With the rising of the Psychoanalysis, we know a new way to thinking the humans.

Surely, it
will be reflected in the literature and, consequently, in the Mr. Tolkien’s masterpiece, The
Lord of the Rings. The elements of the Inner Self, for example, provide to the reader the
exact information about what Frodo is thinking and feeling, including the “monsters” of his
unconscious: “A great dread fell on him […] filled all his heart.” (TOLKIEN, 2004).
Furthermore, Frodo tries to escape from the reality and to resort to the imagination, where
he can remain in the security of Rivendell.
There are two important principles of Psychoanalysis: Firstly, the intersection between the
individual and the social, in other words, a conflict between his superego and the others:
Frodo knows that is his duty to take the Ring and all the Council expects that, as shown by
the following passage: “A great dread […] never be spoken.” (TOLKIEN, 2004) However, he
is afraid to go. In this context, we have the second principle that is the internal conflict
(id/ego). Finally, even if the dread dominates Frodo, his drives made him accept the mission
on impulse; as shown in “and wondered […] his small voice.” (TOLKIEN, 2004).
Mr. Tolkien is classified as the Counter Canon of the Modernism, as exemplified by the
following passage: “An overwhelming […] his heart” (TOLKIEN, 2004). He is resisting to
move on, because he desires the security of the place that he is now. As a result, there is a
criticism of the Modernism ideal of always move on, never look to the past.
Frodo confess that he does not know the way. To be lost is also an element of the
Modernism. When we know the way, generally we are sure that will arrive to the destiny. In
Frodo’s situation, the danger and the uncertainty are bigger: he even does not know if he will
be alive at the end of the mission. As a result, there is a reflection about who is Frodo now
and who he will be in the future.
Concerning the esthetical of the text, we have a fusion of the Epic and the novel such as an
example of the freedom of thinking and writing of the Modernist fiction. The Lord of the Rings
has as Epic elements the fantastic creatures, the past time, a great mission to be concluded,
etc. Although, the form is different than usually is used in the Epic: Mr. Tolkien choose as
genre the novel, because he wanted the freedom of to unite, in one single work, the
fantastic, the marvellous, the uncanny, also the mimesis.
Besides these facts, Frodo isn't a hero in the classical way of thinking, as Skogemann
describes: “a powerful man or god-man who vanquishes evil in the form of dragons,
serpents, monsters, demons, and so on, and who liberates his people from destruction and
death.” (SKOGEMANN, 2009). Frodo is just a hobbit from the Shire that despite his fear and
uncertainties about his own fate, decides carry the One Ring to mordor, in his own words -
‘though I do not know the way.’(TOLKIEN, 2004, p.270). He knows it is his duty, his fate. As
cited by Bloom, “Ideas of fate and luck were a prominent part of the heroic worldview. Heroic
literature frequently implies that fate (or Fate) rules the hero’s destiny, but that decisive role
is sometimes ascribed to luck, which seems more erratic, capable of leaving the hero, for
example, in the lurch on what may seem contingent considerations.” (BLOOM, 2008) Frodo
became a hero by accepting his fate as a duty. The “classical” hero, Aragorn, in this moment
is full of doubts, as the others in the The Council of Elrond, he is just a viewer. After the
Frodo’s decision, he will be part of the fellowship of the ring. Just late in the story appears as
the archetypal cultural hero, whose task is to found a kingdom for a new age and reunite the
kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. (SKOGEMANN, 2009).