'The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy'

[Lyta_Underhill]

What LOTR never gives us is the dramatization of Saruman's fall. We are told over and over than he is the bad guy. And we see behaviours which are not estimable. But we are never shown how it was that he succumbed to this evil. If we weren't told he was bad from the outset, would we be able to recognize his turpitude?

An interesting point to punctuate a very interesting discussion! There are too many points to cover in my limited time, so I'll stick to only a few. In the matter of Saruman's fall, we would have only the observations of those who came into contact with him (i.e., the Istari), who never suspected the depth of his corruption until it was almost too late. Even Gandalf did not realize the mechanism of his fall until Pippin's fortuitous encounter with the palantir shed light on it for him (and for Pippin, I believe!). The Evil can only be sleuthed out and back-analyzed by the forces of Good, for that is the POV insisted upon by Professor Tolkien.

One aspect of this "fall" I would say is the giving in of the individual to desire, the desire for material or non-material gain. Whenever one possesses something, one can lose it. Thus fear enters in, and the possessor can never be 100% satisfied. He or she must act or think in order to keep what is gained. I think this is also illustrated in the initial concept utilized by Sauron in the making of the Rings. If you objectify power, make it into a material thing, you can make people want it and fight for it, thus invoking desire and then following with fear of loss. There is probably nobody alive who does not feel desire in some measure and manner, so the attraction would be pretty much universal. Perhaps this is also one aspect of the enigmatic nature of Tom Bombadil that causes the Ring to be "just a thing" with no attached significance or power over him.

Also, the assertion that the Ring gives power according to the measure of its bearer would seem to bear out the design of its acting upon the desires within the bearer's heart, these desires being commensurate with his inner focus or "measure."

I know all this sidesteps the issue of morality to an extent, but perhaps it poses a new question: can there be happiness if there is desire? Can desire be reconciled with a moral code, or can it be simply resisted and a moral life be adhered to with a secret longing? Is this part of the kernel of Frodo's dissatisfaction once he has been divested of the Ring? All this and more on the next episode of "One Philosophy to Rule Them All!" [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] (Forgive my silliness...just can't help it sometimes!)

Cheers,
Lyta

[ October 25, 2003: Message edited by: Lyta_Underhill ]