This question was inspired by the Andres F answer to another question. In his answer he stated
"we are told that if she ever took the One Ring, she would become way more powerful than Sauron ever was."
So, it makes me wonder: If Galadriel had claimed the One Ring, would Sauron have become her servant, or would have Galadriel become his servant?
Tolkien commented on that subject in the letter 236: Tolkien's letters
Of the others only Gandalf might be expected to master him – being an emissary of the Powers and a creature of the same order, an immortal spirit taking a visible physical form. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond. But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power. But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy him by force. Confrontation of Sauron alone, unaided, self to self was not contemplated. One can imagine the scene in which Gandalf, say, was placed in such a position. It would be a delicate balance. On one side the true allegiance of the Ring to Sauron; on the other superior strength because Sauron was not actually in possession, and perhaps also because he was weakened by long corruption and expenditure of will in dominating inferiors. If Gandalf proved the victor, the result would have been for Sauron the same as the destruction of the Ring; for him it would have been destroyed, taken from him for ever. But the Ring and all its works would have endured. It would have been the master in the end.
So we see that:
To add, Gandalf (Olorin) was of the same stock as Sauron, a Maiar, and essentially of stronger will than even any of the First Born. Gandalf would have been the likely successor of the ring, and sagely resisted the temptation in Book 1 of LOTR. Frodo, excellent keeper that he is, seeks to unload it upon the two greatest forces on two legs in Middle Earth, and both resist, recognizing his earnestness and the futility of acceptance.
Frodo, excellent keeper that he is, seeks to unload it upon the two greatest forces on two legs in Middle Earth
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Oct 2, 2017 at 22:32
It seems likely that Galadriel would have destroyed Sauron (and the Ringwraiths).
She intimates as much in "The Mirror of Galadriel".
And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!
The way the Ring corrupts the Wise is by promising them power to do "good". So she would start by crushing her enemies, but would end up wanting more and more power until she became herself evil.
Also, note Sauron at this time holds the Nine and most of the Seven as well as the Lesser Elven Rings. He would therefore be extremely susceptible to control by the One Ring.
Also note that Galadriel herself is already extremely powerful (and old). She is second in power among Elves only to Fëanor himself "but is wiser than he". With the One she would be immensely strong, and easily able to dispatch Sauron and Saruman (and probably anybody else short of a Vala).
I think it is reasonable to assume that Sauron would have become her servant, because she would be so powerful. But he would not do so willingly, and would, without doubt, know enough about the ring to manipulate Galadriel, slowly but definitively. Sauron's existence would have weakened Galadriel, so she might have decided to destroy him.
I think the point is that she was already very powerful. The ring would just have focused that power, strengthened it and corrupted her. And, in the end, she would be the servant of the ring, which, I surmise, would draw power from her too.
The result, whatever, would be destruction on a scale not envisaged in the books. I suspect that, in the longer term, it would not really matter who controlled the ring, the end result would be the same. The only difference is the timescale.
[edit] Following @Richards comment, I think Galadriel's rule would be very different from Sauron's. She would rule many others, all those who had rings. She would control the other ring holders and reign over middle earth through them. It would probably seem like a benign dictatorship for a while, until people crossed her.
Sauron was a Maiar, one of the servants of the greater Valar, Aulë and a divine being himself. Galadriel no matter how awesome she was with her ring, (made by Sauron) she was one of the Noldor and not even in the same league as Sauron, even as diminished as he was.
Yes, she was immortal. Yes, she was a Noldor, one of the greatest of the Elven families and yes, Fingolfin did manage to harm one of the deities Morgorth of the Valar in a duel. And yes, Morgorth did walk with a limp forever after, but let's remember the end of that duel. Fëanor was crushed and died in his battle against Morgorth.
Being nearly as powerful as a famous hero, does not mean that she was the equal of a godlike being like Sauron. And her having a sense of power could have easily been the Ring altering her perspective of her capabilities and the outcome of any interaction with Sauron.
As far as I can tell, Sauron would have loved for her to have gained the One Ring. She would then proceed to do his dirty work and conquer Middle-earth for him without ever realizing she was doing his work.
At the end, Sauron would have used his will to overcome her and possess her body, using her as a powerful and immortal remote.
I would have to say neither. The One Ring was designed to control the others, not to control its wearer. It would have corrupted her, but not controlled her. But I don't think it would have forced Sauron to become her servant. Having the ring claimed by a wielder capable of accessing its true power would have weakened Sauron (although not nearly as much as its destruction did), but it wouldn't have enslaved him like the Ringwraiths were.
However, I think it very likely that Sauron would have tried to become her servant, not because he had to, but in hopes of finding an opportunity to reclaim the One Ring.
2 things to remember:
Finrod, Galadriel's older brother, went toe to toe with Sauron in a duel of power in the First Age to aid Beren.
Much of Sauron's native strength went into the forging of the One in order to control the others.
Given those two factors. Galadriel in possession of the One would have greater strength on her side and she could see into his mind already as she was trained by Melian. She would break Sauron and probably dispatch him. Plus imagine her getting revenge after 6,500 years for Sauron capturing and leading to the death of her beloved brother.
One thing that is being overlooked about the claiming of the One Ring. Sauron feared that his enemies would take the ring and use it against him. He feared the line of Numenór would use the ring.
Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond and even Glorfindel could have overthrown him with the ring. Gandalf, Galadriel, and Glorfindel had all lived in Valinor during the Light of the Two Trees, so I believe that their power would be stronger than those Elves that were born in Middle-earth. Sauron was not without fear.
Your question doesn't really have an answer. The Ring is powerful AND evil. By it's very nature it corrupts. But the Ring isn't so powerful as to allow either to just casually kill the other with a wave of the hand and a slight wish. Armies and other more mundane means would have to be involved. So, perhaps he would have found a way to regain the Ring, perhaps she would have won and either destroyed him or made him her servant.
But the Ring corrupts, and one of it's top ways of doing so is the desire for power, particularly power for it's own sake. Having the Ring, and choosing to take it's power instead of destroying it...you are preserving the evil along with the power. Who would choose to preserve such evil?
None of the Wise are so powerful as to be able to take the power and destroy the evil. Choosing the power is thus embracing the evil. Had she taken the Ring, she would have become a Dark Queen. Whether Sauron would have survived that is pretty much immaterial.
Everyone has done a wonderful job assessing the Ring and Sauron's abilities and nature. The struggle against Sauron is indefinite as long as the Ring is whole. And moreover, her reign of terror may have stirred the Powers from Valinor... and her goal was to rejoin them not confront them. I am in the camp that Galadriel could have harnessed the Ring to a peerless level, even beyond Lúthien, and could reduce Sauron to shadow albeit an enduring one. Elvinkind is preserved, Lothlórien grows and elves under her reign prosper for a while. But slowly the joy of water and moonlight escape the world. Although the magic is preserved beauty fades. Purpose and joy dwindle. Too hot then the day star will shine and wither away all of middle earth outside Galadriel's borders. Songs are no longer sung and the only light that endures glimmers ever radiantly on the crown of her dark majesty, whom stronger than the foundations of the earth wrestled from water and fire the two other Silmarils.
I think that with the power of the one ring Galadriel would have been able to banish Sauron from the world but never truly defeat him due to the horcrux effect of the ring. It would mean constant vigilance and incredible will power to keep him from re-entering the world.
My reasoning: -Galadriel is more powerful or at least as powerful as her brother who was defeated by Sauron. The battle was not easily lost then and Sauron would be weakened without the one ring having placed much of his power in it. -At the same time Galadriels power would be amplified by the one ring.
Galadriel could not have hoped to enslave Sauron. By his nature as a servant he would have brought Galadriel her doom. And to destroy him permanently she would have to destroy the ring I think. Certainly she would have the power to crush the Ringwraiths and destroy Sauron's domain and perhaps even defeat him in combat. But that fight couldn't have a decisive end in her favor. The ring is more then a weapon. Sauron is alive within it. She would have to relinquish the ring in order to destroy it, in order to destroy him.
