![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
martasficTitle: Pride and Despair: A Defense of Ecthelion's Son - Part V
Rating: Teen
Warning(s): discussion of mature concepts
Summary: Denethor is one of the most-criticized characters in Tolkien fandom. Movie-inspired fanons have certainly not done him any favors, but he is disliked and even hated by fans who had read the books long before the movies came out. In this essay I attempt to address some of the most common criticisms against him, and develop a biography of what his life might have been like.
(Read other parts here.)
******************************
It is easy to hate Denethor for the many things he did and almost did. I have not tried to explain everything that Denethor did, especially at the height of his madness. Particularly troubling is the fact that, when Gandalf tried to save Faramir from the pyre, Denethor tried to kill him with a knife. [9] I also have not tried to explain away Denethor's suicide itself, for, even at the height of his madness, Denethor does seem to consider Gandalf's words that only heathen kings chose to die before they lived a long life.
I haven't explained these things because I can't explain them. I can only beg mitigation because Denethor had been pushed until he broke, both by grief and the affect of Sauron through the palantír.
After all, it has never been my intention to qualify Denethor for sainthood. God knows the man had his faults—but those faults should not completely overshadow the rest of his life. In the end, I agree with Imrahil's reaction to the news of Denethor's death.
When he is told the full tale of Denethor's death, Imrahil is not filled with loathing or disgust for Denethor. Even after all of that, Denethor is still the lord of Gondor—and that is enough to convince me that we ought to be moved more quickly to understanding and pity than to condemnation where Ecthelion's son is concerned.
Rating: Teen
Warning(s): discussion of mature concepts
Summary: Denethor is one of the most-criticized characters in Tolkien fandom. Movie-inspired fanons have certainly not done him any favors, but he is disliked and even hated by fans who had read the books long before the movies came out. In this essay I attempt to address some of the most common criticisms against him, and develop a biography of what his life might have been like.
(Read other parts here.)
******************************
V. CONCLUSION: IMRAHIL'S FINAL WORD
It is easy to hate Denethor for the many things he did and almost did. I have not tried to explain everything that Denethor did, especially at the height of his madness. Particularly troubling is the fact that, when Gandalf tried to save Faramir from the pyre, Denethor tried to kill him with a knife. [9] I also have not tried to explain away Denethor's suicide itself, for, even at the height of his madness, Denethor does seem to consider Gandalf's words that only heathen kings chose to die before they lived a long life.
I haven't explained these things because I can't explain them. I can only beg mitigation because Denethor had been pushed until he broke, both by grief and the affect of Sauron through the palantír.
After all, it has never been my intention to qualify Denethor for sainthood. God knows the man had his faults—but those faults should not completely overshadow the rest of his life. In the end, I agree with Imrahil's reaction to the news of Denethor's death.
"And Gandalf answered: '[...]The Lord Faramir was wounded by an evil dart, as you have heard, and he is now Steward; for Denethor has departed, and his house is in ashes.' And they were filled with grief and wonder at the tale he told.
"But Imrahil said: 'So victory is shorn of gladness, and it is bitter bought, if both Gondor and Rohan are in one day bereft of their lords.'" ("The Houses of Healing," The Lord of the Ring)
When he is told the full tale of Denethor's death, Imrahil is not filled with loathing or disgust for Denethor. Even after all of that, Denethor is still the lord of Gondor—and that is enough to convince me that we ought to be moved more quickly to understanding and pity than to condemnation where Ecthelion's son is concerned.