give me all your Boromir theories
Jul. 17th, 2012 02:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
martasficI'm working on an essay for the August LOTR_Community_GFIC challenge, and I thought I'd crowdsource my research. That's where you all come in.
I've been thinking lately about the way people people view canon and want to explore that a bit, but not with some sort of "here's the right way to approach the books and use them in your fanfic story" screed. I'm less interested in convincing people that my preferred approach is right (where's the fun in fanfic if we can't enjoy people playing with JRRT's stories in new and fresh ways?), than I am with looking at how the different ways of approaching canon impact the way we present different characters. So I thought I'd do a case-study. Specifically: Tolkien tells us nothing about Boromir's sexuality - no wife, no kids, no tragic lost loves. Given that, how do we fill in the gaps? I'm not actually planning on giving my own answer to that question (though I'm sure most of you can guess!). Rather, I want to sketch out some common ways of looking at canon and try to show how those different approaches shape the way people might approach a question like this.
What can I say? I'm a grad student, and a philosopher. I think big. But I think by the time I'm done with it, it will be an interesting look at this topic, and I hope it will be fun to play with for me personally.
Which brings me to the real point of this post. It's been a long time since I've read The Lord of the Rings, to say nothing of the Letters or HoMe drafts or books actually about JRRT. So I'd like some help gathering facts. I'll probably do several posts asking for quotes on different topics, but I'd like to start about Boromir.
When you write think about Boromir, what characteristics come to mind? And more importantly, why do you think of hiim that way? I'm most interested in quotes (and I'll take anything - LOTR, Tolkien's posthumous writings, early drafts, letters, or anything like that is fair game), but if you have other reasoning I'm interested in that, too. And if you don't know why you write him the way you do (or think of him the way you do, if you don't write him), feel free to go ahead and just describe how you see him - and anyone else, please feel free to fill in the gaps for where you think that characterization comes from. Pet fanons are welcome, too. If you think he had a closet passion for Haradric poetry or was infamous in Dol Amroth for that time he got drunk and woke up with a regrettable tattoo, I want to hear it, particularly if there's a why involved (or even not). Links to stories where you developed those ideas are welcome, too.
One other thing. I may include ideas you mention in my essay (with credit, of course). If you don't want me to include your idea, I'd still love to hear it; just make it clear in your comment that you don't want me to mention your idea.
So have at it! What comes to your mind when you think of Boromir? And why?
I've been thinking lately about the way people people view canon and want to explore that a bit, but not with some sort of "here's the right way to approach the books and use them in your fanfic story" screed. I'm less interested in convincing people that my preferred approach is right (where's the fun in fanfic if we can't enjoy people playing with JRRT's stories in new and fresh ways?), than I am with looking at how the different ways of approaching canon impact the way we present different characters. So I thought I'd do a case-study. Specifically: Tolkien tells us nothing about Boromir's sexuality - no wife, no kids, no tragic lost loves. Given that, how do we fill in the gaps? I'm not actually planning on giving my own answer to that question (though I'm sure most of you can guess!). Rather, I want to sketch out some common ways of looking at canon and try to show how those different approaches shape the way people might approach a question like this.
What can I say? I'm a grad student, and a philosopher. I think big. But I think by the time I'm done with it, it will be an interesting look at this topic, and I hope it will be fun to play with for me personally.
Which brings me to the real point of this post. It's been a long time since I've read The Lord of the Rings, to say nothing of the Letters or HoMe drafts or books actually about JRRT. So I'd like some help gathering facts. I'll probably do several posts asking for quotes on different topics, but I'd like to start about Boromir.
When you write think about Boromir, what characteristics come to mind? And more importantly, why do you think of hiim that way? I'm most interested in quotes (and I'll take anything - LOTR, Tolkien's posthumous writings, early drafts, letters, or anything like that is fair game), but if you have other reasoning I'm interested in that, too. And if you don't know why you write him the way you do (or think of him the way you do, if you don't write him), feel free to go ahead and just describe how you see him - and anyone else, please feel free to fill in the gaps for where you think that characterization comes from. Pet fanons are welcome, too. If you think he had a closet passion for Haradric poetry or was infamous in Dol Amroth for that time he got drunk and woke up with a regrettable tattoo, I want to hear it, particularly if there's a why involved (or even not). Links to stories where you developed those ideas are welcome, too.
One other thing. I may include ideas you mention in my essay (with credit, of course). If you don't want me to include your idea, I'd still love to hear it; just make it clear in your comment that you don't want me to mention your idea.
So have at it! What comes to your mind when you think of Boromir? And why?
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 01:49 pm (UTC)Nice, apt, and pithy aphorism, makes me wonder what Gondorian situation started it.
Boromir quotes:
"But happily your Caradhras has forgotten that you have Men with you. And doughty Men too, if I may say ; though lesser Men with spades might have served you better."
An LOL! moment, and a wonderful example of his dry sense of humor.
Boromir insisting he won't go to Moria unless there's a unanimous vote to do so, then when the wolves start howling is the first to say "How far is Moria?"
(And then even though I know you are talking about book-Boromir, I just have to include this one quote from movie-Boromir-- which I like because it could very well be something he *might* have said:
“You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Do not carry the weight of the dead.”)
I imagine Boromir as one who tends to think with his feelings, if that makes any sense.
My idea of him is one of a brave and noble man, a warrior and captain first and foremost. Though Faramir describes him as more interested in war and glory than in history, I don't believe Boromir was uneducated or that he was a poor scholar-- if he were alive nowadays, I think he'd be what we call a "jock", someone who is very competitive in a physical way. Not unintelligent, but simply more *interested* in the physical, even in an intellectual way-- in the way a *good* coach or teacher would be.
But he's loyal. He's loyal to his father, who (IMO) plays on his loyalties and is part of the reason for Boromir's despair. Yet he also is loyal to his brother-- Faramir clearly loved him and there was mutual affection between them in spite of Denethor's favoritism. He was loyal to his country, a patriot. And in spite of his moment of weakness over the Ring, he was loyal to the Company.
It's my firm belief that at the end, he actually shook off the Ring's influence; otherwise if he were truly under its sway, he'd have tried to go after Frodo. (I dealt with that in my essay "The Myth of the One Ring's Power" a few years ago.)
Why do I think these things? Well, even before the films, I thought of him as one of the "Good Guys" who simply had a moment of weakness, but to be honest, one of the movie-verse elements that influenced me a lot was Sean Bean's portrayal of him-- he humanized him a lot.
Fanon? One of my own fanons is that he began to tutor Merry and Pippin in swordcraft in Rivendell. And I think that he felt special affection for Merry and Pippin, maybe thinking of them as "little brother" figures. I also believe he respected Frodo, and liked Sam-- though Sam was shy of him. In one of my earliest stories, he has a conversation with Frodo in Rivendell, and begins his respect and friendship for him there, also mentally vowing to help keep Frodo's loved ones safe.
Why did he fall to the Ring's temptation? Well, in spite of his years and his experiences as a warrior, he wasn't very experienced in the world outside Gondor. He had never had anything to do with Elves or Dwarves or Hobbits or any other races besides Men (except for Orcs, who were only good for killing) and I think he probably felt somewhat isolated among them. Even Aragorn was raised among Elves and probably seemed somewhat alien to him.
(cont. because LJ says it's too long)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 02:25 pm (UTC)“You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Do not carry the weight of the dead.”)
Ooh, ooh, that was also my favorite movieverse!Boromir line - for the same reason!