The Power of the Rings

[Alatar]

My son asked me the other day what exactly the ring’s power was and how it worked. I was stumped beyond vague “the power to dominate” types of statements. Why does it make people invisible? Why don’t Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond turn invisible using the Elven Rings? I realise it very much was retconned from a magic trinket, but did it ever coalesce into something less vague?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'll be curious to see what others have to say, but honestly my answer to your question is "no".

[Jude]

My thoughts:

It made the wearer invisible because they entered the world of shadows - Sauron's world. The ringwraiths were invisible because they walked under Sauron's shadow all the time. They had to wear black robes to "give shape to their nothingness", otherwise they couldn't be seen by anyone not wearing the One Ring.

Purely speculation here - the wearers of the Three would have become invisible had they yielded to Sauron's power. As it is, they removed their rings immediately when the Ring Spell was spoken, and left them off until Sauron was killed and separated from his Ring.

[Dave_LF]

I don't have chapter and verse to back any of this up, but: the rings are invested with the power and will of either the elves (the three) or Sauron (all the rest). When you put one of Sauron's on, his power and will attempt to erase and "possess" you, and the speed and extent to which that happens depends on how much power and will you have of your own. But sooner or later, the process completes and you become a mindless thrall, i.e a wraith, and invisibility is a physical manifestation of that creeping erasure*. I don't think it's clear whether a human who wore an elven ring would slowly become an agent of elven will, and as far as I know, no one ever tried the experiment. But the elves who bore them are already aligned with that power, so the effect is synergistic instead of subtractive. And Gandalf is an immortal demigod who in all likelihood already possesses a greater power than his elven ring.

*The Morgul blade seems to have been based on the same basic theory or operation, with the embedded splinter functioning as a mini ring of power.

[Frelga]

I remember the discussion of how the elves already function in both the physical world and the spirit world. So they don't migrate to a different plane as mortals do. (e.g. Frodo seeing Glorfindel as he is in the other world)

Presumably dwarves live firmly in the physical world and don't migrate to the spirit world despite the rings.

[Alatar]

My daughter told me about a fan theory that the rings simply amplified the wearers natural traits. Hobbits are stealthy, therefore they became invisible*. Men are ambitious, so there ambition was enhanced. Elves love nature so it gave them more understanding and control of nature. I know its complete fan fiction, but it kinda works in my head canon.

* Although Isildur is also reported to have been invisible before he was shot with arrows, but that could be the Hobbits applying their own assumptions to the story when transcribing

[Alatar]

I've started watching videos by Jess of the Shire. She's articulate, well read and humorous, and of course it helps that I agree with her on most stuff!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I agree, she's great!

[Jude]

That video is a great answer to your son's original question!

Further thoughts: Wearers of the other rings are able to read Sauron's mind (“I say to you Frodo that even as I speak to you I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns elves, and he gropes ever to see me and my thought but still the door is closed.” ). Can they influence his thought as well? (purely idle speculation here)

For example, when Frodo & Sam were approaching Mount Doom, if any of the Three noticed Sauron's attention wandering over his land, could they gently nudge him to pay more attention to the huge army that's approaching his gate?

[Frelga]

Tolkien didn't go with that, iirc. He had Elves fighting on their own fronts, and not getting directly involved in the main-plot battles. It was Aragorn using the palantír to show him the sword of Elendil and imply that he also had the One Ring that provided the "nudge".

Unrelated but I want the final season of the ROP to show Sauron finally regenerating from the goo into the Necromancer, searching for the Ring, and being completely baffled by whatever he picks up from Gollum.