"The Pyre of Denethor" - Ben's Thoughts

I don't know if I have too much more to say about Denethor. His final decision is chilling, but it feels all too real. Here is a man whose life, as he has lived it up to that point, has no place in the changing world. Either Gondor is defeated by Sauron, and he and his city is destroyed, or the West triumphs over the Enemy, and Aragorn supplants him. He is unwilling to change, or perhaps unable to change perspective. He has been perpetually poisoned by Sauron's propaganda, a process that was no doubt accelerated since the death of Boromir, and he is left with the terrible conclusion that the only other option is destruction.

Gandalf wisely points out that "it would not seem that a Steward who faithfully surrenders his charge is diminished in love or in honour," but the problem is that Denethor does not see himself as a Steward; he sees himself as a king. He is a man that thanks to his birth, lineage, and circumstances of fate that occurred many hundreds of years prior, answers to no one. I think we would all like to say to ourselves that in the same circumstance, we would gladly abdicate to Aragorn (as Faramir, we will see, actually does in Book VI), but the temptation to think as Denethor does is probably all to real for most of us. It's not easy to give up power, to accept that we must change or be nullified, or to cede control to others in the face of great danger.

Unfortunately in these situations where we feel our control slipping, it's all too easy to jump to unwarranted conclusions, breeding anger and even paranoia. Of Gandalf, Denethor says that he has "read thy mind and its policies," and that:

Thy hope is to rule in my stead, to stand behind every throne, north, south, or west. . . . Do I not know that you commanded this halfling here to keep silence? That you brought him hither to be a spy within my very chamber? And yet in our speech together I have learned the names and purpose of all thy companions.

We know, from long experience with Gandalf, that his purpose is not to rule, nor to "supplant" Denethor with Aragorn. Additionally, we know that the "purpose" of each member of the Fellowship is benevolent and, at least initially, was bent towards assisting Frodo and the destruction of the Ring. Certainly, Gandalf did command Pippin to be silent about Aragorn and his ultimate kingly destiny. But it is Denethor, in his frustration, that fills in the blanks there with malevolent intent. How hastily we jump to conclusions when we feel like others are being duplicitous with us. Denethor was unwilling to consider the fact that it was he who was the problem, not Gandalf or Aragorn.

And in Denethor's mind, I'm sure it was all to easy to rationalize his fear towards Aragorn: he came from a line of failed kings, whose kingdom in Arnor was destroyed over a thousand years before. Likewise, the Gondorian line had failed; the stewards had stepped in to guide the kingdom in the absence of the line of Elendil. In his mind, why should he bow to such a person? What he did not know was that Boromir, initially just as skeptical as his father about Aragorn's legitimacy, was won over by Aragorn's character and ability. Denethor refuses to give Aragorn that chance.

Fear, jumping to conclusions, inability and unwillingness to change behavior and perspective, rationalization -- these sound like very human foibles indeed. A tragic end to a compelling character.