Frodo's Trauma

Focuses on various works of fiction involving war as well as the affect war had on Frodo.

War in fiction

War has been depicted in fiction for as long as fiction has existed. On the page or the screen, war has captivated us for generations. It is easy to understand why. Whether we discuss gritty, realistic depictions of real life battles like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan, or fantastic depictions like Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings or George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, war is the ultimate showcase of adrenaline. Strategy, bravery, fear, sacrifice, teamwork, hope, despair, loss, mortality, and victory are all themes that are exhibited in war fiction. What’s more, they are exhibited in an arena of the highest stakes. A mistake can mean death. Victory can come at the cost of taking a life.

Only one year after service, Tolkien contracted trench fever and was sent to hospital.

What has always stuck with me the most, however, is the depiction of coming home from war. How can one go from a place where every decision is life or death and then return to their normal life afterwards? I often think of a scene my High School Film Study teacher showed us from 2008’s The Hurt Locker, in which Jeremy Renner’s character returns from active duty and goes grocery shopping. He carefully scans the vast array of cereals before selecting one seemingly at random and moving on. My teacher, who had fought in the Gulf War, recalled how his own experience reflected that scene. He talked about coming home and finding mundane tasks like selecting the right cereal not only pointless, but deeply aggravating.

Tolkien tackles this topic in The Lord of The Rings most effectively through Frodo’s character. Although Frodo doesn’t fight in many of the major battles in The Lord of The Rings, he arguably goes through the most trying and arduous journey, being tested by the treacherous ring as he holds the fate of Middle-Earth in his hands. He wasn’t a great warrior like Aragorn or a wizard like Gandalf, and so the sacrifices he made were all the more meaningful. It also means that the contrast between his quiet life in the Shire is more vast than many of the other members of the Fellowship who have been a part of many battles in their past.

Frodo’s wound from the Ringwraith's serves as a physical manifestation of his trauma. As they are returning home, they come to the Ford of Bruinen where Frodo was stabbed one year prior. Hesitant to ride further and with his eyes unfocused, as if elsewhere, he has this exchange with Gandalf.

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'Well, yes I am,' said Frodo. 'It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.'

'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,' said Gandalf.

'I fear it may be so with mine,' said Frodo. 'There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?'

Gandalf did not answer.”

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For Frodo, the wound that will not be cured is not only physical, it is emotional and mental as well. To go through such horror and return is no easy task. In the final chapter of the book, Frodo seems to go through what seems to be a PTSD episode,

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“Farmer Cotton found Frodo lying on his bed; he was clutching a white gem that hung on a chain about his neck and he seemed half in a dream.

‘It is gone forever,’ he said, ‘and now all is dark and empty.’

But the fit passed, and when Sam got back on the twenty-fifth, Frodo had recovered, and he said nothing about himself.”

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It would have been very easy for Tolkien to write a much happier ending following the destruction of the ring and the victory that our heroes find. That would have been perfectly consistent with many fantasy stories. But the trauma that our heroes, especially Frodo, carry with them following the events of the story really separate The Lord of The Rings and I do not believe it would be the same had Tolkien not gone off and returned from his own great war.