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2024 Lord of the Rings Reading Challenge <a href="https://wenrou.substack.com/s/lord-of-the-rings-challenge?utm_medium=podcast">wenrou.substack.com</a>

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December 22, 2024

Corruption and Redemption

Hello, I’m Tiffany, your resident town hermit. Welcome to my fellowship—a haven where you’re free to talk about taboo subjects you can’t anywhere else.Dear Inklings,We are finishing The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien this week. If you’re new here, my essays for this book challenge will always be free to read, but the journaling exercises and discussions are for patrons only. I also share more of my personal experiences in that section. We will be going deep and I want the space to be an intimate one. I hope you will choose to participate in our Fellowship.<a target="_blank" href="https://tiffanychu.substack.com/p/journey-through-middle-earth-a-lord">Click here for the main page and reading schedule</a>.Today’s guest essay is brought to you <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/86995286-jenn-zuko">Jenn Zuko</a>, an actual badass whom I had the honour of meeting in person during a Colorado trip earlier this year. And yes, she is just as cool as she seems. Also, there’s just something special about taking the online offline, so I do like to do that as much as possible. It was wonderful. Jenn brings together many of the themes and threads, which makes this a fitting conclusion to our reading. Enjoy!AUTHOR’S NOTE: Back in 2004, I taught a graduate-level literature course called ‘Hobbits and Heroes’ over at DU, in their Professional Writing Masters program. It being 2004, the Peter Jackson movies had just come out, the Hobbit movies weren’t even a glimmer in anyone’s eye, and I had a whole 10 weeks to go through this rich material with my students. We read a bunch of fairy tales and some epic tales, read the Hobbit and the whole LOTR trilogy, then discussed (but didn’t read) the Silmarillion’s lore and the intensive worldbuliding, centered on languages, that made up Tolkien’s Middle-Earth.I first re-shared the lecturettes for the old course on my blog about ten years later (the class was a very early example of online learning–I think we must’ve used an old form of Blackboard? Ew. anyway…) and then a couple years ago when I started my Substack, I published them in a series here for Zuko’s Musings. Those re-publishings were largely unchanged since their first appearance in that class. For <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/119143517-tiffany-chu">Tiffany Chu</a>’s LOTR reread, though, I wanted to expand this one into something a little longer, ask you all a few more questions, and do just a little more exploring of these concepts, to join in all the spectacular dialogue that’s surrounding it. Thanks, Tiffany, for having me on as a guest, and I hope to get a bunch of comments so we can continue this discussion I began 20 years ago in class.Now. Let’s get crackin’!A Brief History of the Origin of Evil in Middle-Earth:Melkor (“he who arises in might”) was jealous of Eru [the One] already before Arda [the world] was created, and wanted to be king of other wills himself. When Eru revealed the results of their song to the Ainur [Vala and Maia], Melkor was one of the first to descend into it, mainly from this desire. …when the Valar finally rested, he and his followers [downfallen Ainur, like Sauron and the later Balrogs] attacked their dwellings and destroyed their Two Lamps [precursors to the Two Trees and the sun and moon].…the Noldor first named him Morgoth, “dark destroyer of the world”. With the aid of Ungoliant [mother of the giant spiders, including Shelob] he also managed to destroy the Two Trees and bring darkness to Valinor, before he fled. Because Morgoth dispersed his essence all over Arda, it is said that all of Arda outside of the Blessed Realm has some evil in it, this being the Morgoth-element.The essence of evil in Middle-earth centers around selfishness, the desire to be ‘king of other wills,’ the intense protection of ego to subordination of all else, and ‘lacking imaginative sympathy’ is usually the fatal flaw by which this evil is ultimately vanquished. Sauron is not the biggest baddie of Middle-earth: Morgoth really is the Root of all Evil, though he is not dead, but chained and diminished during the time of the trilogy. Remember that Sauron, the Balrogs, and Ungoliant were Morgoth’s loyal subordinate servants back in the day. Even though Sauron is an extremely powerful, if non-corporeal, presence by the time the events of LOTR occur, we must remember that he is but a Maia (like Gandalf and Saruman), whereas Morgoth is a Vala, a higher level being and much more powerful. Thank goodness Morgoth is out of commission in Middle-earth at the time of our story—if Sauron, his lieutenant, can wreak this much havoc and fear on the world, imagine what Morgoth himself must have done, way back when he ruled from Utumno.‘Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.’ —Gandalf, in the Council of ElrondBut They Were All Of Them DeceivedWell, Gandalf should know, he being of the same type of being as Sauron, and most likely knew Sauron before Morgoth convinced him to turn to evil.The worst kind of evil, the kind which flatters and seduces, is examined over and over again in LOTR; each time a baddie is defeated, he is given a chance for redemption, and true colors will out when one looks at the choices each character makes. Back before Sauron died and came back, he was handsome and well-spoken, enough so to fool the Elves into forging Rings for him. His deception is much akin to Saruman’s voice: betrayal masked behind a fair façade.But Sauron’s return to life isn’t into a more powerful and radiant form, like Gandalf the Grey’s resurrection into The White. Sauron is a terrifying Eye, a void with a dominating presence (oxymoron? maybe), and though he may not be corporeal, his entire twisted existence during the trilogy is centered on dominance. He is the ’king of other wills’ and the only thing that hinders his utter domination and thereby destruction of Middle-Earth is the fact that the One Ring is not in his possession. Even so, his influence is enormous, and between hordes of orcs and powerful individuals like Saruman and Denethor, his world domination is almost complete.And this is Sauron’s one little ventilation tunnel into his Death Star: he expects everyone else to want to dominate, too. That some don’t want this and might choose a truly peaceful path doesn’t even occur to him, which is why Frodo and Sam are able to get that far into Mordor in the first place, and why they’re ultimately able to get right inside Mount Doom. ‘With the logic of ambition [Sauron] expects some one of the Western leaders to turn the power of the Ring against him. But with the lack of imagination that characterizes the self-involved he cannot conceive that they may refuse power and decide to destroy the Ring instead.’Corruption: Saruman and DenethorSaruman and Denethor are more men of intelligence than men of action, in contrast to our redeemed fallen figures, which I’ll talk about in a minute. They both, in their peak of good work, prized knowledge greatly, and in particular the knowledge of the darker arts. Both have one of the palantìr and both use it, but, foolishly (as with the seductive trap of the Ring) they both think they can wrest its power from Sauron and rule as a great power in his stead. It’s the same trap as with the Ring: anyone who wields it for use, even if they begin with good intentions, will quickly fall to evil as long as they use it. This rotting descent is how both these wise men come to their doom: they begin to think like Sauron: only of domination, and so they play right into his hands, and both for similar reasons.Saruman’s FallSaruman does not take the chances for redemption given him, not when Orthanc is first taken, nor later when he meets the leftover party on the road as a beggar. His corruption is not easily erased, however, as the hobbits find out when they return to the Shire. He has ruined the Shire on his own ruinous way down, and even in death there is no redemption for him. He falls at the hands of his miserable minion Wormtongue, made more miserable by Saruman’s treatment of him, until Wormtongue (now only Worm) breaks, pulling his weakened master down with him into death, into the dirt. As high as Saruman’s lofty wise ways held him before his corruption, even so low is his undignified downfall, stabbed in the back by a simpering lackey.In Saruman mainly (but in Denethor as well), we see the imminent danger of incautious knowledge gain. Kocher discusses this in his essay on the Nature of Evil in Middle-Earth: ‘Knowledge is not a good in itself,’ he notes. ‘It is not allowed to remain neutral on Middle-Earth, but is good or ill depending on the use to which it is put.’ The moment both this wizard and this man decide to choose their own glory over the greater good, that’s when their fall begins. And the more they use their palantìr, the more they play into Sauron’s deceptive clutches. Saruman still thinks he’s in control of his palantir peerings, while it can be argued that Denethor caves to Sauron’s control, thinking all is lost because of the disinformation he’s been fed.Denethor’s FallDenethor, being a proud man of the blood of Númenor, is easily tricked into believing he has control of his palantìr at first, because Sauron is quite familiar with such pride as Denethor displays, and so can easily feed him the information he chooses until his collapse into despair and suicide (and attempted filicide). The path Denethor follows is no doubt just like the fall of the Nine Kings of Men who are now the Ringwraiths: if Denethor had had the One Ring (or any of the Rings of Power), he’d have become a Ringwraith as well. As it is, his life is over even before Gandalf and Pippin arrive, and once they get there and especially after he makes the dire mistake of gazing into his palantìr at that point, his mind gets twisted far into the depths of despair. And a man in despair feels that there’s nothing to be done, no hope, no good action that can be taken, that all is already lost.‘Denethor is sunken in a dark nightmare whereinto the light of reason and fact cannot penetrate.’Denethor achieves no redemption in his death, as suicide is not considered an honorable way to go in Middle-earth. Here, Gandalf admonishes Denethor, already in madness, against the sin of suicide (emphasis my own):“Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death…and only the heathen kings, under the dominion of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death.”Both these corrupted men are partially (at least) ruined by their high knowledge. Or, maybe it’s that they’re extra corruptible because of their immense knowledge? Certainly they both got carried away in their intensive study of the dark arts in particular, which is something that Elrond warns us about at the Council in Fellowship: ‘It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the enemy, for good or ill.’ The more both Saruman and Denethor delve into study of Sauron, the further they both fall under his spell–the temptation of becoming the ‘king of other wills’ that will depose Sauron, yes, but not usher in a new era of peace, but sit on his throne themselves. This is Denethor’s lament, when he hears of Boromir’s death and then hears the news from Faramir, as to where Frodo has gone with the powerful weapon that is the Ring. There is no winning, no survival even, to Denethor without that dominating power, and that’s what makes him not only annihilate himself, but attempt to dispatch his gentle son Faramir along with him, mistaking Faramir’s quiet wisdom for weakness. Just like Sauron has done.Yet You Comfort MeGimli’s high level courtesy in Lothlorien is the epitome of redemption when it comes to the racial tensions between elves and dwarves. Gimli hangs on to his dignity when confronted with the blindfolding on the way in to Lorien–Legolas calls it ‘the stiff necks of Dwarves’ but it isn’t stubbornness or pride; it’s just Gimli demanding he be treated like an equal. Aragorn recognizes this, and calls Legolas out on his hypocrisy when he in turn recoils against the shame of sharing Gimli’s blindfolded fate.‘Hear, ye Elves! Let none say again that dwarves are grasping and ungracious!’ declares Galadriel, announcing Gimli’s refusal to ask for a gift, even when pressed. When she insists, he hesitantly asks for an incredibly beautiful and humble token of a strand of her hair. In his answer (‘what would you do with such a gift?’) he redeems the old-standing conflict between these two peoples, which lasts through war and all the way into the Gray Havens. He promises he will encase her hair in imperishable crystal, to symbolize the union of Elves and Dwarves ever after.After this pivotal moment, Legolas and Gimli comfort each other in times of deep discomfort through the rest of their adventure, and they fight by each other’s side (adorably competing in number of orc heads hewed) during war and wariness alike. They become such fast friends that Gimli is also invited to the West after all is done and mended. Gimli’s single-handed humility and admiration is what mends these ancient wounds, and redeems much of the hatred of Middle-earth past.But there are two characters in this story whose redemption is only achievable with their deaths:Redemption: Boromir and SméagolBoth these characters are irrevocably seduced by the domination of the Ring: both fall into the trap of wanting to possess it and/or use it (Sméagol actually does possess it, to his ruin), and both are ultimately redeemed in death. One of their deaths is a chosen sacrifice and the other is accidental, but both represent an ultimate payback for the damage the coveting of such a powerful object of evil power has done. As much as Boromir wants to save the world, it’s Smeagol who ends up doing so, albeit not exactly by choice.Boromir’s FallWhen Boromir tries to seize the Ring from Frodo, he subsequently falls on his face, then weeps, realizing what he has done. He understands, finally and too late, why Elrond and the wise ones in charge of his quest did not want to use the Ring, but destroy it. He dies defending the hobbits Merry and Pippin, and confesses his sin to Aragorn before he dies, thus redeeming his honor.Poor Boromir. Of course the first thing he’d think of is saving Gondor (and, to be fair, the rest of the world from there). His domineering father holds him in far too high a selfish esteem, and we can’t know how guilty he must feel about how Faramir is treated. He wants to bring the shiny new all-powerful weapon home to save the day (and to please his father). That destroying it is the wiser and more powerful choice doesn’t occur to him until Frodo flees him in terror. We can imagine that Galadriel’s words and Aragorn’s Lorien warning come back to him as he shakes off the glamor of the Ring’s temptation. His heroic sacrifice is a fitting warrior’s end, to make up for the damage he has done.This is one of the reasons why I don’t forgive the Jackson movie’s change in Faramir’s first reaction to learning of Frodo’s burden. The polar contrast of how Faramir reacts and how his brother Boromir acts when tempted by the Ring shows so clearly the difference in the two men, and making Faramir just a Temu Boromir that happens to survive is a huge disservice to his character. But we’ll talk about him in a minute. Let’s move on to Smeagol.Smeagol’s FallSmeagol and the Ring are inseparable: he is addicted to it without hope of healing—the Ring cannot be destroyed while Smeagol is alive. When Frodo, at the Crack of Doom, gives in to the Ring’s power and claims it for his own, only Smeagol’s self-sacrifice (in the guise of mad desire for the Ring) makes it possible for it to finally be destroyed. Smeagol’s long life of horrible wretchedness is redeemed in that last act, and though he does not consciously realize it as such, it is self-sacrifice. He is the Ring, and for it to be destroyed means he too must be destroyed.I find it interesting when I hear commentary about Gollum/Smeagol and they’ll call the Ring Semagol’s birthday present, saying it belonged to him, or found its way to him, and that’s what turned him evil. But if you read that part again, look at how slimy and sneaking and dark and kinda sus Semagol is in his full bright pre-Gollum life. He doesn’t find the Ring, it’s his cousin Deagol who dives and finds it. Smeagol calls it his ‘birthday present’ in order to justify his demanding of it, though Deagol says hey back off and I already got you an expensive present. Smeagol murders his cousin, with his bare hands, in cold blood, and continues to call his Precious his ‘birthday present’ as he falls further and further into wretchedness over the course of many decades. This is a matter of the Ring not only choosing its way in the world, but attaching itself to a person’s inner desires and innate characteristics. That Bilbo didn’t become a Gollum shows how much of Gollum was already in Smeagol to begin with.But Gollum’s redemption is not a conscious one, the way Boromir’s was. It’s not a choice: Smeagol is still Gollum, and the Ring cannot be destroyed while he lives–he’s too far gone. But Frodo’s failure at the Crack of Doom gives Gollum the opportunity to make everyone’s pity-centered sparing of his life worthwhile, though he, again, doesn’t choose to make it so. It’s his too-eager dance of celebration and too-violent snatching back of the Ring that causes him, once again attached to his Precious, to fall over the edge of the precipice, paying the ultimate price and saving the world, something Frodo couldn’t do.Faramir Passes the TestFaramir’s careful behavior around Frodo and valiant acts back in Gondor redeems both his elder relatives (he doesn’t need redeeming himself, as much as his father trash-talks him). What he does about the Ring (or doesn’t do. In this case), as compared to Boromir, sets Faramir apart as that extraordinary balance of the learned man and the warrior. He sacrifices himself for his unappreciative father, almost to the point of death, and honors his brother even as he sees clearly why it must have been only a matter of time before he fell. ‘Alas! poor Boromir,’ he mourns, even as he treads carefully around the obviously dangerous artifact that is the Ring. Because he, like his father, has spent time in Gondor’s archives, he understands what the Ring is, much more deeply than his brawn-not-brains brother. But, unlike his father and more like his brother, he doesn’t overestimate his own intelligence, falling into despair and losing the will to fight.Faramir never stops fighting, not even when his father turns him away and loses himself in the deadly despair of the palantir. It’s Faramir’s love of learning and ‘wizard lore’ that keeps him safe from that type of corruption. He’s both the balanced warrior and wise man that neither his brother nor father were wholly. And so neither of the traps of pride or despair appeal to Faramir.Pride and despair: the center of the self-fear that is evil manifest in Middle-earth. How does one defeat such evil? With humility, of course: humility, empathy, and hope. And with the help of true friends.But There’s Hope (no, not Bob)There is something to be said for the extent to which we in contemporary culture are seeing a big revival of LOTR fandom, including lots of critical content along with rereads. Even since I taught this class back in 2004, there’s been an upsurge in appreciation of Hobbits and Heroes. I don’t think it’s just because of all the cinematic adaptations, either–as a lit prof, I’d say that those come to be because people are reading the books again, not the other way around (for the most part, though the original Jackson trilogy are considered modern classics these days). I think we love Middle-Earth and this Epic Quest today for a few different reasons:It’s an exciting, harrowing tale in the vein of an old adventure epic, like the Eddas, Arthuriana, Greek myths and tales like the Odyssey, and the like. But to that ancient epic feel is added a modern touch: the addition of a ‘regular guy’ in the form of the hobbits. Pipe-smoking alone is way more contemporary than a medieval setting, and the small-town-bickering, love of middle class comforts, and the like, is all way more of a modern time than an ancient epic. It’s that juxtaposition of the ancient with the new, the contrast (and even conflict) between the ancient powers of beings like the Ents and Shelob versus Saruman’s machinery and Mordor’s industrial ruins surrounding its borders. And while there may be a dearth of strong women characters (I talk about this in my lecturette <a target="_blank" href="https://open.substack.com/pub/jenn5c3s4/p/eowyn-heroine?r=1fslzq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web">Eowyn Heroine</a>), and a bit of a nationalist or colonialist dismissal of ‘other’ peoples like the Southrons or Easterlings, or even the orcs, it’s obvious that Tolkien doesn’t pin the concept of Evil to any group or ‘race.’ Evil is in the individual, who makes conscious choices to dominate, to be ‘king of other wills.’Orcs, widely described as corrupt, nasty, warlike, bloodthirsty, and brutish, aren’t the evil ones. They’re a bunch of grunts who serve the individuals that are the evil ones, like Saruman and Sauron. Are they nice guys? No, and they don’t seem to be portrayed as redeemable either, double-crossing each other for selfish gain all the time (like the slimy character who separates out Merry and Pippin from the rest of the Rohan raiding party, or the bickering orc guards in Mordor’s outer reaches, arguing over Frodo’s body), but they aren’t Evil as a people. They’re bad guys, but they’re not evil. One wonders what happens to the orcs that survive the huge battles at the conclusion of Return of the King. Does Aragorn slaughter them all? Do they slink away and live on their grody own, separate from the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth? Tolkien doesn’t say. What do you think?All in all, I can see that it’s this complexity, this mix of the ancient and the contemporary, that makes this tale so potent for us in a post-pandemic 2024. It makes me think of another enormous upsurge in LOTR fandom, in the early 1970s. What was happening then in the wider world and culture, that made this epic tale so resonant to so many people? What’s happening today, that so many of us are coming back to it, reimagining it, re-adapting it and rereading it? I can think of a couple parallels, can’t you?Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure to Middle-Earth. I look forward to seeing you around next time!Week Twelve Journaling Exercise & DiscussionJournal exercise* Write about a moment when you had to choose between using power/influence for personal gain versus the greater good.Discussion(These are only starting points. Feel free to discuss anything that came to mind for you.)* Describe a relationship that helped redeem a prejudice or preconception you once held.* Share about a moment when despair nearly overwhelmed you. What helped you maintain hope?* Tell us about a time when knowledge became dangerous—when knowing too much about something led you down a harmful path.With Love, This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://tiffanychu.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">tiffanychu.substack.com/subscribe</a>

December 16, 2024

Éowyn's Redemption from Despair to Hope

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.tiffanychu.org?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.tiffanychu.org</a> Hello and welcome to Notes from the Town Hermit, a haven for the overthinkers and deep-feelers who search for reasons why life should be worth living.Dear Inklings,Before we get started, I’d appreciate it if you take a moment to take this anonymous survey regarding this publication and your experience of it so far. Thank you!We are currently reading <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/85242/9780547928197">The Return of the King</a> by J.R.R. Tolkien. My essays for this book challenge will always be free to read, but the journaling exercises and discussions are for patrons. We will be going deep and I want the space to be an intimate one. I hope you will choose to participate in our Fellowship!<a target="_blank" href="https://tiffanychu.substack.com/p/journey-through-middle-earth-a-lord">Click here for the main page and reading schedule.</a>The first part of this essay was originally published on <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/35199478-john-halbrooks">John Halbrooks</a>’s site, <a target="_blank" href="https://johnhalbrooks.substack.com/">Personal Canon Formation</a>.[. . .] and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer and love all things that grow and are not barren.So says Éowyn after accomplishing one of the greatest feats in the War of the Ring: vanquishing the Lord of the Nazgûl. Just chapters before, she had made this epic speech to this foe that cowed even Gandalf and laughed in his face.But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.Cue the cheering. What a win for feminism and woman’s superiority!But then, what happens?She goes and gets married to a man (never mind that it’s to Faramir, arguably the best of them) and swears off battles, Taming of the Shrew-style.It’s here that some feminist critics throw their hands up in disgust and relegate Tolkien back to the dark box of yet another elitist male author who failed to write a good character arc for a woman.To have come to such a conclusion, however, would have meant missing who Éowyn is altogether. She is one of the most complex and misunderstood characters in the trilogy.A morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhoodLet us set aside preconceived notions of womanhood for a moment and examine Éowyn’s character arc.Éowyn dreams of glory but knows nothing of what it entails. She only knows she has lived trapped within the confines of duty to a king and uncle who will not rule, scrutinized and lusted after by a slimy and treacherous man, living under the shadow of her brother and men she sees riding off to renown and fame, while she is forever left behind to tend the house.[. . .] but she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonored dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on.In Gandalf’s words describing her, we gain insight into what it must have been like to live trapped and helpless in a kingdom falling to ruin.There is much to be pitied in Éowyn, and much to empathise with. She is a spirited woman who longs for more than what her sex can afford her. There is no honour in looking after her uncle, regardless of affection.At the same time, Éowyn’s perspective is limited by her own predetermined ideas of what life should be like for a person of her bearing and lineage. She is repeatedly described as a girl not yet come to womanhood, which is to say, she is still immature. She sees her life as a cage; when Aragorn arrives like a conquering hero out of a legendary history book, she sees a ticket out of her chains, and falls in love, not with Aragorn himself, but with what he can offer her as an escape.Forsaking duty in pursuit of vain ambitionThe turning point comes at Dunharrow, when Aragorn, on the way to the Paths of the Dead, reminds Éowyn of her charge, even as she entreats him to let her accompany him.Here, the contrast in their perspectives only highlights where Éowyn’s focus is. She argues against him and quite tellingly, she cannot understand his decision to seek the Paths of the Dead, where he cannot hope to gain glory in the battle at Minas Tirith:“Yet I do not bid you flee from peril, but to ride to battle where your sword may win renown and victory. I would not see a thing that is high and excellent cast away needlessly.”He, on the other hand, reminds her of her responsibilities to her people and the trust Théoden placed in her to lead them to safety. The following is a long excerpt, but bear with me here; this is important.“Your duty is with your people,” he answered.“Too often have I heard of duty,” she cried. “But am I not of the House of Eorl, a shieldmaiden and not a dry-nurse? I have waited on faltering feet long enough. Since they falter no longer, it seems, may I not now spend my life as I will?”“Few may do that with honour,” he answered. “But as for you, lady: did you not accept the charge to govern the people until their lord’s return? If you had not been chosen, then some marshal or captain would have been set in the same place, and he could not ride away from his charge, were he weary of it or no.”Contrast Aragorn’s rebuke with how he too longs to go elsewhere than where his duty bids: to Rivendell where his heart dwells.Leadership requires sacrifice.Éowyn has yet to understand this. When she cannot win Aragorn’s love, she decides she would rather die in a glorious blaze and win a name for herself while she’s at it. She disguises herself and goes to battle.She abandons her people.When Éowyn grows up and learns true strengthWe’ve now come full circle. The Witchking is defeated at Éowyn’s hand; she has won the renown she sought, and yet it is not enough because she didn’t get to die in battle and she still doesn’t have the love of Aragorn.In the Houses of Healing, she convalesces along with Faramir, and to him she confides the pain of her heart in a way that is both tender and endearing. It’s one of the rare instances we witness Éowyn’s vulnerability as she tells him how her window doesn’t face eastward.Éowyn sees in Faramir a man who is no less valiant than anyone in Rohan, yet doesn’t love war. As they heal in body and spirit, they grow to understand one another. Like Aragorn, Faramir is also moved to pity toward Éowyn, but he comes to love her for who she is. He recognises her courage and also her innocence in a way even her brother did not, and echoes back to her the words she has kept hidden in her own heart.Faramir doesn’t talk down at her the way Aragorn and others did, however correct they may have been. He acknowledges her; he sees her.Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it.In being seen, Éowyn is transformed.I want to linger here for a moment. Because I don’t think it’s an accident that Éowyn’s transformation comes immediately after Faramir’s mini-analysis of her character. When she realises that he understands and recognises her for who she is, she is no longer compelled to prove herself and her worth through fighting; she now possesses the freedom to be who she is, completely.It’s too easy to see Éowyn as a fierce woman who settles down to domesticity for a man, but much more is at play here. Faramir’s famous line goes, “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” He exudes this in his bearing, and Éowyn senses it. Until this point, the sword is a mere means to an end for Éowyn; her deepening bond with Faramir shows her there is meaning to be found in life rather than death. We see a vital shift from literal death to life, both in Éowyn’s will to live and her motivation for living.This, then, brings us back to my opening quote: “[. . .] and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer and love all things that grow and are not barren.”Rather than seeking war and death, Éowyn now chooses to cultivate life instead. Her journey of self-discovery led her through dark paths, a loss of meaning, and ultimately to a new sense of purpose.A few things stand out to me as I bring this to a close:Éowyn’s decision to nurture life with her hands ties well with Tolkien’s larger themes. We see this in the Hobbits, but most of all in the character of Sam, who, when imagining what he would do with the Ring, dreams of a giant garden.I’m also struck by the fact that once again, heroism in Tolkien’s story does not present the way it conventionally would in such stories, or in the way Éowyn understood heroism at the start of her journey.She learns that it does not have to take her skill with a sword to make her a strong woman.Rather, true strength is found in sacrifice, understanding, and a deep respect for living things. After the devastation of war and a brush with death, Éowyn returns to life and devotes her efforts to restoring a fractured land. She learns what true heroism means: not in the pursuit of acclaim but in the less glamorous yet no less worthy pursuit of healing what is broken.For next week, read to the end of The Return of the King, and await a guest post by the excellent <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/86995286-jenn-zuko">Jenn Zuko</a>.Week Eleven Journaling Exercise & Discussion

November 18, 2024

Samwise Gamgee: The Heart of the Fellowship

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.tiffanychu.org?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.tiffanychu.org</a> Hello, I’m Tiffany, your local town hermit. Welcome to my fellowship—a haven where you’re free to talk about taboo subjects you can’t anywhere else.Dear Inklings,We are finishing <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/85242/9780547928203">The Two Towers</a> by J.R.R. Tolkien this week. If you’re new here, my essays for this book challenge will always be free to read, but the journaling exercises and discussions are for patrons only. I also share more of my personal experiences in that section. We will be going deep and I want the space to be an intimate one. I hope you will choose to participate in our Fellowship.<a target="_blank" href="https://tiffanychu.substack.com/p/journey-through-middle-earth-a-lord">Click here for the main page and reading schedule</a>.Today’s guest essay is brought to you by <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/248018226-kieran-jane">Kieran Jane</a> , a dear writer friend of mine from Instagramming days, though of course we have now shifted to email. Perhaps one day I’ll convince her to join me at Substack… Anyway,Kieran Jane fell into Middle-earth at an early age with an illustrated version of The Hobbit, and Smaug is directly responsible for her obsession with dragons and all things fantasy. She’s currently revising an adult dark (but cozy, yes, the two can coexist) contemporary fantasy and has hundreds of flash fiction pieces alphabetized in her Notes app. Her stories reflect her fascination with mythology and fairytales and the archetypes in humanity’s narratives that resonate across cultures and time.The best place to connect with Kieran is on the ‘gram <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/kieranjanebooks/">@kieranjanebooks</a> where you’ll find bookish talk, musings on Middle-earth, and thoughts on the writing, neurodivergent, and parenting life (and often on the intersection of all three). You can also join her adventures (and enjoy a flash fiction piece or two) in ‘<a target="_blank" href="https://kieranjane.kit.com">a new leaf</a>’, a monthly note curated and composed to brighten your inbox. To pledge your sword (or your bow or your ax, as it were), visit <a target="_blank" href="https://kieranjane.com">kieranjane.com</a>.Please join me in welcoming Kieran to our fellowship!The great doors slammed to. Boom. The bars of iron fell into place inside. Clang. The gate was shut. Sam hurled himself against the bolted brazen plates and fell senseless to the ground. He was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive but taken by the enemy.So ends The Two Towers, and the hardest choices Master Samwise must face in his adventure. Sam’s decisions in these five chapters cement both his character and his strength, both of which draw on his strongest attribute (and why I—and I suspect so many of us—adore him so much).His heart.Sam’s very first choice is leaving the Shire. Perhaps Gandalf assigned him to it, but Sam doesn’t agree to things his heart isn’t in to begin with. Agreeing to accompany Frodo is easy. Sam himself tells you he grew up on Mr. Bilbo’s tales, tales of far-off lands and Elves and adventures—any adventure will sound grand to one who’s never ventured beyond their home, and even an unnamed enemy and a fiery mountain don’t sound so scary in theory. Our humble Samwise had little idea what he was getting himself into; he likely thought he’d see Elves, dispose of the Ring, and get himself back home before Afteryule, or perhaps Solmath if he was feeling pessimistic (which would be quite unlike him). He even reflects on it, in his words to Frodo while sitting outside Shelob’s lair (the words that became his famous speech in the films):‘And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started.’After leaving the Shire, the choice to then sneak into the Council of Elrond, and therefore (unwittingly) offer himself as Frodo’s companion on the journey to Mordor, comes as no surprise. Though the journey to Rivendell is far from a stroll in the Shire, there’s little doubt Sam will abandon Frodo after what he’s witnessed. Sam has seen his beloved friend hurt by Black Riders, has almost lost him to their poison—knowing Sam, and knowing what Frodo means to him, there’s no way he’ll leave. It bears remembering that Tolkien’s own friendships were battle-tested; standing beside someone through a stabbing and near-death changes one’s understanding of loyalty.At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam faces another important decision: to follow Frodo or stay with the relative safety provided by the Fellowship (and four proficient fighters, at the time he leaves). But we know Sam. Tolkien has shown us his character—we already know his decision. Sam sticks with Frodo, no matter what. Again, we could say Gandalf charged him with such a task, but Sam doesn’t take orders he doesn’t care for. And I suspect Gandalf would not have charged Sam with such if he didn’t already know he’d carry through with all his heart. Say what you will about Gandalf’s magic (and that’s an argument for another time), but he’s a good judge of character.By the time our hobbits meet Faramir and company at the Forbidden Pool, Sam has seen his share of evil. Barrow-wights, Black Riders, Morgul blades, orcs—and the seductive power of the Ring. He’s seen its influence on Boromir, on Gollum, and on his beloved Frodo. Sam understands, as well as he can at this point in the journey, that the seemingly innocuous object Frodo carries is capable of creating more trouble than thieves in Farmer Maggot’s crops. Sam distrusts the Ring and everything to do with it, but he’ll stand beside Frodo because that’s what he does. It doesn’t mean he has to like it. When Faramir shares Sam’s suspicion of Gollum, it must come as such a relief to Sam, who distrusts Sméagol from the get-go (and rightfully so). Just imagine, for a moment, hearing Faramir’s misgivings about Cirith Ungol after enduring what Sam has. He already distrusts Gollum, and now Frodo insists—even after Faramir’s warning—that it’s the only way to pursue their task.But Sam stays with Frodo. And so he goes on. Could Faramir have delivered him to safety had he asked? Likely. But we know Sam would never have asked. On the stairs of Cirith Ungol, Sam once again warns Frodo of his suspicions.‘I don’t make no mistake: I don’t doubt he’d hand me over to Orcs as gladly as kiss his hand. But I was forgetting—his Precious. No, I suppose the whole time it’s been The Precious for poor Sméagol. That’s the one idea in all his little schemes, if he has any. But how bringing us up here will help him in that is more than I can guess.’Sam, though perhaps lacking Gandalf and Frodo’s nuanced understanding of Gollum, nevertheless sees to the heart of the situation: Gollum is not to be trusted. Frodo has his reasons for keeping him around, and we do pity the poor creature, but Sam’s honest way of thinking sees only the danger toward Mr. Frodo. Would the fight in the tunnels have turned out differently if Sam trusted Gollum as Frodo does? It’s Sam’s suspicions that keep him on his toes. It’s Sam who immediately names a trap when Gollum vanishes, and Sam who recalls the star-glass.In the deep, dark tunnels of Cirith Ungol, Gollum’s plan creeps from the shadows. Sam has seen barrow-wights, Black Riders, and orcs, but even those resemble men (or Elves) in some form, though twisted versions. Imagine his terror, this humble little hobbit who had never ventured from the Shire, at seeing Shelob. Trapped in her dark tunnels with naught but the light of the star-glass to guide them, Frodo and Sam must face down a foe with only one thought in her wicked head: her next meal. There’s no reasoning with Shelob, she’s no orc or Uruk-hai bound to orders from a higher-up. Sam fights bravely, as we’ve come to expect of this gentle gardener of the Shire, but even Sam’s best can’t defeat Shelob.Not, at least, until she’s taken his dear Frodo while Sam is distracted. The injustice of finally fighting off the sneak only to find Frodo bound by the great beast.Sam did not wait to wonder what was to be done, or whether he was brave, or loyal, or filled with rage. He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master’s sword in his left hand. Then he charged. No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts, where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth, alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate.Sam does not wait to reason. He reacts. His heart tells him to protect his friend, and he does.And what a fight.Deep, deep [Sting] pricked, as Sam was crushed slowly to the ground.No such anguish had Shelob ever known, or dreamed of knowing, in all her long world of wickedness. Not the doughtiest soldier of old Gondor, nor the most savage Orc entrapped, had ever thus endured her, or set blade to her beloved flesh.Sam, in his love for Frodo, achieves what no one else has in all Shelob’s long years. For no one has been driven by such love. The great spider has met her match, and Sam and the star-glass force her back to the shadows—only to find Frodo dead, or so Sam thinks.And here, we see the Choices of Master Samwise. We see the weight of every decision up to this point, the weight of the Quest, we see Sam’s love for Frodo, for the Shire, his loyalty and his courage. Poor Sam, to think Frodo dead, but determined to see it through. The moments between Sam’s black despair and his decision to take the Ring are some of the most heart-wrenching and inspiring in the trilogy. Sam doubts himself, his ability to bear the burden, he’s sure he’ll go wrong, and yet, he knows he must go on.He drew a deep breath. ‘Then take It, it is!’Sam doesn’t bear the Ring long, and it’s the same orcs who steal Frodo as reveal quite the plot twist.Sam reeled, clutching at the stone. He felt as if the whole dark world was turning upside down. So great was the shock that he almost swooned, but even as he fought to keep a hold on his senses, deep inside him he was aware of the comment: ‘You fool, he isn’t dead, and your heart knew it. Don’t trust your head, Samwise, it is not the best part of you. The trouble with you is that you never really had any hope. Now what is to be done?’But I’d argue he had hope all along.‘And that’s the end of all of us, of Lórien, and Rivendell, and the Shire and all. And there’s no time to lose, or it’ll be the end anyway.’His heart wants to stay with Frodo, but it also knows there’s nothing for it. Sam first sets out because of his love for his friend (and to see Elves)—it’s his love for his friend that sees him take the Ring and carry on. Because to sit by Frodo’s side would be the doom of the Quest, and Sam won’t see that happen, not when Frodo has given so much to see it through.Even breaking, Sam’s heart knows that sometimes, standing with Frodo means leaving him behind.‘But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t.’Sam’s heart won’t let him turn back. And in doing so, he saves the Quest.There will be a break next week. Read The Return of the King, Book 5, chapters 1-4, up to “The Ride of the Rohirrim.” The next essay will be published on December 2.To continue reading my personal reflection and participate in the discussion below the paywall, please upgrade. Week Eight Journaling Exercise & Discussion

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