“Not all those who wander are lost.”

[Boromir88]

I've been pondering (though these are just my thoughts, no one has to agree, and I always encourage feedback ). This thread may be able to explain why Faramir was able to resist the Ring and Boromir wasn't. I think there's many things that go into Faramir being able to resist, but all and all, it's been sort of an uknown/opinionated topic. Numenorean blood ran truer in him, he was wiser in lore, he learned from his brother's mistakes...etc, while I think these all contribute to Faramir being able to resist the Ring, I think there's something missing, and this thread may have just explained it. I mean Faramir doesn't even show signs of being severely tempted, he comes and flat out denies it.

I think it lies with the important phrase of Faramir's..."Not if Minas Tirith were burning to the ground would I use it."

Now, this I don't think shows that Faramir could give a rat's behind about Gondor, but I think it's just Faramir accepting he can't control what happens. As being discussed, there's a higher power at work, and accepting that you can't be in control is a key to spiritual healing.

The Ring is all about control and controlling what happens. Faramir realizes that he's not in control, and that he can't control what happens (nor does he want to control what happens) hence his fond denial of the Ring.

Where his brother wants to be in control of what happens and his strong pull to the Ring is because he wants to be in control. Where Faramir's strong resistance to the Ring comes from his unwillingness, and KNOWING the he can't control. It's not up to him.

[tar-ancalime]

I've been ruminating on a slightly different thought about wanderers and non-wanderers (homebodies?) in Tolkien. I'll post it here and move it if anyone thinks it's thread-hijacking.

It seems that frequently (if not always) characters who are wanderers are paired with characters who stay put.

Obvious example that has already been mentioned here: Gandalf and Saruman.

But wait, there's more...

The Ents and the Entwives. Treebeard has been described above as changing from static to active, but I disagree with that characterization. He has always been active, always been a wanderer; all that changes in Book Three is that he decides to become involved in the affairs of the outside world. It is, in my opinion, irrelevant to his status as a traveler/wanderer.

Aldarion and Erendis, two of my favorite characters. I think I've posted before about the parallel I see between their story and the Ent/Entwife story.

Among the Firstborn: those who traveled to Valinor and those who refused.

Aragorn and Boromir. Now, hear me out on this one, as I know it's rather a stretch. Aragorn is obviously the wanderer, and while Boromir does get around, I submit that he's a homebody at heart. He's a little like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz--not sure how he got to where he is, and totally focused on getting home. He displays a startling lack of knowledge about the world outside Gondor, more than once dismissing real places and people as myths (Fangorn/Ents, Lorien/Galadriel). Again, as with Treebeard, the Ring and the War are irrelevant to his status as a homebody, except that the dream (which almost always came to Faramir) was the impetus for his journey to Rivendell.

Bilbo and Frodo. Another possible pairing of hobbits is Frodo (wanderer) and Sam (homebody), but I think it's a false projection of Sam's strong association with the Shire. Throughout the story, it's Sam who wants to have adventures, see mountains and Elves. Sam isn't really a good model for either a wanderer or a homebody. Frodo, on the other hand, is not at all eager to leave the Shire and in fact delays to his peril. He's like Boromir--a reluctant traveler who would rather have stayed home. Bilbo (Lord of the Rings Bilbo, not Hobbit Bilbo), on the other hand, leaves home out of wanderlust. He misses the Road. He's the appropriate pairing for Frodo.

I'd really like to find a common thread among all these paired characters, as I think there are too many pairs to be a coincidence, but I haven't come up with anything yet. Thoughts?

I was thinking that perhaps it's the wanderers who survive--i.e. Treebeard remains while the Entwives are lost, Aragorn ascends to the throne and we all know what happened to Boromir, Gandalf wins his battle and Saruman meets a most undignified end, etc. But I don't know. This part of it (the all-important conclusion to what is otherwise merely a set of observations) eludes me, and I'd love to have some feedback.

Again, I apologize if I'm hijacking this thread, as I realize I'm going in a different direction than the previous posters.

[Boromir88]

Good thoughts Tar-Ancalime, later I may have more to think of, but just a quick thing to say...

Frodo, on the other hand, is not at all eager to leave the Shire and in fact delays to his peril. He's like Boromir--a reluctant traveler who would rather have stayed home.

I think the difference though between Frodo and Boromir, is that Frodo is willing to give up the Shire. Though he is reluctant, he makes the ultimate sacrifice of carrying the burden and throwing aside his desire to go back home. He was able to put past his own selfish wants and figuratively carry the fate of Middle-earth.

In Boromir's case he seems to make it pretty clear he has full intentions are to go back to Minas Tirith. Even with his death his body happens to make it back to Minas Tirith. He doesn't put aside his wants like Frodo is able to.

In many ways I would consider Boromir more closely tied to Gollum in this matter. Though Boromir has travelled around (he's been to Rohan a few times, and as we see him in Rivendell) there are things to show that he's not the true "wanderer" like say Gandalf.

As you've mentioned he has little knowledge of things outside Gondor and pays little respect to things he doesn't understand. I think his travel to Rivendell can show that Boromir isn't a true wanderer either, he gets lost. "Not all wanderers are lost, but are some of them?"

As was being discussed with Gollum, he wandered around a bit, and roamed from place to place, was very familiar with the geography, but that doesn't necessarily make him a true wanderer. He wandered for his own greed and selfishness, to ge the ring back, so he could go back and hide.

I think Boromir wanders for the same reason. He goes to Rivendell to get an answer to a riddle he had in a dream. Could this be selfish? I think to Boromir it can be (and I believe this is the first time I've spoken bad about the guy so if I start crying just ignore me)...He goes there to get answers on Isildur's Bane and the sword-that-was-broken, and while he does go there for answers he rejects the answers that are given. He doesn't agree with what the Council has to say on the ring, and he gives this somewhat of a doubtful response to Aragorn...

"Yet we are hard pressed, and the sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope - if such a thing could indeed retur out of the shadows of the past." He looked again at Aragorn, and doubt was in his eyes."~Council of Elrond

There's another quote in there where Boromir says that if Aragorn merely hadn't inherited an heirloom or if he could wield it like the kings of old, but can't find it right now and it's getting late. So, does this make Boromir a wanderer because he went to Rivendell searching for answers. I wouldn't say so, because the answers he was given, he rejected, and found fault in them, didn't agree with them.

I think we can split the "wanderers" category. There are those who are true wanderers. That don't wander for their selfish-greed, or self-gain, but do it to help and aid those in need. Best example Gandalf, or an Aragorn.

Then there are those "wanderers who ARE lost." They wander yet they do it for their own gain, not to the benefit of others....Gollum and it pains me to admit...Boromir.

[The Perky Ent]

Interesting thread. I didn't really start thinking until I read the fixed character list: Saruman, Denethor, and...Bombadil. According to Esty's post, change is (and BTW, i'm sure i'm analyzing this wrong) a beneficial and essential thing to a good character, and that he who changes sees more than others. Now, i'm not half as smart as most of you here (you can blame it on the Coca-Cola and Juicy Fruit), but is Tom Bombadil, a Tolkien character who doesn't change, weakened in sight? In my opinion, he seems to have a rounded mind. By merely bringing up the issue of Tom Bombadil, i'm dragging so many variables about himself, like his history and what he actually is. Despite his dancing frenzies, I can't help but feel that in his past he was experienced in the events of the world, and knows what's going on in the world. But then again...maybe he just dances because he knows nothing can hurt him (Because we all know Bombadil is actually a valar in disguise :P)

Oh, and Wormtail is a changer. I'm sorry I don't write as articulatly as everyone in here, but I just don't possess your skill, knowlege, age, experience, and attention span. Just curious about my Bombadil question (which has so many holes in its argument you'd think it's raining when you pour water through it).

Perky

[Anguirel]

I'm most intrigued by Boromir's point about lost wanderers, the negative side of wandering, if you like. The Silmarillion is full of such travels.

At first, thinking of Turin, I wondered if forced wandering-Turin's travels to Doriath and Nargothrond, for instance-born out of desperation, tended to have baneful effects. However, I dismissed this. The forced wanderers Beren and Tuor are both successful, while the voluntary wanderer(ess) Aredhel is doomed.

My next formula involved shoehorning in this thread's thesis that mortals adapt more easily to wandering than the Firstborn. I explained Turin by his status as Adanedhel-is he, in terms of outlook, an Elf when it comes to wandering? Certainly, at various critical moments it is stubbornness and stasis that does him harm.

The Elves start by wandering all the way from Cuivenien-but a schism is caused by this and a Vala is needed to spur them on. Thingol's wanderings end in Melian's arms. The returned Noldor are the first completely voluntary wanderers we've seen, and yet, ultimately, they are all lost. Their delight in the new land fades in Morgoth's presence. They hide themselves in fixed positions, and few emerge from them; most are caught in their realm's fall.

During this fixed period, they attempt to settle and fix Men, and are only partially successful. Driven by knowledge of death, and perhaps by lack of rest in Arda, the wanderings of this race will be momentous.

After the Nirnaeth, the Sons of Feanor are specifically described as wandering in Ossiriand. In fact, all the way through Feanor's line has been an exception to the Elven psychosis. Feanor yearned for change-hence he was "unfriend" to Galadriel. He provoked the greatest stravaige in history, over the sea or Helcaraxe. Celegorm and Curufin-the sons superficially most like him-wandered out of necessity, but used this for political and recreational ends (the pursuit of wolves/Luthien, the usurping of Nargothrond...) At last all seven were without their homes, also without their ties, the one child left behind. They wandered constantly, they longed for change, they strove for it, but they are lost all the same.

Of course, the most clear lost wanderers are Maglor and Daeron (perhaps sharing that doubtful honour with Alatar and Pallando). "The Noldolante, that Maglor wrote ere he was lost..."

[davem]

It seems there are different reasons for wandering. Men are wanderers in part because they have been destined by Eru nver to be satisfied within the circles of the world & therefore they will always be looking for something else, always wondering what's over the next horizon, about what tomorrow will bring. This brings as much hope as despair, but it also makes dissatisfaction an inescapable part of human nature.

Elves do not wander for the same reason, because they belong within the circles of the world - they may experience deep unhappiness with what happens in the world, with the marring of Arda, but they dream of Arda Unmarred, not of a place beyond Arda. Or at least that was the original situation for them. Once the world was changed & the Blessed Realms removed from the physical Arda their position would have become more complex.

What both Men & Elves had in common was that they were exiles & their wanderings came ultimately from that feeling of being 'displaced', of being far from home.

But at root none of the inhabitants of Middle earth feel that they are where they ought to be. Elves are driven by the feeling they belong in Aman, Men by the feeling that they belong somewhere else entirely.

I think this sense of being exiled runs rght through the Legendarium & perhaps its what we feel when we read LotR. Why are we drawn to Middle-earth? What does that place mean to us, what does it 'stand for'? Why, in some ways, does it actually feel more 'home like' to so many of us?

Yet, if the situation of the Elves is complicated after the re-sahping of the World, it becomes increasingly so for Men due to the existence of the Elves. Men envy the Elves their immortality within Arda. Their innate sense of dissatisfaction, their inability to rest within the Circles of the World, comes increasingly to conflict with their fear of death & their desire to live in Middle-earth forever & have dominion over it. Men are 'torn in two' & in a way we see this conflict in Sam - he is drawn to stay with Frodo - or to go West with him (ie he is drawn to 'spiritual' things) - & to remain in the everyday world with Rosie & his children. It sems that Sam's solution is to live in the world fully, to live out his 'human' existence but to retain his hope that one day, when his worldly tasks are done, he will be able to move on.

[Aiwendil]

Some who wander are lost

Edit: Somehow I missed Anguirel's post above, which brings up some of the same points as mine. Just to give credit where it's due.

I don't know how relevant this is to the points under discussion, but when I think of wandering in Middle-earth there are some Silmarillion characters that spring immediately to mind.

First of all, there are Daeron and Maglor. It's interesting that these two, the greatest musicians of Arda, share such similar fates. Daeron leaves Doriath seeking Luthien (after she escaped from her tree house) and wanders "upon strange paths" far into the east and out of the story, making laments for Luthien. Maglor casts his Silmaril into the sea because it burns his hand; thereafter he wanders the shores of Middle-earth lamenting the loss of the Silmaril. Here we have two wanderers who are very much lost; moreover, each wanders precisely because he has lost the thing most precious to him. Actually, one could take the parallel even further - each lost their valued thing through their own actions. In the "Lay of Leithien" it tells that Daeron twice betrays Luthien to Thingol, but the third time, when he learns of her plan to escape, he remains silent. It was, then, within his power to prevent Luthien's (temporary) loss. Similarly, it is through the actions of Maglor and his brothers that he loses the purity required to touch a Silmaril; and of course, it is he himself who casts it away in the literal sense.

These are two very evocative figures in my opinion; their wandering is inextricably tied to loss - both to the loss of things and to becoming lost. They survive into a time that is not their own, seeking things that are gone forever (or at least until the end of the world). It seems to me that they are quintessential representations of the overwhelming sense of nostalgia that pervades the Silmarillion.

Very different from those two, but very different also from the heroic wanderers of LotR, is the post-captivity Hurin. I admit that he comes to mind largely because of the title of the HoMe text "The Wanderings of Hurin" - but it's Tolkien's title, so it may be considered significant. Hurin is a powerful figure here. He is not lost like Maglor and Daeron; on the contrary, his wandering is quite purposeful. He is a great man who has become grim and embittered by his long imprisonment and by the misfortunes of his family; he brings the shadow of Morgoth with him wherever he goes. In a way, he seems to be the negative image of a character like Gandalf; both "wander" quite deliberately, and with a singular, hardened purpose - but of course Gandalf brings aid to those he visits while Hurin brings death and destruction.

The last character from the Silmarillion that comes to mind as a quintessential wanderer is Earendil. Earendil is a fairly unusual character. He is one of only a few unambiguously heroic characters (the others that come to mind are Beren and Tuor). He is also perhaps the only character in the Silmarillion who achieves a real, unambiguous victory. Nonetheless, he is a wanderer in something of a similar sense to Maglor and Daeron. Actually, Earendil's wanderings ought to be divided into two separate cases. First of all, there are his sea-voyages seeking Aman. Like Daeron and Maglor, he is seeking something that was (in a sense) lost to the Elves and Men of Middle-earth. Also, tied up in this quest, is his desire to find his parents again - a desire that bears a striking resemblance to Daeron's search for Luthien. Of course, unlike Maglor and Daeron, Earendil is succesful in his quest (i.e. in his quest to reach Valinor; he does not find Tuor and Idril). But there follows for Earendil a second period of wandering, one that (like Maglor's and Daeron's) is open-ended; he wanders the sky in Vingilot until the end of the world. But (again quite unlike Maglor and Daeron) this is not really presented as an unhappy fate. He is not seeking something that can never be found; he is in fact not even sundered from Elwing, who flies to meet him when he draws near to Arda. Indeed, his celestial wandering is a sign of great hope to those in Middle-earth.

I don't really know what point is to be drawn from these four cases, which present the theme of wandering in three very different ways. But I think that, particularly in a topic such as this, to examine only LotR is to leave aside several major pieces of Tolkien's thought.