Gollum is crazy, we know that, but does he realize that he was once a hobbit who changed? Does he remember any of his former self especially when he meets Bilbo?
Asked
Active
Viewed 4,205 times
10
-
6False premise: As I understand it, he wasn't actually ever a hobbit, just a hobbit-like creature. – Martha Dec 17 '12 at 23:06
-
3@Martha He was a hobbit, at least ages ago, prior to his getting the Ring: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/24069/1027 – Dec 17 '12 at 23:18
-
3@Martha he was a kind of hobbit, one of the three races I guess you'd call them, but not the one that Frodo and Bilbo are from. – AncientSwordRage Dec 17 '12 at 23:41
-
1Smeagol was a hobbit. The corruption of the ring turned him into the twisted creature now he is and provoked the emergence of Gollum, his second evilish personality. I'm not sure now, but I think there's a passage on the books where he has a briefly remembrance of his past life, however is Gandalf the first to inform Bilbo that Gollum belongs to it's own race. – Bardo Dec 18 '12 at 07:25
-
3@Martha Sméagol, which was Gollum's true name, was a Stoor Hobbit. Stoors were a kind of Hobbit, which means he was one. – Andres F. Dec 18 '12 at 16:44
-
Tale of Years for TA2463 confirms that Deagol at least is a Stoor. Shadow of the Past confirms that his friend Smeagol is "of similar sort". Smeagol may be related to a branch from the hobbit line, as the Shire had been occupied since TA1601 (862 years previous) or he may be an actual hobbit, but either way Deagol definitely is a hobbit. – Jun 14 '13 at 00:43
1 Answers
16
Whether he remembers being a hobbit/hobbit-like, he does remember where he came from:
Chapter 5, page 75:
... Gollum brought up memories of ages and ages and ages before, when he lived with his grandmother in a hole in a bank by a river, "Sss, sss, my preciouss," he said. "Sun on the daisies it means, it does."
But these ordinary above ground everyday sort of riddles were tiring for him. Also they reminded him of days when he had been less lonely and sneaky and nasty, and that put him out of temper.
Chapter 5, page 76:
But suddenly Gollum remember thieving from nests long ago, and sitting under the river bank teaching his grandmother, teaching his grandmother to suck -- "Eggses!" he hissed. "Eggses it is!"
