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Gollum is generally regarded as the most complex character in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Beyond his iconic speaking mannerisms, he is a character of great thematic relevance and psychological depth. Advancing from his simpler and menacing form in The Hobbit, the Gollum of the sequel is darker and more tragic than his previous incarnation. This Gollum is a character torn between two halves, a more humanised persona — called ‘Smeagol’ — that has the capacity to turn to the light and free himself from the evil influence of the Ring, and his darker alter-ego ‘Gollum’, a figure that is both malicious and cruel, and in a constant battle for control over his mind. Through Gollum we see the exploration of mercy most keenly: much of what is accomplished in the story occurs because of the pity Bilbo and Frodo, and eventually Sam, take upon the scheming and desperate being who falls before them at critical points in the journey.
- Origins of Gollum
The reader is first introduced to Gollum in the second chapter of the book ‘A Shadow of the Past’ when Gandalf explains the Ring’s history to Frodo. Gollum is described as once being a hobbit-like being called Smeagol who lived near the Great River and enjoyed a life of fishing and exploring. Smeagol is commonly understood in modern culture through the Peter Jackson adaptations. There he is portrayed in a more Jekyll and Hyde like manner: one half is entirely good, the other entirely evil. The Ring, in Jackson’s interpretation, corrupted Smeagol and provoked him to murder his cousin Deagol. Smeagol, in Jackson’s own words, is a ‘sweetheart’. Tolkien does not offer such a straightforward contrast between the pair of identities, however, and the book Smeagol is already a being with significant capacity for misdeeds.
The Ring of the books does not change someone’s nature completely, nor immediately, but instead manipulates their established character to reach its own ends through. It corrupts over time and, depending on the person’s ambitions towards it, may work more swiftly in some cases than in others. Frodo shows resilience to its corruption as he takes the Ring to hide it and then to destroy it, not to use it. Boromir, by contrast, views it as a martial tool and is thus more easily corrupted.
