Thoughts About Dark Versus Light

[Shadowfax Clawson]

I recently partook in a chat with two other honorable Tolkien enthusiasts. We started out discussion the popular topic of tragic characters as portrayed in LotR, but the conversation took a turn towards another discussion I took part in; see Gollum and Poetic Justice for details. I found this particular discussion to be quite interesting if not entertaining. It went something like this:

Shadowfax’s original topic: What characters in LotR could be distinguished as “tragic?”

<Thalionvasa> Frodo should have stayed with Sam though...
<Shadowfax> He didn't have a "dark side." He could no longer remain in
Middle-Earth
<_Arwen_-email> he stayed
<_Arwen_-email> what do u mean?
<Shadowfax> Gollum was Frodo's antithesis.
<Thalionvasa> Poor Sam…his heart being torn in peaces.
<Shadowfax> they balanced each other out, good and evil
<Shadowfax> Gollum was Frodo's evil. Without the counter-balance, nothing
separated mortal from immortal
<Shadowfax> that sounds prophetic (:
<Thalionvasa> that make sense.
<Shadowfax> which is why I think Gollum was evil from the beginning, and the One Ring just accentuated it
<Thalionvasa> Saruman is Gandalf's darker side I think...
<Shadowfax> good thought, Thalion
<Shadowfax> Going back to my original question, Boromir could be considered
"tragic"
<Shadowfax> you grow to love him, then his blindfool lust for the Ring tears
him away
<Thalionvasa> So Saruman get to be Gandalf's darker side.
<Shadowfax> I agree with that
<Shadowfax> Galdalf doesn't destroy Saruman in the Two Towers, just reduces
him to nothing
<Shadowfax> this is perhaps why Gandalf didn't destroy Saruman; he
understood the counter-balance necessary.
<Shadowfax> remember, Gandalf too had to leave Middle-Earth after Wormtongue
killed Saruman
<Thalionvasa> But some have only themselves as an dark side, like Bilbo...
<Shadowfax> how do you mean?
<_Arwen_-email> ?
<None_of_all> dark side is not someone else?
<Thalionvasa> There is no other person to counter-balance to Bilbo, only
himself!
<Thalionvasa> But Galadriel’s dark side must be Sauron..
<None_of_all> or Feanor
< Thalionvasa> yes
<Shadowfax> but Bilbo departs from Middle-Earth too. How was the dark side
of him destroyed?
<Thalionvasa> When the Ring was destroyed Bilbo lost the dark side of himself
<Shadowfax> that makes sense...
<Shadowfax> ok
<Thalionvasa> couse the ring made a Dark side in Bilbo..
<None_of_all> why you think that to depart they need to have the dark side destroyed?

<None_of_all> that's strange?
<Shadowfax> It would make sense to me
<Thalionvasa> it makes sense
<Shadowfax> as I said earlier, possesion of a dark side separates the mortal
from the immortal
<Thalionvasa> uh-hu
<Shadowfax> they're only human (or elf or dwarf or hobbit, what have you)
<None_of_all> Galadriel lost her dark side?
<Shadowfax> yes...
<None_of_all> and dark side is not something you can throw away
<None_of_all> even in Mount Doom
<Shadowfax> and we're debating who Galadriel’s dark side might be
<None_of_all> that makes no sense to me
<Shadowfax> There's many examples of antitheses in the book
<Shadowfax> can one differentiate night from day without night?
<Thalionvasa> yes. she too went to grey heavens
<None_of_all> yes but you make them connected with the inner self of the day
<None_of_all> day is day and night stands on the other side
<Shadowfax> how do you mean?
<None_of_all> that you cannot have your night killed because its in you and
it lives while you live
<Thalionvasa> sauron died when the ring was destroyed, so if sauron was
Galadriel dark side, she lost it..
<Shadowfax> when Gollum died, Frodo's night was torn away
<None_of_all> Sauron is not Galadriel's dark side
<Shadowfax> and when Saruman was murdered, Gandalf’s night was extricated, too
<Shadowfax> do you have any thoughts on who was Galadriel's dark side, then?
<Shadowfax> (you're coming up with a brilliant rebuttal, I can tell)
<Thalionvasa> When Frodo was in Mordor there were no day, because sauron
has no god side, and because of that, he is nothing but an eye, an spirit,
cause he need his light side.

Even though our conclusion was similar to another chat I took part in (Gollum and poetic justice…), it was cast in a different light, since in this chat we examined the existence of a “dark side” of Tolkien’s characters and distinguished some of who they may be. Thank you to Thalionvasa and None_of_all for valuable input on this sometimes enigmatic discussion!