Inside

Chapter 1 presents the Shire as an internal representation of the mother. In possession of the Ring, both Bilbo and Frodo relate to this maternal internal object in a problematic way – intruding into it to defensively dwell inside it and insulate their ego from unbearable anxieties. Meltzer&s;s notion of the claustrum is thus introduced – an inside place, withdrawn into as a retreat from life, built around infantile (mis)conceptions of the mother&s;s body and portals of entry. The claustrum&s;s compartments – head-breast, genital, and rectal – are introduced as whole worlds of experience in phantasy and the realms Frodo subsequently enters on his quest are conceived of in these terms. Furthermore, being phantasy constructs, the compartments of the claustrum are fluid and in The Lord of the Rings there is imagery evocative of what Meltzer calls ‘geographic confusion&s; – the blending in phantasy of distinct areas of the mother&s;s body, which is seen in more disturbed psychology. Bag End is understood as a geographically confused rectum-breast claustrum and the Ring as a confusion of anus and genital. Gollum is then presented as the psychological core of the tale as Frodo&s;s damaged infantile identity. A key aspect of Frodo&s;s journey, in psychological developmental terms, is his confrontation with, and attempted integration of, his split-off and repressed Gollum-self.