The Fiat of Galadriel

Galaldriel speaks to Frodo about the terrible crossroad at which they now stand. Whether the Quest succeeds or not, the power that keeps the Elven lands safe will fail. Sauron will be defeated and the power of the Three Rings will fade when the master Ring is destroyed, or the Dark Lord will be triumphant and Lothlórien, Rivendell, and Mirkwood will be swept away. Either way, it is an end of the Elves’ way of life in Middle-earth. This is something that neither Galadriel or Frodo desire, but as she tells the troubled hobbit, he is responsible only for fulfilling the task that he has been given, not for what will happen to her kind as a result. “Do what you must do”, she is saying, “and do not fear to do it because of the consequences that it will have on the land we both love.” She then speaks of her preference for the Ring either never being forged or never being found again after its loss in the River Anduin. She knows, however, that both are vain wishes.

Frightened by the responsibility bound up with his vocation, Frodo freely offers the Ring to Galadriel, tempting her with its ultimate power. She admits that she has long fantasized what she would do if such were presented to her and is momentarily intoxicated by having it now within her reach. Nonetheless, when she could have grown to such heights as Frodo sees her becoming, she instead has the strength of will to withstand her trial. Janice Brennan Croft speaks of the two-edged sword that the Elven Lady well knows the Ring represents: “It is the weapon by which either side could totally destroy the other and in it are also the seeds of the spiritual destruction (at the very least) of the victor” (War and Works 104). When she fully recognizes that the heights of power would actually plunge her into the depths, Galadriel shrinks back to her true self instead of the dark queen Frodo beholds in his vision. She is able to see beyond the seeming victory the Ring would bring and into the reality of what claiming it would truly mean, empowering her to surrender her own will and unite it once more to that of God’s and to no longer be tempted to follow anything else.

If we have spent many years dreaming of what we would do if a particular thing happened or came into our possession, how many of us would then reject this thing when the opportunity arises to seize it? We do not know our strength until it is tested. We may think ourselves strong but in the moment of trial be exposed as weak, or we may consider ourselves weak and find ourselves strong.

The Elven Lady makes the choice to remain God’s child, not the terrible queen the Ring would have made of her. Linda Greenwood notes, “Goodness, which is motivated by love, is the ability to step outside oneself, to have a vision of what will benefit the world to come, and to seek after it without any thought of the self. The Elves, who have the most to lose in the outcome of this war, reject the temptation to change the course of events in order to elevate themselves” (“Love”, p. 184). This is the same emptiness that Aragorn has practiced for decades, that Gandalf brought to its pinnacle in Moria, and which Sam and Frodo increasingly practice. In fact, the returned Gandalf and fading Frodo both become so empty that when Gwaihir the Eagle and Sam respectively carry them, both remark about how light they weigh.

This is the humility that Saruman has long abandoned. He has never even seen the Ring, but he is overcome by lust for it and abandons his true self in search for it. His grasping for it destroys him; Galadriel’s refusal to continue to grasp redeems her. His rebellious choice closes the path to the West to him; her choice reopens the path that rebellion had closed to her so long ago. “Not your will be done, but mine,” he says; “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:43), she says. God knows what her choice will be, but He allows her to be tested so that she will know. We should pray for the same strength to pass our own trial.

Galadriel’s words to Frodo that they have both made choices underscores the fact that free will is involved here. The temptation they face to turn back or become something they are not meant to be is resisted. Galadriel is also aware of what is happening within Frodo due to his being Ring-bearer, but as Gandalf has already noted, not all the changes are wrought by evil. She acknowledges his developing spiritual discernment, the same thing that Saruman notes when he observes how much Frodo has grown. It could very well be that Frodo is guided to Lórien to cure Galadriel of her Ring-lust, just as Gandalf is led to the hall of King Théoden of Rohan to draw the poison of Saruman’s influence over the man. Both gain their own minds and wills back after their time of trial, and it is the exercise of their wills that helps make that happen. Through the grace of Frodo’s presence, Galadriel’s heart and soul are purified of the poison caused by her desire of the Ring’s power and are strengthened in humility.