Frodo Baggins
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Frodo Baggins |
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| Fandom: | The Lord of the Rings |
| Other: |  |
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Frodo is the hobbit who takes the One Ring to Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. He is one of the most popular characters in Lord of the Rings FPF fandom.
Frodo was played by Elijah Wood in the Lord of the Rings movies directed by Peter Jackson.
Frodo in fanfiction
Gen
Much of the Gen written about Frodo deals with his life before he leaves the Shire with the Ring, often dealing with how he came to live with Bilbo Baggins, or detailing his life among the Brandybucks before that time. It also frequently focuses on his friendships with his cousins Merry and Pippin or his gardener Samwise Gamgee. There is a great deal of fanon about his life during that time, dealing with his grief over his parents' death and his relationship with Merry's parents, Saradoc and Esmeralda Brandybuck. Some authors make this a very kind and loving relationship while others have a more adversarial take on it.
In post-Quest gen stories, there is often a concentration on hurt/comfort, as Frodo struggles unsuccessfully in dealing with the trauma of his long struggle with the Ring. He is sometimes depicted as being a rather saintlike character, suffering in humility among uncaring hobbit neighbors, and appreciated only by those who accompanied him on his journey. His health is shown as deteriorating, which contributes to his decision to leave the Shire. In addition, there are also stories that show Frodo's life among the Elves after he has sailed.
There are also a number of AU gen stories featuring Frodo. The most common trope has Frodo find healing without having to sail away to the West. Instead, he manages to remain in the Shire where he lives at Bag End and functions as a "bachelor uncle" to Sam's children. These stories tend to have a high fluff content, and focus on how happy Frodo is with his new life without the Ring.
In a rare example of non-hobbit gen fic, the doujinshi Dream Walking focuses on Frodo's friendship with Aragorn.
Slash
- The most popular pairing in hobbit fandom is Frodo/Sam.
- other slash pairings, including interspecies; one of the most common is Frodo/Faramir.
- Frequently pictured naked with Sam in manips, most notably by contributors to The Theban Band
Het
Frodo het is much rarer than gen or slash, probably because there are very few female hobbit characters in canon and Frodo (unlike Sam and Pippin) never marries, choosing to sail west to Valinor with the Elves rather than remain in his home in the Shire. A group of fans established an alternate universe, archive and fan community Frodo's Harem, based on the idea that Frodo could find happiness with women after sailing West. The other most common het pairing is Frodo/Rosie.
There have also been a number of pairings of Frodo with OFC characters in the Shire. Sometimes a happy AU ending is found for Frodo with one of these characters, but often the pairings are bittersweet, as the OFC finds herself alone when Frodo sails away at the Grey Havens. There have been some pre-Quest het pairings for Frodo as well with canonical female characters from the Family Trees. The most common character is usually Pippin's eldest sister Pearl Took, but there have been stories pairing him with others, such as Rosamunda Bolger.
Characterization
Some fans of book!Frodo feel that Peter Jackson's films weakened his character by making him younger (Frodo was 50 years old in the books but played by 18-year-old Elijah Wood), showing him helpless and often falling down, and taking decisions out of his hands.[1] Since so many people either came to Lord of the Rings fandom after seeing the movies, the difference in Frodo's appearance and characterization has been a source of tension between Old School fans and newbies.
- Endurance beyond hope, Frodo's heroism as inspirational to fans[2]
- suffering, post-Quest angst, to sail or not to sail...
Example Fanart Gallery
art by Suzan Lovett -- "The Ring Bearer"
Art from Nenya by Morgan Graewolf Reinhold (2005)
Art by Lisa Adolf from Vilya #3 (2006)
References
- ^ Aratlithiel makes this argument in the essay On the The Films, originally posted Nov. 28, 2003. Accessed Dec. 26, 2009.
- ^ One Step More: The Heroism Of Frodo Baggins by Connie Marie, undated. Accessed Dec. 25, 2009.