Monique Ocampo Writes
From Heart of Mary Women’s Fellowship
At the very end of Return of the King, there are two major events that happen for Frodo and Sam. Frodo goes off to Valinor with the Elves because the wound that a ringwraith inflicted upon him hasn’t completely healed, even after the adventure is over. Meanwhile, Sam stays in the Shire and lives out his life there. However, at the end of his life (according to the appendices in the book version of Return of the King), Sam goes to Valinor to be with his lifelong friend. Although Tolkien didn’t intend to have any allegory in his works, the place of Valinor represents the idea of dying peacefully, also known as the grace of a happy death.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In