LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 08 - The Houses of Healing

[davem]

Signs & Wonders

Now as the sun went down Aragorn and Eomer and Imrahil drew near the City with their captains and knights; and when they came before the Gate Aragorn said:'Behold the Sun setting in a great fire! It is a sign of the end and fall of many things, and a change in the tides of the world.

Then hope unlooked-for came so suddenly to Eomer's heart, and with it the bite of care and fear renewed, that he said no more, but turned and went swiftly from the hall; and the Prince followed him. And when they came forth evening had fallen and many stars were in the sky.......And Gandalf answered: ....for Denethor has departed, and his house is in ashes.' And they were filled with grief and wonder at the tale that he told.
But Imrahil said: 'So victory is shorn of gladness, and it is bitter bought....

These lines struck me - it is as if the natural world is reflecting the mood of the human participants in this 'cosmic' drama. Or even more - it is as if Eru's creation is also a participant. We see this so often in the story that we can take it for granted, but nature acts. The Sun 'sets in a great fire' & this is a sign of the fall of many things, and a change in the tides of the world' - note, Aragorn doesn't simply take heart from his sight of the sunset, he declares it to be a clear sign - but a sign sent by whom? When Eomer hears the news that his sister is not dead as he thought, but still living he sees 'many stars in the sky'. Again, given the symbolism of stars & starlight throughout the story, this also seems like a sign, a participation of the natural world in events.

Earlier in the story Legolas declared that a red sunrise was a sign that blood had been spilled in the night (the attack of the Rohirrim on the Uruks on the edge of Fangorn. Caradhras & Old Man Willow attack members of the Fellowship, a wind from the West drives back the darkness created by Sauron & dissipates the shades of Saruman & Sauron. The land of Hollin 'remembers the Elves who once dwelt there'.Nature is both 'active' in the form of aiding or thwarting individuals & 'passive' in the sense of providing 'signs', but it is always present, always a participant.

From this point of view Middle earth is also a character in the story, not simply a 'backdrop'. I can't help thinking that this may be linked to the statement in The Sil that Eru sent the Secret Fire to dwell in the heart of the earth. It seems that Middle earth is 'alive' in a real sense - though admittedly not always on the side of 'Good'.

I think it is this ambiguity which makes Middle earth seem a 'real' place to us, & causes the place to 'live' as a setting for everything from fan fic to computer games. We are drawn to Middle earth as a place in its own right, beyond the events & characters of the story. Its not simply, as with other stories, that we identify with the characters, or would like to meet them - we would like to go to Middle earth, even if the people of the story have gone. It is a world that we form an emotional 'connection' with because of the way it behaves.

Finally, its interesting that Imrahil starts off believing that Denethor is alive, & Eomer that Eowyn is dead & then their situations are reversed. Imrahil begins in hope & ends in grief, vice versa for Eomer.

The Black Shadow

But now their art and knowledge were baffled; for there were many sick of a malady that would not be healed; and they called it the Black Shadow, for it came from the Nazgul. And those who were stricken with it fell slowly into an ever deeper dream, and then passed to silence and a deadly cold, and so died.

I'm not sure whether this 'Black Shadow' is the same as the 'Black Breath'. Certainly the effect of the Black Breath on Merry at Bree doesn't seem as overwhelming. The Black Shadow certainly has its origin in the Nazgul in the same way as the Black Breath, but it seems that without the healing skills of Aragorn the Black Breath is not curable. It is something like 'plague', like the Black Death which devastated Europe in the Middle Ages. It seems to affect the body as much as the spirit, & Aragorn's healing seems to work on two levels - he calls the victim back (soul/spirit) & uses the Athelas (body). Whatever it is, it seems it is both a symbol of the overwhelming despair suffered by the enemies of Sauron and a physical weapon of war.