Boromir, Gollum and Eowyn

[Lyta_Underhill]

Fordim: So in each case, their duty is fulfilled and their desire destroyed or overcome. But what does this mean? That any desire one has that is in contravention to one's duty is self-destructive and 'wrong'?

I'm not sure I would define it this way, rather, I would say that the placing of one's selfish desires above the love of another causes a wrongness, either outwardly or inwardly, or both. Boromir desists in chasing Frodo to take the Ring and recognizes the madness that took him, placing his duty and his regard for Frodo (which must have risen in those few moments) above his selfish desire for the Ring and glory for Gondor. Eowyn puts her destructive desire for death in battle as a final fleeting bid to escape her 'cage' aside to stand against the Witch King--out of love for Theoden. Gollum almost puts aside his desire for the Ring in order to help Frodo in his quest. There is only a split second of time when Gollum might find redemption in this way, but it is shattered not only by Sam's words but also by the weight of his previous evil ways on his fragile soul.

There are others who have desires that contravene apparent duty as well--as mark and Child are saying of hobbits. Merry pledges himself to Theoden and breaks the latter's command, but he does so out of love. The desire is driven by a selfless motive. Pippin breaks Denethor's command, but he does so for love of Faramir. Sam puts aside his understood duty at the time--to continue with Frodo's quest and take the Ring to Mount Doom--all for the love of Frodo (of course we also understand that Sam is fulfilling his duty to Frodo in so doing).

One might stretch and say that Frodo engages in the dubious strategy (at least in Sam's eyes and probably others should they know about it) of keeping Gollum close and 'taming' he who is not really tameable. At first, Frodo finds this distasteful and wishes to be rid of him, but one could argue he finds a sort of 'love' for Gollum as Smeagol, a hobbit who shares his unique situation but has fallen away from the Light. If we say that Gollum is using Frodo, is Frodo using Gollum also? Frodo has not sworn to Gollum; it is certainly vice versa, but he treats him humanely and saves his life, even at the price of Gollum's misunderstanding and hating him (the betrayal to Faramir's men). Does Frodo do this because he needs Gollum, or does he do it for love of another?

davem: Er, does Boromir willingly 'sacrifice' himself - ie, does he fight the Orcs knowing that he will die as a result? I don't think we can say that he does. He goes into combat against massive odds, but we don't know that he realises he will die. Perhaps, driven by his pride, he believes he will win.

I was always of the opinion that Boromir was not consciously 'sacrificing' himself, but rather that he overcame his selfish desires and replaced them with selfless acts for the benefit of Merry and Pippin. I don't believe anyone goes into a conflict 'knowing' he or she will sacrifice everything, but one who enters in with no qualms about doing so will, in my opinion, act more purely and from selfless motive. This person will conquer fear by replacing it with love; this person will not be distracted by the self or one's own desires. I think Boromir conquers his desire by completely directing his energies to the defense of the two hobbits. I don't think that anything less would have so affected Pippin as to make him spontaneously pledge himself (yes, take an oath!) to the Steward of Gondor. Boromir achieved greatness through his willingness to die for the hobbits, not by being a prideful, yet strong Man of Gondor. This greatness is reflected in Pippin's awakening and willingness to, in turn, pledge himself to the greater realm of Gondor, thus enabling him in turn to apply and instill this concept inside Gondor itself. In a way, Pippin fulfills the greatness of Boromir.

I'm sure there's more in there somewhere (my rattled brain that is!) but I must break off to perform many duties myself, so I bid you all a happy day!

Cheers!
Lyta

P.S. I couldn't leave before I added a bit about the "hobbit test!" I have found it quite irresistible in my readings to apply what I call the "hobbit test" to individuals; that is, the love of an individual over the love of an abstract or object. It seemed to work to great effect while I was reading "His Dark Materials" recently, although there is much that is still confusing or unequal about that work, so I imagine I'll be re-reading it soon. This is WAY off topic, so I'll be short--both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter fail this test miserably, while Will and Lyra pass it, but it is interesting that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter finally put aside their abstract philosophies, their war, and all else, and sacrifice themselves, all because they finally understood love for another individual...now back to wrapping presents and paying bills---bleah! Good day!