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martasficTitle: Pride and Despair: A Defense of Ecthelion's Son - Part I
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.)
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Denethor. The very mention of the name is enough to cause some people to wrinkle their noses in disgust. Sure, the Jackson movies didn't do him any favors [1] (to put it mildly!), but there are many people who have been lifelong fans of Tolkien long before the movies came out, who also seem to hold the steward in great disdain.
And no wonder. He's manipulative, powerful, and (to all appearances) emotionally cold. Tolkien didn't care for him that much either; in the Letters he describes Denethor as political to a fault, and in notes on his abandoned sequel to The Lord of the Rings, JRRT says that most Gondorians became "like Denethor or worse." This wasn't a compliment; in the same paragraph, Tolkien describes Gondorian religion of this period as "Satanistic," and says that Gondorian boys played at being Orcs.
And even within the corpus of The Lord of the Rings, the charges levied against him are serious. He denied the return of the King. He tried to kill his son and succeeded in killing himself. He wished that Faramir had died at Amon Hen. He played favorites and was possessive of his sons. He wanted to take the Ring, which is never a good sign. And maybe worst of all, he uses the palantír, which, besides being prideful, is just plain creepy if you think about it. Some old man looking over your shoulder at whatever you did? Ick.
Let me be very clear. I disagree with most of these charges and am presenting the most common accusations I have heard made against him. But even if they aren't true, there are so many—isn't it impractical to think Denethor's character will ever be rehabilitated? Wouldn't my time be better spent examining Boromir's temptation by the Ring or Faramir's treatment of Gollum at Henneth Annûn? Even if all of the charges are shown to be false, won't many people still view Denethor as a nasty old man?
Quite possibly. But, for me, it is a point of honor that we at least try to be empathetic with him. Part of being a human is understanding what drives other humans, even to madness. It's a good exercise in compassion to try to understand Denethor. Plus, Tolkien says Faramir was moved to pity rather than to scorn, unlike his father. If Denethor is truly awful, isn't it better to try to pity him, as his son would have?
And so an essay was born.
Some of what follows is conjectural, and much is open to debate. I have presented the conclusions I have drawn after studying, discussing, and writing Denethor for several years. However, the great thing about Tolkien (especially where Denethor is concerned) is that he is an interpretative and creative labyrinth in which we can easily lose ourselves. Consider the canonical passages I quote and draw your own conclusions. In any event, I hope you benefit from the journey.
Before I turn to these accusations, though, I want to examine Denethor's life in the years long before the Ring War. By understanding where he came from and who he was, we can better understand who he became.
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.)
*********************************
I. INTRODUCTION
"Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death. And only the heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death." (Gandalf, "The Pyre of Denethor," The Lord of the Ring)
Denethor. The very mention of the name is enough to cause some people to wrinkle their noses in disgust. Sure, the Jackson movies didn't do him any favors [1] (to put it mildly!), but there are many people who have been lifelong fans of Tolkien long before the movies came out, who also seem to hold the steward in great disdain.
And no wonder. He's manipulative, powerful, and (to all appearances) emotionally cold. Tolkien didn't care for him that much either; in the Letters he describes Denethor as political to a fault, and in notes on his abandoned sequel to The Lord of the Rings, JRRT says that most Gondorians became "like Denethor or worse." This wasn't a compliment; in the same paragraph, Tolkien describes Gondorian religion of this period as "Satanistic," and says that Gondorian boys played at being Orcs.
And even within the corpus of The Lord of the Rings, the charges levied against him are serious. He denied the return of the King. He tried to kill his son and succeeded in killing himself. He wished that Faramir had died at Amon Hen. He played favorites and was possessive of his sons. He wanted to take the Ring, which is never a good sign. And maybe worst of all, he uses the palantír, which, besides being prideful, is just plain creepy if you think about it. Some old man looking over your shoulder at whatever you did? Ick.
Let me be very clear. I disagree with most of these charges and am presenting the most common accusations I have heard made against him. But even if they aren't true, there are so many—isn't it impractical to think Denethor's character will ever be rehabilitated? Wouldn't my time be better spent examining Boromir's temptation by the Ring or Faramir's treatment of Gollum at Henneth Annûn? Even if all of the charges are shown to be false, won't many people still view Denethor as a nasty old man?
Quite possibly. But, for me, it is a point of honor that we at least try to be empathetic with him. Part of being a human is understanding what drives other humans, even to madness. It's a good exercise in compassion to try to understand Denethor. Plus, Tolkien says Faramir was moved to pity rather than to scorn, unlike his father. If Denethor is truly awful, isn't it better to try to pity him, as his son would have?
And so an essay was born.
Some of what follows is conjectural, and much is open to debate. I have presented the conclusions I have drawn after studying, discussing, and writing Denethor for several years. However, the great thing about Tolkien (especially where Denethor is concerned) is that he is an interpretative and creative labyrinth in which we can easily lose ourselves. Consider the canonical passages I quote and draw your own conclusions. In any event, I hope you benefit from the journey.
Before I turn to these accusations, though, I want to examine Denethor's life in the years long before the Ring War. By understanding where he came from and who he was, we can better understand who he became.