Chapter 5: The Window on the West

Jacob's Thoughts (12/6/15)
"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory." (pg. 355).
Faramir at this moment becomes I think a mouth-piece for Tolkien's own attitudes towards war; it feels a companion piece to the contemporaneous "Helm's Deep," which, as we previously discussed, likewise considers war to be an inglorious slog, no matter how just the cause.  "Helm's Deep" shows it, while "The Window of the West" is the commentary, it seems.  Tolkien seems intent on ensuring that his fellow Englishmen do not learn the wrong lessons from WWII.

Yet overall, this chapter overall feels an odd one to parse; in terms of modes for providing info-dumps and back-story, I can think of worse vehicles than an interrogation of world-weary Frodo by enigmatic Faramir (already one of the most likable, intriguing, and fleshed-out new characters we've met in awhile).  Really, the verbal chess match between Frodo and Faramir, two fundamentally decent men who nonetheless have strong reason to distrust each other, is the highlight of the chapter; theirs is an oddly noble form of conversational combat, such that when Frodo ultimately loses thanks to Samwise running is big fat mouth off about Boromir and the One Ring at the end, it still doesn't feel quite like a defeat.  Quite the contrary, it appears to seal the bond between the two men.

It would seem that Frodo has at last, however briefly, found a kindred spirit who can, in his way, understand what it means to resist the awful temptation of the Ring as he, and that is no small thing (no offense to Sam, but he feels the perennial outsider looking in with all things Ring related; he can love and serve Frodo, but that is not the same as understanding him).   It appears that it takes a genuine love of freedom and people, along with a real abhorrence for war and destruction, to refuse the power that the Ring represents.

Nevertheless, so much of what Frodo and Faramir discuss here are things that we've already read ourselves just a short while ago.  All this needless rehashing and review was a problem that plagued Book III as well, what with characters recounting the time they last recounted things that they already recounted about, in an irritatingly recursive fashion.  This chapter could've definitely used a pruning.

As for locus of their conversation, Boromir: once again, the son of Denethor is more interesting in death than he ever was in life.  A cipher much like most the Fellowship throughout Book II, we get a much fuller feel for the complexity of the man in Frodo and Faramir's eulogies and note-swapping, than we ever got when he was still walking amongst the living.  It would appear that I was wrong to assume that Tolkien was in a rush to push Boromir off the stage at the start of Two Towers; it wasn't that Tolkien didn't particularly feel like eulogizing him, but rather that Tolkien knew that Boromir would be back, and what's more, would be even more influential dead than alive.

Ben's Thoughts (1/25/16)

This chapter is a character vehicle for Faramir. I like Jacob's comparison of Faramir to Frodo -- they do have many things in common, not least of which is a responsibility that has been pushed upon them by terrible circumstance. But this chapter also serves as meticulous set-up for the major conflict of Book V -- Denethor and Gandalf. We'll get to that in due course, but this exposition serves as groundwork for that conflict, which I believe to be the most intricate, tragic, and real conflict of the series. All of the chit-chat in this chapter does feel a bit clunky, but it's necessary to lay that stage which, if I recall correctly, will pay off big in the next book.

But back to Faramir. The backstory of Numenor, Gondor, and the Stewards serves to highlight Faramir's role in the conflict: kings of Numenor, driven to the shores of Middle-earth, mix with lesser men to form the kingdom of Gondor, until those kings too are extinct and the Stewards must step in, mixing themselves once again with their lessers to maintain parity in the never-ending struggle against Sauron. And now Faramir, second son of the Steward of Gondor, has been thrown into a leadership role we sense is unwanted, fighting a war that is, ultimately, distasteful to him, serving in a position that should have been filled by the eager shoes of Boromir. His brother's untimely death has allowed him to rise to power, but it in a way places him squarely in the center of that downward spiral of diminishing glory of the Numenoreans: he will always be the second choice, no peer to Boromir's bravery, ability to lead, and strength of arms. Faramir sees in himself the decay and dissipation of Gondor.

Of course, Frodo and Sam sense quite the opposite in him: something more and better than Boromir could ever hope to aspire to. Sam compares his quiet strength to that of Gandalf. Faramir (one senses) would be more eager to study history and magic under the tutelage of Gandalf (indeed, one of the accusations Denethor levels at his second son in the next book is the title of "wizard's pupil") than leading men into combat. And, naturally, when the opportunity presents itself to him, Faramir considers and then rejects the pull of the Ring and agrees that Frodo must be free to follow his course to Mordor. It's unclear whether or not Faramir realizes the danger of what would happen if Sauron were to seize the Ring from Frodo, but what is sure is that he has no desire for power. The Ring's influence is not even suggested in this chapter, except possibly in that brief moment when he stands to loom over the hobbits after Sam's ridiculous (and unfortunately characteristic) slip o' the tongue. Gandalf and Galadriel react quite differently when the Ring is within their power; even Gandalf has a desire to use the Ring to lead others to victory and defeat Sauron. Faramir, it seems has no such ambitions. He only desires to defend, not to attack or destroy. A fascinating counterpoint to the temptations of Gandalf and Galadriel both.

For someone who was bookish and fairly unassuming as a child, Faramir was instantly relatable and was one of my favorite characters in the entire series. It's a shame he is cast aside in Book 6, but after the Denethor plotline is resolved it seems that Tolkien didn't know what to do with him anymore. But he is engaging and fascinating while he is a central character. I'll discuss it more when we watch the film, but Faramir in Jackon's film is almost entirely unrecognizable; basically a Boromir clone, who chooses to give up the Ring for no discernable reason. It's probably Jackson's worst misstep. I also love the history lesson, told through his eyes, The stories he touches on are fleshed out considerably in the Appendicies and I hope we'll take the time to read and comment on them.

On to the Forbidden Pool! Frodo lays it all out for Faramir here; his hopes and fears. Unfortunately he blows it in the next chapter.

Eric's Thoughts (3/2/16)

One can't help but be intrigued by Faramir. He's definitely emo, but good emo.

Brooding, tragic, thoughtful -- a type that reads the hearts of man shrewdly, but what he reads moves him to pity.

So. Now we have an actual, real character with which to test how far Frodo has progressed. Gone is the Frodo that is scared by Farmer Maggot, replaced by a weary traveler who distrusts even those that might be of great aid. The old Frodo would have begged Faramir for help -- this Frodo seeks to avoid any at all cost. 

Sam, of course, is as stupid as ever, serving as a foil to Frodo's metamorphosis. Naturally, Sam gets a little drunk and then blurts out: Hey! Turns out we have Isildur's Bane, that ring he wore, ya know?

Faramir's reaction is perhaps one of the most brilliant in the book (along there with Saruman's voice): "A chance for Faramir, Captin of Gondor, to show his quality! Ha!"

Faramir then stands up very tall and stern, and says that "How you have increased my sorrow, you strange wanderers from a far ountry, bearing the peril of Men!"

Faramir's reaction to this news is sorrow -- sorrow that his brother lacked the mettle for the trial. His reaction to the ring is not lust for it, but pity for those who carry it, and an apology for his brother's betrayal.

If anything, the reveal only bonds the hobbits even closer to Faramir. Sam is rightly impressed: "Yes sir, and showed your quality: the very highest."

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