Why did Gandalf save Faramir?

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I've seen some nice speculative outcomes for the Gondorian side of the equation on this thread, but little on the side of the combatants whom Gandalf 'abandons'. With that in mind, I shall examine some of the outcomes on the battlefield that result from Gandalf's decision, whether he would have been able to predict them or not. Hopefully I can at least demonstrate that Gandalf made the right decision, although he did so with an incomplete idea of its implications and deep misgivings about the impact it would have.

The most significant figure whose death is clearly brought about by the interruption of Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch-King is Theoden. His succession is assured, since he named Eomer as his heir before riding to the battle, and he is, in any case, an old man, who has already been saved from a far worse fate than death in battle. From his final words, we know that he feels his death to be fitting and acceptable, and he certainly achieves a grandeur in his last moments that would not be achieved by awaiting another, natural dotage. There would be nothing noble in Faramir's death on his father's pyre. Such an event would be sordid and tragic at the best of times, but is particularly so when Denethor's despair is so utterly deluded.

Theoden's death brings me neatly to other events of great importance to future developments. Most significant is the death of the Witch-king, which takes place as it does only because Eowyn and Merry are present at the fall of the king. This event motivates them to an attack that would have been unnecessary had Gandalf faced the chief Ringwraith himself, and which neatly fulfills the prophecy concerning his death. Although the Witch-king would in any case have suffered the same fate as his fellows when the Ring was destroyed, the damage inflicted on the enemy chain of command by their leader and champion's death at this stage and in this manner should not be discounted.

Stemming from the encounter over Theoden's corpse is Eowyn's presence in the Houses of Healing, which is a vital period in the development of her character. It is only as the more mature character who emerges from her stay there that she is able to fulfill her potential as one of the rebuilders of the Gondorian realms after the fall of Sauron. Had Gandalf not chosen to rescue Faramir, she would simply have died on the battlefield, a tragic, despairing young woman with her life unlived.

Allied to these positive outcomes from Theoden's death, we have the catastrophic implications for Gondor if their Steward and his heir were to be destroyed in so cataclysmic a manner. Such an event could be enough to tear the heart out of Gondor just when her last reserves of strength and courage were most needed, and the discord that could spread from the divided loyalties of the Citadel guards might prove debilitating at a crucial point in the War of the Ring. Most important of all, there is genuine evil in the situation that Gandalf barely resolves, which is not found on the battlefield: Sauron has warped and corrupted an honourable and courageous leader at a vital time, causing him to act in a manner that is entirely morally bankrupt and counter to the interests of his people. A father is poised to kill his one remaining son, who is also the last scion of his dynasty and a future political leader of Gondor. Even as a deputy to Aragorn, Faramir has a key role to play, but Denethor can see no value for him other than as ruling steward. As has been pointed out above, there is more tragedy in a struggle between opposing goods, however small, than one between aggressor and defender. For these reasons, Gandalf is morally bound to save Faramir and attempt to redeem his father, not simply for his own sake but for that of Gondor, the House of Stewards and the successful resistance of Sauron. Gandalf could not be expected to predict some of the benefits of his choice, but he knew enough to choose the course of action that brought them about. Although we can assume many deaths on the battlefield as a result of Gandalf's choice, in dramatic terms he exchanges the aged and victorious Theoden, killed in the execution of his greatest deed, for the young, troubled Faramir, whose greatest acts lie ahead of him and who stands to be murdered while he sleeps. Overall, it seems a fair judgement.

Out of evil, then, some good is salvaged. This brings me neatly to the presence or otherwise of Eru in LR and Son of Numenor's interesting theory. Admittedly Eru is not as far as I can remember mentioned by name, but there are several references to the One, which were referred to in Tolkien's last radio appearance. Since Eru is often given the byname The One, I think we can safely conclude that he is present in LR, albeit very much in the background. If one were feeling pedantic, one might say that the conception of Eru current in Tolkien's imagination in the late 1940s is present, just as Sindarin and Quenya are present in the forms they took at the time of composition and revision. These may be fossilised stages of a perpetually evolving imaginative world, but that does not negate their presence.

[Beanamir of Gondor]

This might just be me being a n00b... but the first time around, reading Lord of the Rings, I had no clue as to Gandalf's semi-divinity. I really don't think Tolkien ever intended us to see Wizards as transcendental beings in FotR, TTT, or RotK.

I agree with Son of Numenor (to a point) that when you look at the situation knowing Gandalf's position via the Silmarillion and what it has to say, there are some aspects that feel like Arjuna going out into battle instructed by Lord Krishna... but then I don't remember an avatara of Eru (perhaps Orome?) ever waltzing up to Gandalf and saying "Get on with the battle, you've got a destiny." Either Tolkien intentionally left that out, because he didn't feel a need to have use see someone instructing Gandalf, or there was no instruction whatsoever. I didn't read it in the Silm, or in RotK.

Ahem. Anyway, to make a short story long, if I hadn't read the Silmarillion, I would never have guessed that the Wizards were anything more than... well... wizards. I did several very close readings of LotR and until I started Silm, I never knew that Tolkien intended any sort of transcendental beings to enter on the scene.
Therefore, I put the blame for Gandalf's decision about Faramir solely on the political, personal, and social level that this thread started off with.

If you're bored, just read this part. Personally, I have to ask myself where Eowyn would have been if Faramir hadn't been in the Houses of Healing to convince her that life was worth living again. It's a moot point, because she would never re-enter the scene as a key player... but all the same. Maybe that's what Gandalf had in mind!

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by Beanamir of Gondor

I never knew that Tolkien intended any sort of transcendental beings to enter on the scene.

The guy returns from the dead. It's not hard to make the connection, with all due respect.

[Raynor]

I really don't think Tolkien ever intended us to see Wizards as transcendental beings in FotR

Since they actually inhabit Arda, their transcendental aspect exists no more. The only time it existed was up to entering Ea.

[Guinevere]

Well, after the Squatter's brillant post which covers everything, there's really nothing left to say.

Just a note to Beanamir of Gondor about Gandalf being a "trandescental being" .
While reading LotR for the first time one doesn't know about Eru and the Valar, of course. There are just hints every now and then that there is some power behind it all, like MatthewM said.
And Gandalf the White does say "Naked I was sent back - for a brief time, until my task is done."
Most information about this is found in "Unfinished tales" in "The Istari" and "The Quest of Erebor".

[Beanamir of Gondor]

*sigh* I just meant that for silly n00b5 or those who have never read Silmarillion or The Lost Tales, etc., they would have to do an extremely close reading of the texts to get anything about a higher power. Since you don't even know about Arda or where the Wizards came from, you don't know that their transcendence ever existed, much less that it ended when they left Ea.
It's obviously another thread topic, but I think the idea of Gandalf as a Messianic figure is going a bit far, MatthewM. "Coming back from the dead" is sticky terminology... did he really enter the halls of Mandos? (Agh! More Valar!) Or was it just a transitional phase?

This thread has gone drunken-Mr.-Rochester on me, so here I make my exit to ME Mirth.

[Raynor]

did he really enter the halls of Mandos?

No, because he went "out of thought and time".

Originally Posted by Letter #156

Gandalf really 'died', and was changed... He was sent by a mere prudent plan of the angelic Valar or governors; but Authority had taken up this plan and enlarged it, at the moment of its failure. 'Naked I was sent back – for a brief time, until my task is done'. Sent back by whom, and whence? Not by the 'gods' whose business is only with this embodied world and its time; for he passed 'out of thought and time'.

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by Beanamir of Gondor

It's obviously another thread topic, but I think the idea of Gandalf as a Messianic figure is going a bit far, MatthewM. "Coming back from the dead" is sticky terminology... did he really enter the halls of Mandos? (Agh! More Valar!) Or was it just a transitional phase?

Well, I didn't say that Gandalf was a Messianic figure, but there is no doubt a connection with the transcendental here. As Raynor quoted Letter #156, Gandalf really "died."