[Foxbat]

Thinking more on this point made me wonder if we should be asking the question Why a ring?

Wagner, Tolkien and Donaldson all choose this item as a main focal point of their story (more so for Tolkien and Donaldson).
But why? Is it because in a way it can be seen as a symbol of bondage/enslavement/agreement?

I wonder if it has anything to do with the story of Zeus freeing Prometheus from his imprisonment in the Caucasian Mountains. Reluctantly Zeus agrees to free him but proclaims that Prometheus must wear a ring made from the chains that pinned him to the rock.

Then there is the ring itself.
Tolkien’s ring is, in essence, an extension of Sauron and this, by its very nature, makes it not only powerful but evil – able to corrupt all who wear it.

Donaldson’s ring is much more enigmatic – much more contradictory (is this deliberate? Much of Covenant’s position is shrouded by a haze of paradox). The power ultimately lies in Covenant himself but he needs the ring. And yet, this ring is as transferrable as Tolkien’s. Is it the power itself that is likely to corrupt rather than the nature of this ring? So what does it do? Does it hint at power in all of us – that the ring itself acts more like a magnifying glass when you place it between a piece of paper and the sun?

Quite frankly, if I knew the answer, I’d write it here but, as you can see, there ain’t no more………………….so what do you think? Is it just a plot mover used coincidentally by all three creators? Or is there some underlying message that I’m just not getting.