Bilbo being meant to find the Ring and Frodo being meant to have it is “an encouraging thought” because the “something else” is a benign supernatural power that has its own plans for the Ring “beyond any design of the Ring-maker.” The “something else” is obviously God and that which is meant by God to happen is clearly providence. It is this scarcely concealed presence of God, made manifest in His providence, which makes The Lord of the Rings a “fundamentally religious” work. What makes it a specifically Catholic work is the relationship between providence and free will.
