Pilgrim's Progress NOT

Tolkien was highly insistent that his writings about Middle Earth were not to be seen as allegory. In light of this, certain things need to be taken into account. First that the Christian representations are not always obvious but are a subconscious part of the story derived from Tolkien's own Catholic Christian life. Tolkien himself verifies this point. Second, Frodo's "odyssey" is not a personal event for the thrill of the quest or a desire for adventure. It is a selfless undertaking to destroy the ring on behalf of the free peoples of Middle Earth. Because it is an odyssy, The Lord of the Rings is filled with segues, correlations, symbols, stories, and characters that can fortify the Christian and Catholic Faith (this is a paraphrased from something I read, but I do not have the reference). This is why the story takes over one thousand pages to tell. If it were any less it would be incomplete. We are therefore lead into a deeply spiritual message in which each character, even Gandalf, deals with a personal struggle. Frodo, of course, has the most profound struggles and it is no wonder that by the end we see that there are some wounds for which he can find no healing.

Alternate History

What is the importance of Bilbo's judgment of Frodo's character which lead to his adoption? How does this reflect the truth about the the difference between what kind of person some one is meant to be and and what kind of person they can be?
If Bilbo had not adopted Frodo he most likely would not have been in position to be a ring bearer. Although this does not mean that any quest to destroy the ring would have failed, it does change the events of the task. Or does it? What is the the role of providence here that we can see as presented by Tolkien? We must keep in mind at all times that the writings of Tolkien, especially those that deal with Middle Earth, are an insight into his understanding of how the universe works on both the physical and the spiritual planes; or, to borrow from the Nicene Creed, "all things seen and unseen." Keeping this in mind gives us a "roadmap" for proposing alternate historys in the story of Middle Earth. This is a worth while verture, for in doing so we may not only discern more about the mind of Tolkien, but even gain a perspective on life as we live it.