# Why doesn’t Frodo cry when leaving Middle-Earth?



## sunlightcaller (Jul 28, 2019)

I think his choice was very wise, but the scene is very heartbreaking to me, and I realized that it’s probably because he doesn’t cry while others are bursting in tears. It quite bothered me, I felt some unfairness there, he’s receiving so many emotions while not giving equally.
What do you guys think? Was he in too much pain that he couldn’t show many feelings? Was he so certain of his choice that he didn’t see it as a sacrifice? Was he just cold or insensible at that point, perhaps because of some inner, unconscious arrogance?
I have never read the books, so any information from it would be very valuable.


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## Deleted member 12094 (Jul 28, 2019)

Frodo was under both mental and physical pain as a result of his past ordeal and he could take no pleasure from the welfare of his homeland after the war.

The narrative in the books starts foreboding Frodo's lost destiny in ME with Arwen's present of a white gem to him:

_She took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo’s neck. ‘When the memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you,’ she said, ‘this will bring you aid.’_​
Frodo's poor state starts to show as they're traveling back to the Shire:

_‘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._​
Frodo's dark fits appear in the Shire after their return:

‘_It is gone for ever,’ he said, ‘and now all is dark and empty.’
_
[Two years after the events on Weathertop]
_‘What’s the matter, Mr. Frodo?’ said Sam.
‘I am wounded,’ he answered, ‘wounded; it will never really heal.’_​
Frodo's final destiny is foreseen; also Arwen alludes to this when she offers her passage to the West to him:

_But in my stead you shall go, Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you then desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed.’_​
Why does Frodo not cry? He chooses his way out towards his relief freely, and does so in the company of Bilbo who he loves most of all, as well as of Gandalf and of Galadriel. He leaves the Shire knowing all is well again, Sam included.

From a literature point of view, Frodo is the incarnation of the dramatic hero who sacrifices everything for the good of others. His ending has parallels to a classical Greek drama except that his final fate can be considered merciful since he is offered a way to the West otherwise forbidden to mortals.

You may get a feeling from these few quotes, dear Sunlightcaller, how much more depth of story and meaning there is in the books than in the superficial and story-deforming rendition of the movies. I think you'll be happily drawn into this fictional world once you start reading them so give it a try! And be very welcome here!


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## sunlightcaller (Jul 28, 2019)

Merroe said:


> Frodo was under both mental and physical pain as a result of his past ordeal and he could take no pleasure from the welfare of his homeland after the war.
> 
> The narrative in the books starts foreboding Frodo's lost destiny in ME with Arwen's present of a white gem to him:
> 
> ...



Thanks for welcoming me, and thanks for such a complete answer! I just realized that it’s very likely that he had already mourned as much as he had to for making his choice, and even overcame it all by himself, while others got the surprise at that moment. And by reading what you quoted, it seemed to me that he was already used to such pain since it all began, perhaps so rooted inside of him that it no longer had to come out over and over as a cry. I’ll surely get to read the books as soon as I can!


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## user16578 (Jul 29, 2019)

Merroe said:


> Frodo was under both mental and physical pain as a result of his past ordeal and he could take no pleasure from the welfare of his homeland after the war.
> 
> 
> 
> very good answer and to the point, I think you are right!


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## Elthir (Jul 29, 2019)

Book Spoiler Space

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In the books we "see" the hobbity last farewell directly after Gandalf says:

"Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went aboard; 
and the sails . . ."​

Hmm. So who wept at this point?


We know that just before this, Merry and Pippin rode up in great haste. "And amid his tears Pippin laughed."


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## Deleted member 12094 (Jul 29, 2019)

Thank you for completing this Galin: you are right.
I should have mentioned that too.

Frodo felt relief rather than sadness for finding an alternative to his ordeal and for expecting the rest of his life without the shadows of his past. The Wise had mercifully arranged this for him. As mentioned before, he had long known that in advance. Remember also this quote (at the moment when leaving Rivendell to return to the Shire):

_As Frodo stood upon the threshold, Elrond wished him a fair journey, and blessed him, and he said:
‘I think, Frodo, that maybe you will not need to come back [=to see Bilbo again], unless you come very soon. For about this time of the year, when the leaves are gold before they fall, look for Bilbo in the woods of the Shire. I shall be with him.’
These words no one else heard, and Frodo kept them to himself._​
When the moment had finally come, he felt a great relief from tasks finally being unbound of. The parting was emotional nonetheless but had he tears left when he did something that was best for himself this time...?


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## Elthir (Jul 29, 2019)

Merroe said:


> [snip] The parting was emotional nonetheless but had he tears left when he did something that was best for himself this time...?



If he was properly hydrated . . .


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## user16578 (Jul 31, 2019)

Why cry when you know you are going to a better place? After all in the Halls of Mandos everyone would gather together again... ? 

Maybe something like this?  :


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## Elros Tar-Minyatur (Aug 1, 2019)

I think Frodo is a very interesting character. In this impossible journey he often searches for reassurance from his friends, but not very often does he completely shut down. He always knows what he has to do but seldom wants to do it, but he does anyway. Frodo is unique in the sense that he's not the type of character that's going to break down in tears, he will do what he has to do, but always second guesses whether he is capable of it or not. But he wouldn't have gotten out of the Shire if he didn't have his friends with him.


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