The Fellowship - doomed to fail

[Mister Underhill]

Yes, I'd agree that clearly in the event the justification for sending Frodo to the Fire was that it was the only way to truly solve the problem of the Ring, and therefore it was the only path worth pursuing, ultimately with the hope (or faith if you prefer) that some unforeseen (although as it happened not exactly unforeseen) sequence of events would lead to its destruction.

I'd add a point which slipped my mind earlier, which is that when the quest to destroy the ring was conceived, the ring hadn't really become the Ring yet. That is to say, Tolkien hadn't really yet seen it as the One Ring to Rule Them All that none could resist. So to an extent the quest to destroy *the* Ring may be an artifact of the quest to destroy *a* ring.

Yes, the idea of Boromir wandering around in the wilderness for the better part of four months is a little funny. Maybe he felt he couldn't justify pulling even one man away from the defense of Minas Tirith?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

Yes, the idea of Boromir wandering around in the wilderness for the better part of four months is a little funny. Maybe he felt he couldn't justify pulling even one man away from the defense of Minas Tirith?

Well, Boromir told the Council that Faramir had been the one initially wanting to go out looking for Imladris. Boromir had put himself forward as the one who should go, for the very reason that the journey was so uncertain. Maybe Denethor's love for his elder son itself caused him to be unable to forbid him.