What did Sam see under the eaves of the Emyn Muil?

Question

What did Sam see under the eaves of the Emyn Muil and why is Frodo a figure robed in white?

Then suddenly, as before under the eaves of the Emyn Muil, Sam saw these
two rivals with other vision. A crouching shape, scarcely more than
the shadow of a living thing, a creature now wholly ruined and
defeated, yet filled with a hideous lust and rage; and before it stood
stern, untouchable now by pity, a figure robed in white, but at its
breast it held a wheel of fire. Out of the  fire there spoke a
commanding voice.
'Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom.'

DavidW · Accepted Answer

In "The Taming of Sméagol," Chapter 1 of Book 4 (published as the second half of The Two Towers), Frodo and Sam capture Sméagol and he swears to aid them.  This is the scene referenced in your quote, and takes place on the border of Emyn Muil after Frodo and Sam have been a few days on their own after leaving the rest of the Fellowship.
Sméagol insists on swearing his oath on the One Ring:

"Sméagol," said Gollum suddenly and clearly, opening his eyes wide and staring at Frodo with a strange light. "Sméagol will swear on the Precious."

But Frodo is firm that he may swear by it, but Sméagol will not see it or touch it:

"No! not on it," said Frodo, looking down at him with stern pity. "All you wish is to see it and touch it, if you can, though you know it would drive you mad. Not on it. Swear by it, if you will. For you know where it is. Yes, you know, Sméagol. It is before you."
For a moment it appeared to Sam that his master had grown and Gollum had shrunk: a tall stern shadow, a mighty lord who hid his brightness in grey cloud, and at his feet a little whining dog. Yet the two were in some way akin and not alien: they could reach one another's minds. Gollum raised himself and began pawing at Frodo, fawning at his knees.

As in the scene you quote, Frodo is seen as a strong figure dominating Sméagol, who is pictured as desperate and broken.
The article found by Valorum is an excellent read and it argues that the evolution of Frodo from a figure in grey to a figure in white is driven by the purification of his soul by his labour and suffering in delivering the One Ring to Mount Doom.
Why Sam is able to perceive what is apparently the wraith-view of the world (based in part on the appearance of the One Ring in the later vision) in these instants is not clear.  It can't simply be because he was, for a period, Ring-bearer, because the scene in Emyn Muil takes place before that.  But it is possible that, since except Sméagol, Bilbo and Frodo, Sam has spent the most time in proximity to the One Ring of anyone in thousands of years, he has become somewhat attuned to it as well.

NKCampbell · Answer

It's a reference to the Book Four, Chapter 1: "The Taming of Smeagol" - where Frodo tells Gollum to swear by the Ring that he [Gollum] will not let Sauron have the Ring.

For a moment it seemed to Sam that his master had grown and Gollum had
shrunk: a tall stern shadow, a mighty lord who hid his brightness in
grey cloud, and at his feet a little whining dog. Yet the two were in
some way akin and not alien; they could reach one another's minds.

This scene occurs shortly after the hobbits have escaped from the Emyn Muil via the rope, thus, under the eaves of the rocks essentially.
(page 618 of Kindle single volume edition)

What did Sam see under the eaves of the Emyn Muil?

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