If Denethor hadn't committed suicide

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Sarumian

of course I was just kidding.

I had a hunch you might be. Still, nice attempt to retrofit wheels to the Lord of Gondor!
I think you're spot on about Denethor's character and the question of status and honour (see his attitude towards 'Lesser Men' and his touchiness on the thinning of Númenorean blood). His position as the shield of the West against Mordor had become so important to him that in the end, he seems to have regarded the whole War of the Ring as a personal pee-contest between himself and Sauron, the lord of the Dark Tower and the lord of the White. If he'd been able to accept that he was just one figure among many others in the great struggle (an important one, no doubt, but not crucial), a servant of a greater cause that could still prevail even if he himself failed, he could have forgiven himself and survive. Gandalf, I think, tried to teach him this lesson in his wonderful "I also am a steward" speech, but Denethor's ears were stopped.