Quote for the Day: Frodo's Failure (II)

Over the next couple of weeks, as a mild protest against the Narnia film (with an emphasis on "mild", so Chris Heard doesn't shoot me), I'll be devoting some blogspace to Lord of the Rings themes, in ways that contrast the approaches of Tolkien and Lewis.

But for now, a simple quote for the day, and a sequel to the one I cited days ago here.

"Frodo's failure...is a very important point... Frodo after all that had happened would be incapable of voluntarily destroying the Ring. Reflecting on the solution after it was arrived at (as a mere event) I feel that it is central to the whole 'theory' of true nobility and heroism that is presented. Frodo indeed failed as a hero... [But] I do not think that Frodo's was a moral failure... [He] had done what he could and spent himself completely and had produced a situation in which the object of his quest could be achieved. His humility and his sufferings were justly rewarded by the highest honor; and his exercise of patience and mercy towards Gollum gained him Mercy: his failure was redressed." (J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters, #246, to Eileen Elgar)