# Would Elvish Rope Hurt an Orc?



## Grima Wormtongue (Mar 26, 2019)

We all know that Sam's rope burns Gollum (many seem to say this is because Gollum is evil, but some say that it's because he's been connected to the Ring for as long as he has.)

Would the rope have the same effect on an orc (because, as we know, orcs are evil) as it did on Gollum?


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## Deleted member 12094 (Mar 26, 2019)

Whenever I read that part of LotR I find it a strange twist that that rope hurt Gollum this way.

What's challenging about analyzing fantasy books is until where can one actually search for a rational explanation. Think e.g about the disappearing wolf bodies in Hollin, etc... I could think of the following "explanation", but be well advised not to take this with excessive confidence. 

The rope had some "magical" (elven) characteristics:

_He cast an end to his master. The darkness seemed to lift from Frodo’s eyes, or else his sight was returning. He could see the grey line as it came dangling down, and he thought it had a faint silver sheen.

‘Then I’m afraid it must have been the knot,’ said Frodo.
Sam shook his head and did not answer. He was passing the rope through his fingers thoughtfully. ‘Have it your own way, Mr. Frodo,’ he said at last, ‘but I think the rope came off itself – when I called.’_​
It can therefore be assumed that such virtues could not be produced without some use or influence of a Ring of Power, in casu Nenya, which was kept by Galadriel in Lorien where the rope was made.

Now as to Gollum, he was all consumed by the One Ring, the antipode of all that is good and pure, and so it can be assumed that any confrontation with Elvish creations would be a torment and an object of hatred induced by his subordination to the will of the One Ring.

You may draw a parallel here to Gollum's disdain for lembas food.

If this holds, then indeed your suggestion (that his connection to the Ring is the consequence) seems to be a correct conclusion. Also, Gollum was hobbit-like before he obtained the Ring and the rope does not affect hobbits at all: this difference cannot be "explained" without the influence of the Ring on Gollum.

If so, then this rope possibly did not affect orcs the way it did to Gollum. However, orcs were equally abhorred by lembas food:

_they (=the orcs) disliked the very look and smell of the lembas, worse than Gollum did. It’s scattered about and some of it is trampled and broken_​
So that does cast serious doubts on what this rope would do to orcs. It's a long shot ... maybe we should test it! 

PS - welcome to the forum, Grima!


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## Grima Wormtongue (Mar 26, 2019)

Thank you for your welcome!

What you wrote here makes a lot of sense, even though (considering that the reaction of the orcs to the Lembas was worse than Gollum's) it still remains a mystery.
It seems *mostly* safe to infer that they'd be fine with it.

Hmm!


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