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Frodo's Encounter with the Elves in the Shire
A Long Night's March
11/11/07
"It is not our custom, but for this time we will take you on our road, and you shall lodge with us tonight"
-- Gildor to Frodo, Sam, and Pippin (Fellowship, p. 90)
The expression of supernatural providence of the Elves appearing as a Black Rider was sniffing out Frodo continues to unfold in what happened next: the Elves took the Hobbits with them.
Here we see that symbolic expression is like the blooming of a flower. It's like a seed sprouting. A seed unfolds on its own.
On the one hand, the Elves taking the Hobbits with them follows logically from the story. Few Elves would abandon Hobbits to a Ringwraith. Nevertheless, it is also possible to see in this act the hand of fate. It was imperative that the Ring be removed from the Black Rider.
We also see how, in the imagination of the story, supernatural providence and free will interact. The Elves could have abandoned the Hobbits to the wraith had they so chosen. Supernatural providence is not absolute. Rather providence depends on the free will of individuals.
While the Elves taking the Hobbits with them is not itself supernatural, the expression nevertheless draws strength from the novelty of the act.
It was unusual for Elves to allow strangers to accompany them. Said Gildor, "It is not our custom, but for this time we will take you on our road, and you shall lodge with us tonight" (Fellowship, p. 90).