[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Although, there is far more to Boromir than his pride and big-brother bossiness

"Your news is all of woe!" cried Eomer in dismay. "Great harm is this death to Minas Tirith, and to us all. That was a worthy man! All spoke his praise. He came seldom to the Mark, for he was ever in the wars on the East-borders; but I have seen him. More like the swift sons of Eorl than to the grave Men of Gondor he seemed to me, and likely to prove a great captain of his people when his time came."~The Riders of Rohan

...and Pippin grazing at him saw how closely he resembled his brother Boromir - whom Pippin had liked from the first, admiring the great man's lordly and kindly manner.~The Siege of Gondor

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Certainly high praise from Eomer comparing him to the "swifts Sons of Eorl" and admiration for a "lordly and kindly manner" from Pippin, should warrant some good credit to Boromir's character than simply an arrogant, bossy numbskull.

I feel like addressing this "Boromir as bossy" topic in light of these two quotes, simply because I feel like they are two very different sorts of witness, and need to be distinguished on that basis. In and of itself, I don't think that Éomer's testimony disproves "bossiness" on Boromir's part at all. Indeed, I think it would prove it more than it would disprove it. Éomer admits, himself, that Boromir came little to the Mark, so most of what he is saying is hearsay (though, I admit, Éomer would be in more of a position than most to have met Boromir if he were to come to Rohan)--and it is a reputation specifically based on his actions at war--on the eastern marches.

"Bossiness" in a peer-like situation (such as Rivendell and the Fellowship can be considered--even though they aren't really peers in a proper sense, the only chain of command is "Gandalf and Elrond have commissioned us") or in personal relationships would translate well to "capable commander"--after all, you want a leader of men to be able to lead them. When Éomer says that Boromir was expected to become a great captain of his people, we should note that he says captain, a martial term. He is not, as Denethor might be, expected to become a great "steward" or "leader" or "statesman." This narrower expectation of "captain" reflects the fact that Boromir's reputation for greatness is limited solely to the battlefield--in other words, to one place where bossiness can most easily masquerade as something noble.

All of that being said, however, Éomer's testimony does not prove that Boromir was, in fact, bossy--merely, that it does not necessarily contradict any account of Boromir as bossy. As the son of the Steward and Captain-General of Gondor, Boromir could easily be camouflaged, since he would lack any real social peers and would be expected to display "bossy" traits.

The testimony of Pippin is, in my opinion, of greater weight, since it is a first-hand account, rather than hearsay. Furthermore, it is the account of someone who has no prior history with the military needs and conditions that would see military prowess as supremely praiseworthy.

I think it is also hugely important to note that, although Pippin "liked him from the first," we don't find this out until Pippin is in Gondor. We never see the scene in Rivendell where Pippin gets to see Boromir's "lordly and kindly" manners in actions. Insofar as The Lord of the Rings is the account by Frodo, it will presumably share his biases. Whether Frodo disliked Boromir from the Council of Elrond on, and then simply avoided him such that he had nothing to put in his account thereafter save the few occasions where Boromir impacted on the action of the whole Fellowship, or whether Frodo's final encounter with Boromir coloured his whole retelling of all that came before... who knows? I incline to the former option, out of a preference for Frodo's general objectivity as a recounter of events, and because Boromir was probably a bit of a fish out of water, being accustomed to being at the top of the social food chain, and finding himself a lowly mortal among immortals and less lowly mortals, at the Council.

What's more, it's easier to see how Pippin, as the young cousin with three older sisters, always tagging along after Merry and Frodo, would respond well to "lordliness" on Boromir's part, and see well-intentioned (if over-bearing) kindliness behind it. Pippin also does not attend the Council, so he would not have the baggage of those tensions to bias him against the one person on the council who voices the outsider's obvious first opinion.

In any case, I think it is significant that we only get this opinion of Pippin's AFTER the Fellowship has broken, once the narrator has to follow the minds and thoughts of the other Hobbits--and non-Hobbits. It highlights the fact that, although the narrator is third-person and not obviously connected with Frodo, the narrator is chiefly following Frodo's story, and thus Frodo's perspective may dominate. It is only when Frodo's perspective cannot be followed, that we see that Frodo's perspective may not have been the only one regarding Boromir.

What's more, now that I think about it, I think we can also see a different perspective already in Chapter I of The Two Towers, when Boromir is laid to rest. I've heard people comment before, if I remember correctly, that as Boromir's heroic end seems tacked on, or out of character, or something. It is possible, I think, that this seeming "out of characterness" can relate to perspective. With Frodo gone and the other Hobbits captured, the perspective is now, if anyone's, Aragorn's (though it may be Legolas and Gimli who are most likely to relay it to Frodo later), and I think he would have been far easier on Boromir than Frodo. Aragorn, as another Man, better understands the temptations the Ring posed for Boromir (though he is better able to resist it than Boromir), and also understands--alone among the Fellowship--what Gondor means to Boromir, and why a military solution would seem particularly compelling.