Frodo's Possible Selves: A Psychoanalytical Study of Lord of the Rings
Date
2015-05-11
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Abstract
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?' (Return 290). For Frodo Baggins, in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the quest he sets out on is not simply about destroying the One Ring and ridding Middle Earth of Sauron, but also discovering who he truly is and what he will become in the end. Will he be a hero, a villain, or neither? To better understand Frodo's journey of self-discovery, we can read the novel through the lens of Markus' and Nurius' theory on possible selves where Frodo's adventurous Uncle Bilbo would represent the 'ideal self' he wishes to achieve, but knows he never will making him idealize Bilbo as something he is not: a great adventurer who has no imperfections. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Gollum who would represent the 'feared self' that Frodo will try to resist as much as he possibly can. What the ring bearer is left with in the end, however, is neither an ideal nor a feared self, but an altered 'actual self'.
Description
Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Alfred University Honors Program.
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Thesis
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Honors thesis, Lord of the Rings, Psychology, Psychoanalysis