"The Siege of Gondor" - Ben's Thoughts

This is an excellent chapter, one of the highlights of Book V. Tolkien has proved himself in the past to be a master of tension-building, and he does it again with great effect here. The chapter starts off with the Dawnless Day, the whole city holding its collective breath against the breaking of the coming storm. Then it hammers on sucker punch after sucker punch in a long, brutal, slog of defeats and setback for the men of Gondor: Faramir's initial retreat, cowering under the wings of the Nazgul; Denethor's callous command for him to return to Osgiliath; the news of the loss of the fords, the destruction of the Causeway Forts, the fall of Cair Andros, and then Faramir taking a wound himself; Denethor's unravelling and his men's acknowledgement of his broken state; and finally the destruction of the city gates at the command of the Witch-King. Powerful stuff, capped with the electrifying confrontation of Gandalf and the Lord of the Nazgul at the broken gate. Throughout, Tolkien manages to convey the stakes, the sense of scale, and the military movements with aplomb. The reader is assisted from setpiece to setpiece as he juggles all of the players' movements, including the Chekhov's Gun of the (hopefully timely) arrival of the Rohirrim.

It bears mentioning that some of the setup that this chapter provides falls flat in later chapters, as Jacob has already pointed out. However, taking the chapter on its face, it succeeds marvelously. A few thoughts.

First, Denethor. I admit that on this reading I was surprised by how quickly his 180-degree turn into madness and despair comes on. But isn't that how it would actually be? You put on a brave face, just as much for yourself as for anyone else, but that straw that breaks the camel's back -- in this case Denethor coming face to face with his wounded, apparently dying son -- is what it takes to tumble you over the edge. This is a man whose entire life has been framed by retreat, setback, and the knowledge that true, total victory over his lifelong foe will result only in a diminuation of himself and his familial authority.

Is it any wonder, then, that Denethor's thoughts turn to the Ring? It's not stated explicitly in the text, but I don't think that Faramir ever came right out and told his dad about the Ring when he was talking about his encounter with Frodo and Sam. This is hinted at by Denethor's remarks: "[L]ittle of what you have half said or left unsaid is now hidden from me. I know the answer to many riddles." So where does his knowledge come from? Wrested from his son's mind by his alluded-to powers of perception and discernment? Or, more mundane but perhaps more sinister, has he been spying on his son's actions through his Palantir? Later we learn that Denethor only sees through the Palantir what Sauron wishes him to see, and we know that Sauron has no direct knowledge of Frodo's quest and how close he has gotten to Mordor, but I tend to think the Stone's limitation is more of a general restriction than Sauron peeping over Denethor's shoulder every time he looks into the Palantir.

In any case, Denethor holding the Ring would be a bulwark both against Sauron and the impending encroachment of Aragorn, of whom Denethor is too keenly aware (as we discover in "Pyre", coming up). He believes he would never use its power; he would only safeguard it and use it as a threat against his opposing forces. Of course, that kind of tempting, destructive power cannot be simply locked away without use, not by a man like Denethor. Far better to reject it honestly to oneself, as Gandalf did, than trick yourself into thinking you would not pull it out in your hour of greatest need.

Then, inextricably linked with Denethor's fears about the Ring and his personal power is his complicated relationship with his second son. I think Tolkien wants us to have a vision of Denethor as a young man: a blend of Boromir's military ability and obedience combined with Faramir's thirst for knowledge and quality as a "superior," more-like-a-Numenorean kind of man. (I'm not really sure how to describe this quality. Tolkien lays these clear (sometimes racially distasteful) distinctions between Men in his text: highest are the Numenoreans, with their extra-sensory powers and links to the Elves and the Valar; next are the "lesser" but still noble men like the Rohirrim, and lowest and least are the men of the East, vassals to Sauron.) But even though he embodies (or embodied) the qualities of both his sons, he obviously preferred those of Boromir to those of Faramir, perhaps because his oldest son was so intractably dutiful. There can be little doubt from his remarks in this chapter that he spoke with his son about "Isildur's Bane" and his duty, should it chance to come within his grasp. This fact adds a nuance, one I hadn't previously considered, to Boromir's actions in the first book -- it isn't just that the Ring has seduced him based on his own emotional and mental state; his actions are influenced by the fact that all along, his father likely advised him to seize the Ring and bring it to Minas Tirith if the opportunity arose. One can definitely picture Boromir's complaints about "Elves and Half-Elves and wizards" originally coming out of the mouth of the haughty Denethor.

Poor Denethor. He learns too late the true value of his son -- far greater than that of the Ring or even of his own title and station. When he breaks, as occurs in this chapter, it's ugly.

And I haven't even mentioned the powerful yet vague descriptions of Sauron's host (effective in their opacity) and Pippin finally shining through as the stalwart who puts what is right (saving Faramir) over loyalty to order and so-called duty. Complex, meaty chapters like this one are why I love The Lord of the Rings.