[onewhitetree]

1.) I think it is pretty obvious that by the time LotR rolled around, Saruman was fairly morally weak. This is not to be confused with intellectually or interpersonally weak because he was clearly lacking little in either of those areas. It's really an ambiguous choice to surmise whether he was so weak "back at the ranch," so to speak. At first thought, surely he must have been of strong character to be chosen as leader of his little Istari expedition, but then, that Valar lady who was into Gandalf (bad with names? me?) never did like him much. Rather like a jealous mother, or was it more? Maybe Saruman was weak to begin with because, after all, Fate In Middle-Earth is a force to be reckoned with.

2.) This is one of my favorite things about Tolkien: his sense of justice! Really, I don't think there is a solitary soul in any of the books that I have read that was not treated righteously. I think what I like best about it is that his justice is not "good guys die and go to heaven, bad guys die too, and go to hell," but more based on the premise the people get what is coming to them while they are still alive (albeit for a few seconds in some cases, but a few seconds is all it takes for a warrior to realize that he was crusading for the wrong cause, or that true allegiance is not what it was perceived to be, etc, and a change of heart is never too late).

3.) I must beg a clarification of this one before I venture a statement.

4.) When I think of vulnerable, I think of Eowyn. She witnessed her family fall into relative darkness compared to what it had been once upon a time; her very existence as a woman was a source of pain to her; her future seemed as bleak as an eternal trudge over dead, barren land. It's enough to make anyone touchy. I think she really retreated into herself to deal with all the emotional hurt she received, and she put up a front as Tough Girl (not to say she wasn't tough, but we all have soft sides as well) in order to mask her vulnerability. Her physical strength especially was what she relied upon. I think, considering the way Eowyn was written, that we believe in the power of her strength until the worst is over, and as we look back, we realize what amazing feats she actually did accomplish. I don't think this makes her character poorly drawn -- I think it is how the people of Rohan would have reacted as well. Also, it is telling that she only finds true love when her physical strength is finally made inferior. Once the Tough Girl front is stripped to reveal Sensitive Girl, she realizes what it is she really wants.

That's all for now. Really, only 400 posts in over two years -- you can't expect too much of me.