"Many Partings" - Ben's Thoughts

I love this chapter. It feels so very true-to-life, and fills me with real emotion. We've all had events, or periods of time in our lives, that are particularly vivid; particularly meaningful; or are filled with particularly important relationships. Moving on to the next stage of life is always so bittersweet. That's the emotion that this chapter conveys. The hobbits have undergone such difficult but rewarding experiences that to leave that behind is not easy. Sam doesn't really wish to go back to Lorien -- but he does want to relive or perhaps just re-experience, just for a moment, the feelings that he had while he was there in "Fellowship." You can never truly return to prior states of being. But the memories remain so potent, the emotions so real, that you wish it so. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful emotions, in my opinion -- often more powerful than fear, anger, or even love.

And of course, this is when "Return of the King" kicks into high gear with that theme of beginnings, endings, loss, and change. The book always was one of "dying magic"; the Elves passing across the Sea and leaving Middle-earth to Sauron and Men has always been in the background, but here it's incredibly foregrounded. Jacob is left cold by Tolkien's lack of explanation -- he seeks for meaning behind it all. But I think it's fairly true to life that everything remains kind of vague and formless. Isn't that how it works for us? The beginnings and endings in our lives are often meaningless, or imposed by factors outside our control, sometimes with very little explanation or warning.

Nevertheless, I will try to impose some sense to it all, given my knowledge of Tolkien's legendarium. The Elves were the first race of sentient beings to awaken in Middle-earth, many ages ago. They lived through Ages of Earth without sun or moon; they were the "children of the stars" that traveled to Valinor, Tolkien's version of heaven where the Vala (gods) dwelt, long ago. Many Elves -- including many we encounter in The Hobbit and LOTR (such as the Elvenking of the wood-Elves, Legolas, and most of the people of Mirkwood and Lorien) -- never traveled to Valinor and chose instead to remain in Middle-earth. Those who did and returned are the "High" Elves, who beheld the light of the Valar in ages past or are their descendants (Galadriel, Cirdan, Elrond).

But the Elves' time in LOTR was coming to an end. With the creation of the sun in the First Age of the world came the awakening of Men, who spread to fill the earth. Some Men were friendly with the Elves; many were not (see even the Rohirrim's fear of the people of the Wood), but they were all destined to become the inheritors of Middle-earth; no longer subservient or lesser than the Elves but in fact the lords of the earth. The Elves' magic (read: power, ability, ties to each other and the physical world) was naturally fading. One concrete reason for this change (something more physical, perhaps, than the vague explanation that it was just "their time") was the fact that Valinor, or heaven, the home of the gods, was physically removed from the sphere of the Earth. Only those granted a boon from the Valar could now come to Valinor. In that sense, Jacob's question about whether the Elves are actually ascending to another sphere of existence is in fact correct.

Into this cycle of change and transfer of power comes the Three Rings. Sauron was the one who introduced the Elves to ringlore, in the Second Age, before they realized his true nature as a servant of Morgoth. The purpose of the Three Rings, reading between the lines, was to heal, preserve, and inspire the Elves, despite their waning power and influence. Imagine a race confronted with the fact that your very presence in the only world or home you ever knew was becoming obsolete. (This sounds very much like growing old and seeing your children and grandchildren growing past and away from you, a similarity that I think is no coincidence.) The power of the Three Rings was to stave off the mass depression that was leaching into the Elvish people.

Of course, since Sauron was the mastermind of ringlore, we can perceive the innate selfishness (justifiable, perhaps, but selfishness nonetheless) of the Three Rings. When it is time, it is time; trying to preserve what is lost does not help anyone. But then Sauron made the One Ring, which we are told was the Master Ring, with some kind of power over even the Three that Sauron never personally touched. The power of the Three was turned from preserving the power of the Elves towards fighting the Enemy. It makes sense that when he was defeated, the purpose of the Three was utterly spent. Neither could they be used to prolong the power of the Elves when the Fourth Age was come and the ascendance of Men was cemented.

In the end, of course, Jacob is correct -- all the guff about the Rings is just some fairly transparent trimming to the story. While it's fun to learn in "Grey Havens" that Gandalf had one of the Three, the whole time we knew him, it doesn't really add anything to what came before. I am a firm believer, however, in the themes that Tolkien is espousing -- cycles, passing the torch, and fading with dignity. Bilbo is the exemplar of this cycle: retaining his humor, wit, and interest in friends and family while formally and informally passing the torch to the next generation (symbolic in the gifts he gives the hobbits). There is a warmth and dignity to those final sections of the chapter that I hope we can all achieve in our life when we confront change, loss, and the ultimate passing.

"The Steward and the King" - Ben's Thoughts

The denouement continues. This chapter can be easily split into three sections: first, the romance of Eowyn and Faramir; second, the coronation; and third, Aragorn's first days as king.

The romance is... bad. I agree with much of what Jacob says. I know that Tolkien had built Eowyn up as a major character, and he needed to resolve her story, but this is a disappointing end. I think as a kid I thought this section of the chapter a grand love story, but here it feels extremely trite. Faramir really does offer himself as "sloppy seconds," so to speak, and Eowyn just changes her mind all of a sudden, realizing that since she can't have Aragorn, now she'll give up her previous path in life and turn to nursing and gardening?

I think I know what Tolkien intended Eowyn's arc to consist of. She lived a hopeless life -- doomed to tending her dotard uncle (who truly was a dotard under the ministration of Wormtongue and the enchantment of Saruman), never to live or thrive or grow. She sees in Aragorn a chance to break the cycle, to forge a new path for herself, tethering herself to his rising star. When he rejects her, she sinks back into hopelessness -- not because he rejected her love, but because he denied her freedom. And finally, Faramir presents her with an opportunity to...

...to what? This is where the arc falls apart. Eowyn is revealed to be, under Tolkien's characterization, nothing more than an empty shell. She doesn't actually want anything at the end of the day; she trades the cold iron bars of Meduseld for the gilded cage of being Faramir's wife. As I said, it rings false. A disservice to what could have been an interesting character. Jackson's films tried to do something with her, but if I recall correctly, the character is completely dropped after the Pelennor Fields sequence, so it flops on its belly as well. Perhaps that's also an indicator that the source material left something to be desired as far as guidance was concerned.

The second section is mostly filler, a chance to depict the grand ceremony, see everybody get their just desserts (although that annoying singing eagle got away scot-free, I think; somebody should have held him accountable for that awful song), and see Aragorn crowned. I'm not sure what I think about the tonal dissonance of the narrative of the coronation being interrupted multiple times by the Middle-Earth equivalent of Pride and Prejudice's Mrs. Bennett; perhaps Tolkien as well was rolling his eyes at all the pomp and portent.

The final section, I feel, is the weightiest, with Frodo's yearning for home (although as we shall see, it is to be a never-ending quest for solace that can never truly be achieved -- the closest thing he has to home is when he is with Bilbo) and Aragorn's fear regarding the one thing he truly wants but has not yet arrived. The description of the mountain and the view of Aragorn's new realm is stunning, and Gandalf's words, as always, help things be put in perspective: "[I]t is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved. For though much has been saved, much must now pass away." With every beginning comes endings.

I feel like Aragorn's joy in this final section puts his character in context, and provides a deep insight into all his actions that came before. We knew that he loved and wanted to marry Arwen, but here is the emotion behind his books-long quest: the kingship is his duty, and he acknowledges that; but what truly inspired him was the knowledge that he could never be with Arwen unless he defeated Sauron and attained his birthright. (The ugly implications about Arwen as chattel we'll gloss over for now; hopefully we'll get to the appendicies and can talk about this more troubling aspect of the story in a bit greater detail.)

The chapter's title, in the end, turns out to be clever: the steward is featured in the first section, the king in the third, and they come together for the coronation in the middle. While previous chapters didn't thematically flow, this one does, no matter how flat the first romance feels. The chapter improves as you read.

"The Black Gate Opens" - Eric's Thoughts

So far, The Black Gate Opens is the best structured chapter in the Return of the King as of yet. Between Minis Tirith and the close of this portion of the story, it probably is the best chapter.

I find little to critique here. The writing is solid. The objective is clear: go to the black gate to distract Sauron -- and die in the attempt. The setting also plays an evocative role in developing the characters. Aragon's rag-tag army become increasing disturbed by what is around them.The reader stays with the characters and eagerly turns the page to see where this is going. After all, what good is a futile assault on Mordor with fewer than 6,000 soldiers? There are high schools that are bigger than that.

The soldiers dragging their feet to their doom would have been a solid chapter in itself. Tolkien goes further and executes well. A lesser writer would have launched into some kind of battle scene immediately when the troops reached the black gate. Not Tolkien. Tolkien shifts viewpoints as he so often does, and notes that Sauron wanted to toy with the army first before crushing it. While this hubris is so frustrating in the Hollywood structure of Bond villains (why not just shoot James Bond?), it really works here. Sauron doesn't just want to win; he wants to gloat about it.

So how does Sauron gloat, as he is more an idea than a form? Enter one of the best villains in the story--better than any Ringwraith or two-bit orc. The Mouth of Sauron. This foul-mouthed cretin wants to rule over all the West, which is clear when the Mouth describes the terms of surrender. Gandalf wisely points out what guarantees does one have when bargaining with the master of treachery, and the Mouth responds honestly that there are no guarantees at all. So much for bargaining. Of course, Sauron didn't want a bargain. He just wanted to taunt. Both sides know this.

So well done is this scene, that Tolkien even uses this scene to ratchet up the tension offstage. As far as the reader knows, Frodo has been taken alive by the enemy and tortured. The Mouth reveals the tokens of Frodo and Sam -- e.g. the mithril coat -- showing that the hobbits have been captured by the enemy.

So much for Gandalf's gambit. The heroes suddenly realize that their last throw of the dice is for naught. Frodo has been taken and is being tortured, and Sauron has the One Ring. At this moment, the title of the chapter, The Black Gate Opens, reveals more than tides of endless orcs. The Black Gate opens to reveal indisputable evidence, from the Mouth of Sauron, that all truly is lost. The heroes of the light rally and fight anyway.

Masterful.

"The Field of Cormallen" - Ben's Thoughts

This chapter always occupies an awkward place, because it contains both the conclusion of the climax and the beginning of the denouement. The smashed-together feel of the chapter does not serve it well, in my opinion.

I wish I could offer Tolkien a better alternative. I feel like the stinger at the end of "Mount Doom" ("Here we are at the end of all things, Sam") is such an evocative closing line that I hesitate to make a recommendation that it should just be turned into a mere line prior to a section break. A different writer might have turned the four paragraphs of the Eagles and Gandalf saving the hobbits into a larger section; indeed, perhaps an entire chapter in and of itself. Such a theoretical chapter could have involved a more complete description of the battle before the Black Gate from Gandalf or Aragorn's perspectives -- or even from Legolas or Gimli's, since the text is so intent on separating itself from Gandalf or Aragorn's personal thoughts (the better to keep them as heroic savior figures, I suppose). The section could have heightened the tension that the reader has felt since the end of Book V, the question of "so what?" The Ring is destroyed, but what does that mean for the characters we know and love? Did Pippin survive, did the forces of the West triumph?

The trouble is, as Jacob pointed out in his comments, that Tolkien doesn't seem to care much about getting Frodo and Sam from point A to point B; it's all just rushed along without much thought or energy spent on the journey. I do find myself wishing we got a little more insight into what hold, exactly, Sauron had over his minions (especially since we had fairly complex insights into the lives and opinions of the orcs in the preceding chapters), and how exactly his end affected them and their involvement in the war. How it's resolved is all very hand-wavey and convenient.

As for the rest of the chapter, it's just tripe. Pure sugar. Even at my height of Lord of the Rings awe, I rolled my eyes at the bard trotting out with his lute or whatever like a character in the animated Disney "Robin Hood" movie and singing about Frodo's mystical journey or whatever. C'mon. A war just ended. Probably thousands of people lost their lives at the battle before the Black Gate, and Frodo just got his finger bitten off. It's still too raw to sing about it like it was a long-ago tale. And the way the Fellowship is reunited, especially with Merry and Pippin being all like, "Naw, ya'll, we so important now" is just ludicrous. This is a meeting that shouldn't be as joyful as Tolkien tries to make it out to be. So to conclude: not a good chapter. And the last part is unadulterated tripe.