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martasficTitle: Pride and Despair: A Defense of Ecthelion's Son - Part II
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.)
*********************************
We really don't know that much about Denethor's childhood and young adulthood before Thorongil (aka Aragorn) came on the scene, at least compared with his sons and other characters of the generation after him. However, by examining the few clues we do have, we can form a reasonable guess what Denethor's childhood would have been like.
In Histories of Middle-earth Vol. XII Tolkien tells us that "[Denethor] was the first son and third child of Ecthelion," which means he was the third child in a family of at least four children. (Conceivably more, but I have always assumed there were four siblings, not all of whom necessarily survived to adulthood.) Denethor was born in 2930, and Ecthelion in 2886, meaning that Ecthelion was forty-four when Denethor was born. This may seem old, but consider that Denethor himself did not marry until he was forty-six. The Appendices describes this marriage as late, but it seems unlikely that he would be allowed to wait so long if Gondorians traditionally married much earlier. I think that if Ecthelion had married before he was thirty-five or so, this would have been mentioned. Denethor then would be the third child of four, at least three of which would have been born in fairly close proximity to each other.
This next-to-youngest position in a fairly large family is an unfortunate one, if my friends in similar situations are any indication. (If you need a literary example, consider the frustrations Ron Weasley faces in the early Harry Potter books, that his older brothers will overshadow him.) The youngest child is traditionally pampered by virtue of being the youngest, but the next-to-youngest child tends to be more forgotten in the shuffle. Any accomplishments this next-to-youngest child might have were probably done first by an older sibling. Of course Denethor would have been different in this regard because he was the first son and so would need to be his father's heir; and also there's a big difference between seven and four children. I do think, however, that the basic psychological situation would hold. It doesn't explain everything that happened with Denethor later on, but it's also not a great way to start off your life. Denethor probably did not grow up warm and pampered; I expect he was often overshadowed by his sisters and younger brother, and that his father was rather demanding of him.
Speaking of Ecthelion, it would be easy to overlook the affect his father's personality had on Denethor, because we never meet Ecthelion in the canon. But we are given some hints, and they suggest that Ecthelion, in order to be a good steward in those years, would have had to be a hard man.
Ecthelion was born in 2986. The Tale of Years tells us that, by 2901, most of Ithilien was deserted. (Ecthelion would have been around fifteen at the time.) As the situation in Ithilien worsened, Gondor would have faced a refugee situation, with a significant number of families uprooted from their ancestral lands. These families would needed to be provided for—probably in the way of finding them useful work to do. Henneth Annûn was built in this same year, and Cair Andros was reinforced. These military projects combined with the refugee situation would have driven home the severity of the political situation to a young Ecthelion. Ten years later, in 2911, much of Middle-earth suffered the Long Winter. In our modern times it's easy to forget how real a threat starvation can be; even if it did not touch Gondor specifically, Ecthelion almost certainly would have known about food shortages.
These two events would have impressed on Ecthelion the need to be vigilant both against natural disasters and against military threats. He would have likely tried to teach these same lessons to his heir. It seems likely to me that Ecthelion would have been very demanding of his son and heir.
Back to Denethor. The most notable historical occurrence during Denethor's childhood was the Quest for Erebor and the Battle of the Five Armies. That occurred in 2941, when Denethor would have been eleven. He would almost certainly have heard of it, maybe even have been sent to Dale in the years afterwards to open up diplomatic relations with this new kingdom of men. But Gondorians also would have heard of the carnage of the battle itself.
I imagine this event would have an affect on an eleven-year-old boy. True, Laketown and Erebor were quite a distance from Gondor, but the events in the north had led to the foundation of a new mannish kingdom (Dale), so I imagine the events leading up to Dale's founding would have been discussed in the Citadel of Denethor's childhood. And this discussion would probably include talk of how Smaug had destroyed Laketown. A kingdom of men had been very nearly obliterated by an enemy that had not troubled them for years. Even if Denethor began to feel secure that his own country's armies could defend him from Sauron, what was to keep some strange forgotten enemy of the north from sweeping down on Minas Tirith and annihilating them all?
It may not be coincidental that Denethor was something of a lore-master. I can easily see a teenage Denethor wanting to know everything he possibly could about potential enemies.
The Quest for Erebor would have affected Gondor in other ways. Remember that while the elves, dwarves, and men fought the orcs, Gandalf and the White Council drove Sauron out of Mirkwood and back into Mordor. Gondor. So the fighting in Ithilien would get fiercer, and the situation would look bleaker still. There's your forgotten enemy from the north descending on you in the night! I'm not suggesting that Gondor knew this new enemy was Sauron to begin with, but when he declared himself openly and Orodruin erupted into flames again, I'm sure Ecthelion, Denethor, and the other PTB in Minas Tirith got the message. It didn't really matter if it was Sauron or some other new enemy; this was Bad News.
It wouldn't have been an easy way to grow up for any kid, but Denethor survived it and seems to have become a fairly competent and "normal" adult. And then Thorongil shows up.
For all the difficulties Denethor would have faced growing up, his childhood and young adulthood would have been fairly stable. He was child of the Steward and so would be at least materially well-provided for. Sauron's growing strength in Mordor may have frightened him, but Denethor did live in a stone citadel, and as his father's heir (and unmarried heir at that), he probably would not have fought in dangerous areas. And if he felt overlooked in his parents' affection, at least the one who was (possibly) loved more than him was a close family member. It would have hurt, emotionally, but at least it would have been understandable in some sense.
Enter Thorongil.
According to the Tale of Years, Aragorn served in Rohan and Gondor as Thorongil, from 2957 until 2980. We do not know when exactly he entered Ecthelion's service, but because of his heritage as Isildur's heir it seems likely to me that Aragorn would want to serve in Gondor as soon as he could. (Serving in Rohan first allowed him to be more circumspect in Gondor about his lineage.) I think it is reasonable that Aragorn would have come to Gondor by the mid-2960s, when Denethor was in his mid-thirties.
Denethor and Aragorn are actually fairly similar characters—so much so that, if we were offering a literary critique of this book, they might be considered foils of each other. However, this is fanfic, and because of fanfic's need to expand the original plot, the characters cannot just be interpreted as they were in the original author's story. I tend to take a historical approach and view them as if they had been real individuals in some historical reality. And, within this mode of interpretation, Aragorn poses a very serious problem for Denethor. Tolkien writes of this pair,
If Denethor had any insecurities about his parents', and particularly his father's, affection, then the arrival of Thorongil would have only made matters worse. It would be one thing for Ecthelion to overlook Denethor for his sisters or younger brother, but quite another to favor a stranger from a distant land more than he did his own son. The fact that this happened without any overt effort on Aragorn's part would have made the situation that much worse. If Aragorn had manipulated events, then Denethor could be mad at him; but as it was, the rational part of Denethor would have to recognize that Thorongil was more loved by Ecthelion and by the people at large, just because he was more popular and more beloved, not because of any overt action on Aragorn's part.
Also, this hostility toward Aragorn was at least part of what drove him to first use the palantír. Tolkien writes,
Denethor's use of the palantír is one of the most controversial aspects of his personality, because that strain, combined with grief over the (assumed) deaths of his sons, was one of the prime factors that drove him to madness. Tolkien has much to say on the subject of Denethor and the palantír, and I will discuss this topic further down; however, at this point it should be noted that Denethor's jealousy of Aragorn and hostility toward Gandalf, combined with his protective love of Gondor, led him to use the palantír. If Denethor was wrong to use the palantír (a point that I'm not conceding), then at least some of his motives should be understandable to anyone who has ever felt that their parent loved someone else better.
No discussion of Denethor's love-hate relationship with Aragorn would be complete without looking at the infamous "long bereft of loyalty" passage. Denethor says of Aragorn,
In Tolkien's books, Denethor says this just before lighting his pyre. Gandalf has encouraged him to fight on Pelennor Fields while the doctors in the Houses of Healing attempt to help Faramir. Denethor claims that Gandalf is attempting to use him to hold off Mordor until Aragorn arrives, at which point he will be replaced. He is deluded by madness, but if his delusions were accurate then his anger would not be excessive. He is not being vindictive by denying Aragorn the throne.
In the movies, this exchange is even more extreme. It takes place on Gandalf's first audience with Denethor, just after Gandalf suggests that Gondor light the beacons to summon Rohan. Denethor says,
It makes a lot more sense for Denethor to reject Aragorn's claim outright at what he thinks is the end of the world (he is about to kill himself precisely because he thinks Gondor is about to fall to Mordor), and Gandalf is holding out the possibility of a future as a way to get Denethor to hope. But from Denethor's perspective, a future where he serves Isildur's heir is a future dependent on a rejection of his most fundamental duty as steward: to keep Gondor as whole as he can until his king returns. This point is made clearer in one of Tolkien's early outlines of this scene, where he writes:
I do not deny that Denethor hated Thorongil, nor do I deny that Denethor connected Thorongil with Aragorn. Appendix A suggests that Denethor might have known Thorongil's true identity. However, when Denethor describes Aragorn's house as "long bereft of lordship," this is not a personal attack against Aragorn. (At least, it need not be interpreted in this fashion.) Denethor is saying that the line of Isildur was "long bereft of [the] lordship" of the southern lands.
This is a reference to Arvedui's claim on the kingship of Gondor, which is discussed in Appendix A. Tolkien writes,
Tolkien then goes on to give Arvedui's answer to this decision. (The crown was given to Eärnil, a Gondorian captain descended from the brother of a king three generations back, and Arvedui did not press his claim—though neither did he withdraw it.) This is really an interesting legal case, and tells us a lot about the Dúnedain's rules of inheritance, but to do it justice is beyond the scope of this essay. [3] The key point for our present consideration of Denethor is that he did have a legal leg to stand on in rejecting Aragorn's claim. He may have been wrong, but he was also giving his defense at a point when he was very stressed and not in his right mind; he can hardly be expected to interpret the finer points of law at this point. Even if he is wrong, his rejection of Aragorn is not solely based on personal dislike; he really believes he is doing his duty.
As an interesting sidebar, we might re-consider how Boromir and Faramir consider Aragorn's claim. It is commonly thought that Boromir accepted Aragorn's claim to the kingship. However, read what Tolkien actually says. In the Council of Elrond, Aragorn asks Boromir whether Gondor would like a king to return:
It is perhaps telling that Aragorn asks about the House of Elendil, but Boromir answers about the Sword of Elendil. A king's house, especially a long-dead king, conjures up images of heirs and succession; Aragorn is asking (to my mind) whether Gondor would like for one who has the authority of the heir of Elendil to come. Boromir does not answer this question outright, but says that they would accept the sword of Elendil—that is, the military might, but not the dynastic authority, of Elendil's elder son.
In Henneth Annûn, Frodo reports Boromir's acceptance of Aragorn's claim to Faramir:
So Frodo reports that Boromir accepted Aragorn's claim; but Frodo may not have understood all of the subtleties of that exchange in Rivendell. He had no particular interest in Gondor at that point of the story, and had heard so many tales that he may not have been paying attention as he should have, or have known the requisite history to fully understood the distinction between Elendil's house and Elendil's sword. Faramir tells Frodo that Aragorn will have to prove his claims if he comes to Gondor, and it is only after Faramir has seen his healing ability that he accepts him as king.
Denethor would not have known about the king's healing hands, or even that Aragorn rode with Elrond's sons. At least one of his sons (Faramir) and arguably the other (Boromir) expressed skepticism in Aragorn's claim to be heir to the throne of Gondor when presented with the same evidence that Denethor had access to, and Faramir and Boromir had the luxury of time to consider the claim. Is it so hard to believe that Denethor would reject it in a time of madness, not out of animosity toward Aragorn, but out of a genuine doubt that he was the rightful king of Gondor?
Denethor's relationship with Finduilas was one of the few areas of Denethor's life that present Denethor in a softer light. Without having read the passages about her in the Appendices of LOTR, it is easy to think of Denethor as a crusty, bitter old man; but with Finduilas, the canon paints him as having loved once. This requires no special interpretation; the canon is as straightforward as Tolkien ever is. He writes in the Appendices:
The fact that Denethor is said to have (maybe) loved Boromir more than Finduilas feels a bit odd. I know that I love my parents in a very different way than I love my siblings (and assume that parents similarly love each other differently than they do their children). I wouldn't imagine there's a better comparison between love for a spouse and love for a child. So what exactly is Tolkien getting at here? The best way I can see to read this statement is that the audience of this historical document [4] knew that Denethor loved his older son, and that Finduilas was loved so much that the only person Denethor could even possibly love more than her was Boromir. In any event, it's clear that Denethor loved her very much.
It's also noteworthy the kind of woman that he loves. Tolkien describes Finduilas as "a lady of great beauty and gentle heart." I don't doubt that she was every inch Denethor's equal intellectually (somehow I can't see Denethor having it any other way), but she was also genteel and tender. It takes a special kind of person to be comfortable around that, to be able to love something tender. This suggests to me that Denethor had a softer side than we see in Lord of the Rings. He was sensitive, at least when he fell in love with Finduilas.
But the story of Finduilas ends tragically. Tolkien writes,
Many people have speculated over just what caused Finduilas to die. Was it suicide, or illness? Had something happened to her in giving birth to Faramir? This speculation is, however, precisely that. Whatever the case, Finduilas's death seems to be a defining moments of his life. In the next paragraph Tolkien says,
Tolkien says in the appendices that it was around this time that Denethor began to use the palantír. (In the "Palantíri" essay in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien suggests that Denethor began earlier, in the Thorongil years, and it was only noticed by people other than Finduilas after her death.) In any case, it is unmistakable that he became "more grim" at this point. Denethor probably was always very serious, but there was a big change in him after Finduilas's death.
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.)
*********************************
II. DENETHOR: THE EARLY YEARS
Childhood
We really don't know that much about Denethor's childhood and young adulthood before Thorongil (aka Aragorn) came on the scene, at least compared with his sons and other characters of the generation after him. However, by examining the few clues we do have, we can form a reasonable guess what Denethor's childhood would have been like.
In Histories of Middle-earth Vol. XII Tolkien tells us that "[Denethor] was the first son and third child of Ecthelion," which means he was the third child in a family of at least four children. (Conceivably more, but I have always assumed there were four siblings, not all of whom necessarily survived to adulthood.) Denethor was born in 2930, and Ecthelion in 2886, meaning that Ecthelion was forty-four when Denethor was born. This may seem old, but consider that Denethor himself did not marry until he was forty-six. The Appendices describes this marriage as late, but it seems unlikely that he would be allowed to wait so long if Gondorians traditionally married much earlier. I think that if Ecthelion had married before he was thirty-five or so, this would have been mentioned. Denethor then would be the third child of four, at least three of which would have been born in fairly close proximity to each other.
This next-to-youngest position in a fairly large family is an unfortunate one, if my friends in similar situations are any indication. (If you need a literary example, consider the frustrations Ron Weasley faces in the early Harry Potter books, that his older brothers will overshadow him.) The youngest child is traditionally pampered by virtue of being the youngest, but the next-to-youngest child tends to be more forgotten in the shuffle. Any accomplishments this next-to-youngest child might have were probably done first by an older sibling. Of course Denethor would have been different in this regard because he was the first son and so would need to be his father's heir; and also there's a big difference between seven and four children. I do think, however, that the basic psychological situation would hold. It doesn't explain everything that happened with Denethor later on, but it's also not a great way to start off your life. Denethor probably did not grow up warm and pampered; I expect he was often overshadowed by his sisters and younger brother, and that his father was rather demanding of him.
Speaking of Ecthelion, it would be easy to overlook the affect his father's personality had on Denethor, because we never meet Ecthelion in the canon. But we are given some hints, and they suggest that Ecthelion, in order to be a good steward in those years, would have had to be a hard man.
Ecthelion was born in 2986. The Tale of Years tells us that, by 2901, most of Ithilien was deserted. (Ecthelion would have been around fifteen at the time.) As the situation in Ithilien worsened, Gondor would have faced a refugee situation, with a significant number of families uprooted from their ancestral lands. These families would needed to be provided for—probably in the way of finding them useful work to do. Henneth Annûn was built in this same year, and Cair Andros was reinforced. These military projects combined with the refugee situation would have driven home the severity of the political situation to a young Ecthelion. Ten years later, in 2911, much of Middle-earth suffered the Long Winter. In our modern times it's easy to forget how real a threat starvation can be; even if it did not touch Gondor specifically, Ecthelion almost certainly would have known about food shortages.
These two events would have impressed on Ecthelion the need to be vigilant both against natural disasters and against military threats. He would have likely tried to teach these same lessons to his heir. It seems likely to me that Ecthelion would have been very demanding of his son and heir.
Back to Denethor. The most notable historical occurrence during Denethor's childhood was the Quest for Erebor and the Battle of the Five Armies. That occurred in 2941, when Denethor would have been eleven. He would almost certainly have heard of it, maybe even have been sent to Dale in the years afterwards to open up diplomatic relations with this new kingdom of men. But Gondorians also would have heard of the carnage of the battle itself.
I imagine this event would have an affect on an eleven-year-old boy. True, Laketown and Erebor were quite a distance from Gondor, but the events in the north had led to the foundation of a new mannish kingdom (Dale), so I imagine the events leading up to Dale's founding would have been discussed in the Citadel of Denethor's childhood. And this discussion would probably include talk of how Smaug had destroyed Laketown. A kingdom of men had been very nearly obliterated by an enemy that had not troubled them for years. Even if Denethor began to feel secure that his own country's armies could defend him from Sauron, what was to keep some strange forgotten enemy of the north from sweeping down on Minas Tirith and annihilating them all?
It may not be coincidental that Denethor was something of a lore-master. I can easily see a teenage Denethor wanting to know everything he possibly could about potential enemies.
The Quest for Erebor would have affected Gondor in other ways. Remember that while the elves, dwarves, and men fought the orcs, Gandalf and the White Council drove Sauron out of Mirkwood and back into Mordor. Gondor. So the fighting in Ithilien would get fiercer, and the situation would look bleaker still. There's your forgotten enemy from the north descending on you in the night! I'm not suggesting that Gondor knew this new enemy was Sauron to begin with, but when he declared himself openly and Orodruin erupted into flames again, I'm sure Ecthelion, Denethor, and the other PTB in Minas Tirith got the message. It didn't really matter if it was Sauron or some other new enemy; this was Bad News.
It wouldn't have been an easy way to grow up for any kid, but Denethor survived it and seems to have become a fairly competent and "normal" adult. And then Thorongil shows up.
Denethor and Thorongil
For all the difficulties Denethor would have faced growing up, his childhood and young adulthood would have been fairly stable. He was child of the Steward and so would be at least materially well-provided for. Sauron's growing strength in Mordor may have frightened him, but Denethor did live in a stone citadel, and as his father's heir (and unmarried heir at that), he probably would not have fought in dangerous areas. And if he felt overlooked in his parents' affection, at least the one who was (possibly) loved more than him was a close family member. It would have hurt, emotionally, but at least it would have been understandable in some sense.
Enter Thorongil.
According to the Tale of Years, Aragorn served in Rohan and Gondor as Thorongil, from 2957 until 2980. We do not know when exactly he entered Ecthelion's service, but because of his heritage as Isildur's heir it seems likely to me that Aragorn would want to serve in Gondor as soon as he could. (Serving in Rohan first allowed him to be more circumspect in Gondor about his lineage.) I think it is reasonable that Aragorn would have come to Gondor by the mid-2960s, when Denethor was in his mid-thirties.
Denethor and Aragorn are actually fairly similar characters—so much so that, if we were offering a literary critique of this book, they might be considered foils of each other. However, this is fanfic, and because of fanfic's need to expand the original plot, the characters cannot just be interpreted as they were in the original author's story. I tend to take a historical approach and view them as if they had been real individuals in some historical reality. And, within this mode of interpretation, Aragorn poses a very serious problem for Denethor. Tolkien writes of this pair,
"[Denethor] was as like to Thorongil as to one of nearest kin, and yet was ever placed second to the stranger in the hearts of men and the esteem of his father. At the time many thought that Thorongil had departed before his rival became his master, though indeed Thorongil had never himself vied with Denethor, nor held himself higher than the servant of his father." (Appendix A, The Lord of the Ring)
If Denethor had any insecurities about his parents', and particularly his father's, affection, then the arrival of Thorongil would have only made matters worse. It would be one thing for Ecthelion to overlook Denethor for his sisters or younger brother, but quite another to favor a stranger from a distant land more than he did his own son. The fact that this happened without any overt effort on Aragorn's part would have made the situation that much worse. If Aragorn had manipulated events, then Denethor could be mad at him; but as it was, the rational part of Denethor would have to recognize that Thorongil was more loved by Ecthelion and by the people at large, just because he was more popular and more beloved, not because of any overt action on Aragorn's part.
Also, this hostility toward Aragorn was at least part of what drove him to first use the palantír. Tolkien writes,
"During the end of the rule of [Denethor's] father, Ecthelion II, he must have greatly desired to consult the Stone, as anxiety in Gondor increased, while his own position was weakened by the fame of "Thorongil" and the favour shown to him by his father. At least one of the motives must have been jealousy of Thorongil, and hostility to Gandalf [...]; Denethor desired to surpass these "usurpers" in knowledge and information. " ("The Palantíri," Unfinished Tales)
Denethor's use of the palantír is one of the most controversial aspects of his personality, because that strain, combined with grief over the (assumed) deaths of his sons, was one of the prime factors that drove him to madness. Tolkien has much to say on the subject of Denethor and the palantír, and I will discuss this topic further down; however, at this point it should be noted that Denethor's jealousy of Aragorn and hostility toward Gandalf, combined with his protective love of Gondor, led him to use the palantír. If Denethor was wrong to use the palantír (a point that I'm not conceding), then at least some of his motives should be understandable to anyone who has ever felt that their parent loved someone else better.
No discussion of Denethor's love-hate relationship with Aragorn would be complete without looking at the infamous "long bereft of loyalty" passage. Denethor says of Aragorn,
"I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart. Even were his claim proved to me, still he comes but of the line of Isildur. I will not bow to such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity. " ("The Pyre of Denethor," The Return of the King)
In Tolkien's books, Denethor says this just before lighting his pyre. Gandalf has encouraged him to fight on Pelennor Fields while the doctors in the Houses of Healing attempt to help Faramir. Denethor claims that Gandalf is attempting to use him to hold off Mordor until Aragorn arrives, at which point he will be replaced. He is deluded by madness, but if his delusions were accurate then his anger would not be excessive. He is not being vindictive by denying Aragorn the throne.
In the movies, this exchange is even more extreme. It takes place on Gandalf's first audience with Denethor, just after Gandalf suggests that Gondor light the beacons to summon Rohan. Denethor says,
"I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh yes, word has reached my ears of this Aragorn son of Arathorn, and I tell you now: I will not bow to this ranger from the north! Last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship." [2]
It makes a lot more sense for Denethor to reject Aragorn's claim outright at what he thinks is the end of the world (he is about to kill himself precisely because he thinks Gondor is about to fall to Mordor), and Gandalf is holding out the possibility of a future as a way to get Denethor to hope. But from Denethor's perspective, a future where he serves Isildur's heir is a future dependent on a rejection of his most fundamental duty as steward: to keep Gondor as whole as he can until his king returns. This point is made clearer in one of Tolkien's early outlines of this scene, where he writes:
"Berithil [Beregond] and guard had gone and stopped the burning. Gandalf reasons with Denethor. 'I have seen' says Denethor 'ships coming up Anduin: I will no more yield to an upstart—and even if his claim be true of the younger line: I am Steward for the sons of Anárion not of Isildur." ("The Pyre of Denethor," Histories of Middle-earth VIII)
I do not deny that Denethor hated Thorongil, nor do I deny that Denethor connected Thorongil with Aragorn. Appendix A suggests that Denethor might have known Thorongil's true identity. However, when Denethor describes Aragorn's house as "long bereft of lordship," this is not a personal attack against Aragorn. (At least, it need not be interpreted in this fashion.) Denethor is saying that the line of Isildur was "long bereft of [the] lordship" of the southern lands.
This is a reference to Arvedui's claim on the kingship of Gondor, which is discussed in Appendix A. Tolkien writes,
"On the death of Ondoher and his sons, Arvedui of the North-kingdom claimed the crown of Gondor, as the direct descendant of Isildur, and as the husband of Fíriel, only surviving child of Ondoher. The claim was rejected. In this Pelendur, the Steward of King Ondoher, played the chief part.
"The council of Gondor answered: "The crown and royalty of Gondor belongs solely to the heirs of Meneldil, son of Anárion, to whom Isildur relinquished this realm. In Gondor this heritage is reckoned through the sons only; and we have not heard that the law is otherwise in Arnor."
Tolkien then goes on to give Arvedui's answer to this decision. (The crown was given to Eärnil, a Gondorian captain descended from the brother of a king three generations back, and Arvedui did not press his claim—though neither did he withdraw it.) This is really an interesting legal case, and tells us a lot about the Dúnedain's rules of inheritance, but to do it justice is beyond the scope of this essay. [3] The key point for our present consideration of Denethor is that he did have a legal leg to stand on in rejecting Aragorn's claim. He may have been wrong, but he was also giving his defense at a point when he was very stressed and not in his right mind; he can hardly be expected to interpret the finer points of law at this point. Even if he is wrong, his rejection of Aragorn is not solely based on personal dislike; he really believes he is doing his duty.
As an interesting sidebar, we might re-consider how Boromir and Faramir consider Aragorn's claim. It is commonly thought that Boromir accepted Aragorn's claim to the kingship. However, read what Tolkien actually says. In the Council of Elrond, Aragorn asks Boromir whether Gondor would like a king to return:
"[Aragorn says,] 'Now you have seen the sword that you have sought, what would you ask? Do you wish for the House of Elendil to return to the Land of Gondor?'
'I was not sent to beg any boon, but to seek only the meaning of a riddle,' answered Boromir proudly. 'Yet we are hard pressed, and the Sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope—if such a thing could indeed return out of the shadows of the past.'" ("The Council of Elrond," The Lord of the Ring)
It is perhaps telling that Aragorn asks about the House of Elendil, but Boromir answers about the Sword of Elendil. A king's house, especially a long-dead king, conjures up images of heirs and succession; Aragorn is asking (to my mind) whether Gondor would like for one who has the authority of the heir of Elendil to come. Boromir does not answer this question outright, but says that they would accept the sword of Elendil—that is, the military might, but not the dynastic authority, of Elendil's elder son.
In Henneth Annûn, Frodo reports Boromir's acceptance of Aragorn's claim to Faramir:
"[Frodo said,] 'Aragorn is descended in direct lineage, father to father, from Isildur Elendil's son himself. And the sword that he bears was Elendil's sword.'
A murmur of astonishment ran through all the ring of men. Some cried aloud: 'The sword of Elendil! The sword of Elendil comes to Minas Tirith! Great tidings!' But Faramir's face was unmoved.
'Maybe,' he said. 'But so great a claim will need to be established and clear proofs will be required, should this Aragorn ever come to Minas Tirith. He had not come, nor any of your Company, when I set out six days ago.'
'Boromir was satisfied of that claim,' said Frodo. 'Indeed, if Boromir were here, he would answer all your questions.'" ("The Window on the West," The Lord of the Ring)
So Frodo reports that Boromir accepted Aragorn's claim; but Frodo may not have understood all of the subtleties of that exchange in Rivendell. He had no particular interest in Gondor at that point of the story, and had heard so many tales that he may not have been paying attention as he should have, or have known the requisite history to fully understood the distinction between Elendil's house and Elendil's sword. Faramir tells Frodo that Aragorn will have to prove his claims if he comes to Gondor, and it is only after Faramir has seen his healing ability that he accepts him as king.
Denethor would not have known about the king's healing hands, or even that Aragorn rode with Elrond's sons. At least one of his sons (Faramir) and arguably the other (Boromir) expressed skepticism in Aragorn's claim to be heir to the throne of Gondor when presented with the same evidence that Denethor had access to, and Faramir and Boromir had the luxury of time to consider the claim. Is it so hard to believe that Denethor would reject it in a time of madness, not out of animosity toward Aragorn, but out of a genuine doubt that he was the rightful king of Gondor?
Denethor and Finduilas
Denethor's relationship with Finduilas was one of the few areas of Denethor's life that present Denethor in a softer light. Without having read the passages about her in the Appendices of LOTR, it is easy to think of Denethor as a crusty, bitter old man; but with Finduilas, the canon paints him as having loved once. This requires no special interpretation; the canon is as straightforward as Tolkien ever is. He writes in the Appendices:
"[Denethor] had married late (2976), taking as wife Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth. She was a lady of great beauty and gentle heart, but before twelve years had passed she died. Denethor loved her, in his fashion, more dearly than any other, unless it were the elder of the sons that she bore him."
The fact that Denethor is said to have (maybe) loved Boromir more than Finduilas feels a bit odd. I know that I love my parents in a very different way than I love my siblings (and assume that parents similarly love each other differently than they do their children). I wouldn't imagine there's a better comparison between love for a spouse and love for a child. So what exactly is Tolkien getting at here? The best way I can see to read this statement is that the audience of this historical document [4] knew that Denethor loved his older son, and that Finduilas was loved so much that the only person Denethor could even possibly love more than her was Boromir. In any event, it's clear that Denethor loved her very much.
It's also noteworthy the kind of woman that he loves. Tolkien describes Finduilas as "a lady of great beauty and gentle heart." I don't doubt that she was every inch Denethor's equal intellectually (somehow I can't see Denethor having it any other way), but she was also genteel and tender. It takes a special kind of person to be comfortable around that, to be able to love something tender. This suggests to me that Denethor had a softer side than we see in Lord of the Rings. He was sensitive, at least when he fell in love with Finduilas.
But the story of Finduilas ends tragically. Tolkien writes,
"Before twelve years had passed she died. [...] It seemed to men that she withered in the guarded city, as a flower of the seaward vales set upon a barren rock. The shadow in the east filled her with horror, and she turned her eyes ever south to the sea that she missed." (Appendix A, LOTR)
Many people have speculated over just what caused Finduilas to die. Was it suicide, or illness? Had something happened to her in giving birth to Faramir? This speculation is, however, precisely that. Whatever the case, Finduilas's death seems to be a defining moments of his life. In the next paragraph Tolkien says,
"After her death Denethor became more grim and silent than before, and would sit long alone in his tower deep in thought, foreseeing that the assault of Mordor would come in his time." (Appendix A, LOTR)
Tolkien says in the appendices that it was around this time that Denethor began to use the palantír. (In the "Palantíri" essay in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien suggests that Denethor began earlier, in the Thorongil years, and it was only noticed by people other than Finduilas after her death.) In any case, it is unmistakable that he became "more grim" at this point. Denethor probably was always very serious, but there was a big change in him after Finduilas's death.