written, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
then further
20 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-20.htmWhere/is/the wise?
where/is/the scribe? where/is/the disputer of this world? hath not God
made foolish the wisdom of this world?21
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-21.htmFor after that in the
wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.22
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-22.htmFor the Jews require a
sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:23
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-23.htmBut we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness;24 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-24.htmBut unto
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God,
and the wisdom of God.
and finally verses 25 and 26.
25 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-25.htmBecause the
foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
26 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-26.htmFor ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble,/are called/:27
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-27.htmBut God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty;28 https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/1-28.htmAnd base things
of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen,/yea/, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are…
Of course, we need conventional wisdom in this world. For instance, it
is important to uphold and implement the scientific method, but some
things transcend its domain. Frodo knows too well how Gollum feels and
wants to give him the chance of salvation.
I don’t know whether he was thinking of this or not but thank you for your thoughts.
Thank you, Stephen; you make a fair point.
Incidentally, as I read the words “Gollum will betray Frodo and hand him over to Shelob”, I was reminded of St Mark’s words in 10:33 (NLT):
“… the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over …”
Did you have that in mind as you wrote?
I have been thinking a lot about your question over the last few days. It enabled me to think about how I write these reflections.
When I write a piece I do not try to “make” it fit a particular bbiblical text. I just want what I think Tolkien was writing to speak for itself. And I want to express how I feel a passage from The Lord of the Rings is speaking to me. This has changed over and over again since I first read it in 1968 and, of course, a major feature in my reading has been that since 1973 I have consciously been a follower of Jesus Christ. I read the bible on most days and of course it has shaped my thought and life over the years. I know too, because he said it, that Tolkien could not have written the work that he did if it had not been for his faith.
So I can very much see the parallel between what I wrote and the words of Christ in Mark 10 but I was not consciously thinking about them. Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory.
Goodness! It was just a casual question; I certainly didn’t mean you to devote such thought to it. The parallel struck me as I read your post, and I merely wondered whether it might have faintly informed your own words. Thank you for taking the trouble to reply at length. Heaven and earth are indeed full of God’s glory.
It was no burden to me. Your question got me thinking about how I write my material and I was grateful for that. And just as we have both done, we have ended our thoughts with praise which is the best thing of all,.
folly will be their cloak
Isn’t that wonderful, Brenton? And in a world of “dark lords” vying for control I want to live a foolish life!