Hey folks,
I thought I might talk about the way Frodo gets treated at the end of Lord of the Rings for a moment, because even while I write this I can feel a shadow of the melancholy I experienced while reading the books. Throughout the (extensive) denouement, Frodo doesn't get to experience the same resolution readers come to expect from their heroes.
I have PTSD, and because of that I really appreciated that at least one character came out of a series of increasingly horrifying situations poorly. I felt like Frodo: watching his peers get their happy endings while unable to get his own, behind and stuck within the world that was once his. I felt like that when I visited home for the first time after moving away: disconnected from everything and everyone that mattered to me and unable to find the connection that had been so easy before.
I remember, one day about 6 months after I graduated high school, I had to speak at a high school in a new city. I felt normal until I walked up to the doors: but when I got to the threshold, I felt like Frodo- silently despairing. I liked Frodo's version of PTSD because it was so much like mine in its lack of outward manifestation. He, like me, could seem 'normal' most of the time even when overwhelmed by panic, sadness, and fear.
I wish I had read these books before I experienced PTSD myself, because maybe I wouldn't have felt so alone in it. The disorder is usually so segregated to soldiers that I worried my predicament would be overshadowed by those that felt more legitimate than my own, and I did not seek the treatment I needed.
Like Frodo, I had to leave my home and go west to finally heal from my wounds. Unlike Frodo, I have been able to conquer my disorder at least most of the time. I may never heal all the way, but I am now able to go back to my home and enjoy the people I almost lost in my mist.
Frodo reminded me that falling down is not a weakness, and even though he could have helped me more had I read this series earlier, I am still grateful for the renewed strength he gave me.
Did any of the characters in Lord of the Rings provide comfort or representation for you? No pressure, I won't be let down if no one responds, but I'd be honored to hear what other people got from this series.
1 comment:
Hi, thank you for sharing this. It was very touching to hear how you relate to Frodo and found comfort in your shared experience. While I do not have a specific character within LOTR that I can relate to in the way you relate to Frodo, I understand what it feels like to have a character that means that much to you.
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