If Denethor hadn't committed suicide

[Faramir Jones]

I was interested in what you said here, Sarumian:

Originally Posted by Sarumian

Oh, he had a good excuse - he went mad.

Honestly, I can't totally agree with the idea that Denethor's motives were merely political and lacked of moral dimension. While he was moving towards tyranny under the influence of The Ring, he never reached that point actually and, it seems, was a leader respected by people of Condor. He also was able to raise two outstanding sons whose moral consistency is out of any doubt. Finally, had he been morally indifferent, Denethor would definitely have fallen like Saurian.

The problem of Denethor was, as it looks to me, his attitude - too local and too class-bound. That's why his morality was finally subjugated to the question of his social (and political) STATUS, something that lies in the realm of The Ring. The corrupting power the latter is not able to sweep away true differences but can deceive one's perception...

Yes, there is the probability that Denethor II was insane; but in the particular confusion of the siege of Minas Tirith, there was not the time to formally remove him as ruler and replace him with someone else, such as Imrahil.

I agree with you that Denethor II was respected by his people, including by his sons. While there was some grumbling at how he treated Faramir, Gondorians understood the situation, many having no doubt also lost loved ones in the War. I also agree that Denethor was successful as a father.

Tolkien made it clear, in his essay on the Stones in Unfinished Tales, which I quoted earlier, that the difference between Saruman falling under Sauron's influence and Denethor, while still opposing Sauron, falling into despair, was due to the latter being 'a man of great strength of will, and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son'.