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Now that Gollum has drifted into this discussion a little bit, I'd like to comment on some things that I touched on in my first post but didn't have time to go into then nor opportunity since. Gollum as a character is often overlooked in this chapter, it seems, in favor of Frodo.
For one thing, Gollum has now figured out for sure and certain just why Frodo and Sam have been trying to get to Mordor. They are going to destroy his Precious, the one thing that gives his life meaning. No wonder Gollum's furious and anxious!
All along, Frodo's pity and mercy for Gollum have been there, though now we see some more reasoning for it, through Sam's eyes. Gollum really doesn't have a chance of redemption now. He came so close... and then that bridge, that chance, was broken. Gollum feels no love for his "nice master;" he only wants the Ring. He is now "forlorn, ruinous, and utterly wretched." Gollum's in agony over the Ring; the good in him is now either gone or buried deep. The Ring has enslaved his mind, and he is "unable to find peace or relief ever in life again." If the Ring were to be destroyed without him, he would die. Not an instantaneous thing, probably; he'd just curl up and die - "into the dust." There would be nothing, good or evil, that Gollum would be willing or able to live for. There's no longer any hope for Gollum, and in this, he is utterly pitiable. And it's because of this that Sam is unable to kill Gollum. He understands Gollum a little better now, realizing the toll that the Ring put on its bearer.
Along this lack of hope for redemption, Gollum is also now quite mad. He's not thinking logically anymore; all that matters is that he gets his precious back. Gone is the cool calculating - take them to Shelob, go through the left-overs, find the Ring - now it's just "get the Ring." Wildness and madness are both words used to describe Gollum.
More than once, Gollum is described as being a shadow. This has two significances that I can see. First, a shadow is dark, a representitive of evil. Also, a shadow is insubstantial and not solid. It's like Gollum is only a shadow of his former self, not all there but a shrunken creature who has been reduced to a part of himself.
All this brings to mind the point that has been made (not on this thread, I don't think) that Eru is a murderer if he willed Gollum to slip. However, I would say this is more an act of mercy than anything else. Gollum was utterly wretched, craving the Ring. He couldn't live without it anymore. Gollum is living in agony; death seems to be a relief after this. Not only is death just, but it's merciful; and Gollum probably died the only way he could possibly die happily - not at peace; in his state, the Ring would probably be more of a torment than a pacifier - but in possession of the one thing he cared about.
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