most courageous or smartest person in Middle-earth by a long shot, Gandalf is
saying. He is no conventional Hero, like Beorn in The Hobbit, or to some
extent like Aragorn in LotR. Nevertheless we should not underestimate
Frodo's conventional virtues; as the narrator tells us in the Barrow-mound,
"Frodo was neither very fat nor very timid; indeed, though he did not know it,
Bilbo (and Gandalf) had thought him the best hobbit in the Shire."
But all the conventional virtues in the world will not destroy the Ring;
otherwise Aragorn would bear it instead of Frodo. It is Frodo's
unconventional virtues, his humility, self-sacrifice, pity, love, innocence,
etc. that qualify him for the quest. No one could be more humble, no one
more willing, no one more loving, no one more innocent. No one else, not
even Sam, would try so hard to save Gollum. No one else, not even
Gandalf, would have more faith and trust in Providence. But Gandalf
cannot tell Frodo all this. First of all, in the passage you picked Frodo
had not yet proved himself, so there is nothing to tell. Second, if
humility is so important to the Quest, flattery will not
help.
“I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be acceptable just as a story.)” (From Tolkien Letter # 131.)
Tips for posting in the Reading Room.
