Boromir, Gollum and Eowyn

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Boromir, Gollum and Éoywn may seem like an oddball collection of characters but I think that they are linked to one another in some interesting ways:

1) All three of them face despair and, oddly, triumph over it.

2) They all are rather unwitting players in a larger drama that they do not fully understand.

3) They are motivated, if not defined by, desire.

4) Their failures to fulfil their desires are integral parts of the successful completion of the Quest and of Aragorn’s Return.

5) They oppose the wills of the heroes, even try to hinder them, but they are not evil.

6) They have the same ‘place’ or role in the overall structure of the narrative.

OK – so that’s a lot, but please bear with me for a bit as I work through each of these points. I want to do this because I think that Boromir, Gollum and Éowyn each have a very special ‘place’ in the story that bears special attention. They give us an opportunity to tackle some of the very thorniest issues of the tale in ways that we can’t in relation to any other characters.

1) All three of them face despair and, oddly, triumph over it.

Boromir attempts to take the Ring from Frodo as he despairs over the fate of Minas Tirith. He sees no hope for his people, and so the Ring is able to exploit that. Gollum has no hope for himself, rather than for anyone or anything else. Frodo offers Gollum the opportunity to repent a number of times, and he comes close at least once (on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol – if only Sam had slept just a bit longer!), but in the end his despair consumes him and he remains dedicated to the Ring. Éowyn is an interesting composite of the other two. She despairs both for herself (Gollum) and for her land (Boromir). Like Boromir, she fails in her duty and her oaths of loyalty when she goes against her King’s command. Like Gollum, she fails in her spirit when she fails to repent of her despair and turn to hope, even though Aragorn has bid her do so.

But in some way, all three of them do manage to triumph over their despair, if in odd ways. Boromir defends the hobbits at Amon Hen and is killed, but dies in honour, repenting to Aragorn. Éowyn also nearly loses her life in battle with the Witch-King, but her return to hope comes when she falls in love with Faramir – interestingly, Boromir’s brother, who was originally ‘called’ to be in the Fellowship. Gollum becomes the tool of Providence, and falls into the fire, converting the despair of Middle-earth into Hope of the highest order (eucatastrophe).

These three each have a different kind of despair, or their despair has a different ‘direction’ than the others, but they all manage to overcome that. Boromir despairs for others (his city), so it is through his sacrifice to save others that he is redeemed. Éowyn despairs for herself and for others, so it is through her trials with renunciation of (selfish) desire for Aragorn and her acceptance of her new role as the White Lady (for the benefit of others, Faramir included) that she is redeemed of her despair. Gollum’s despair is entirely reserved for himself, and while he never returns to hope, per se, it is his individual destruction and the destruction of the Ring (which has come to replace his own sense of self) that Hope returns to Middle-earth.

2) They all are rather unwitting players in a larger drama that they do not fully understand.

Needless to say, none of them has any kind of apprehension about their role in events like the one I outline above. It’s not enough, however, to say that they are characters in a story and thus cannot know they have a ‘place’ in it, let alone what that place may be – but The Lord of the Rings is a funny story. The heroes in this tale do know that they are in a story – or, rather, a Story – and have at least some sense of what their part is. Aragorn, Gandalf and Frodo are the most ‘aware’: they know what they are to do, what their role is in the overall plan. Even characters as apparently ‘limited’ in their perceptions as Sam, Pippin and Merry know that they have a ‘part’ to play.

Boromir, Gollum and Éowyn are not aware of this at all – in fact, all three of them rail against being put into any particular role or part and want to find their own path, and make their own fate. (In Éowyn’s case there might be a certain sympathy to this desire, but it remains a ‘bad’ choice nonetheless.) It’s this desire to make their own way that, ironically, sets them down the path to despair and incorporates them into the grand Story: their actions, which they undertake for themselves, are integral to the success of the Story. But more on that to follow.

3) They are motivated, if not defined by, desire.

Éowyn for Aragorn and glory. Boromir for renown and glory, and thus for the Ring. Gollum for the Ring. Again they form an interesting pattern of ‘bad’ to ‘worse’, and this pattern is defined by how much the desire is directed away from the self and toward the other. Éowyn’s desire is a selfish one (she wants Aragorn for herself), but she does genuinely love another person; what’s more, at least part of her attraction to Aragorn is born of the conviction (well founded as it turns out) that he can save her people. Boromir is much more selfish; he thinks of his people and of protecting them, but he wants to be the Protector to their grateful Protected. Gollum thinks of nothing and no-one but himself and his desire for the Ring – to the point where the only ‘other’ he considers is simply another aspect of himself (slinker and stinker).

4) Their failures to fulfil their desires are integral parts of the successful completion of the Quest and of Aragorn’s Return.

I’ve already really covered this above, I suppose, but I still see it as a distinct point. Boromir, Éowyn and Gollum are all denied the successful fulfilment of their desires, and these failures are parts of the success of Good. Once more, there is a pattern from ‘bad’ to ‘worse’. Éowyn fails in her desire to have Aragorn for herself, but she transforms that desire of her own will into a desire for a more fitting man. Boromir fails in his desire for personal glory, but because of his self-sacrifice he dies with honour and his memory is redeemed. More significantly, because of his betrayal of the Fellowship at Amon Hen, Frodo and Sam go off alone, which proves to be the only way they could have succeeded, in the end. Gollum actually succeeds in fulfilling his desire for the Ring, but thank goodness because it is destroyed in this manner.

5) They oppose the wills of the heroes, even try to hinder them, but they are not evil.

This is probably the most important point about them. They are the story’s only truly flawed characters who undergo some process of redemption transformation. It is why they are the most interesting characters in some ways. They do evil things (even Éowyn, who breaks her oath to her King) but they are not evil. They are, in fact, good, but mistaken in their actions and desires.

6) They have the same ‘place’ or role in the overall structure of the narrative.

The oddest part of what I am outlining here: I see Éowyn and Gollum as taking Boromir’s place in the Fellowship. When Frodo and Sam go into Mordor on their own, they are accompanied by someone who, like Boromir, wants the Ring for himself and eventually attempts to take it. Boromir is Aragorn’s foil before Amon Hen, and Gollum is Frodo’s foil after it. Both initially take on a care-taking role for the hobbits (remember Boromir on Caradhras?) but eventually come to meditate harm on the hobbits. So far as Éowyn is concerned, she accepts responsibility for the care of at least one of the hobbits (Merry) who has been saved by Boromir, and she ends up marrying Boromir’s brother. Most significantly, however, she becomes Aragorn’s foil for the latter half of the tale. Boromir was presented with the challenge of Aragorn: accept him and love him and place his hope upon him. He failed in this challenge, and it is Éowyn who next takes it up. She very nearly fails in the challenge by loving him in the wrong way, but unlike Boromir she is able to overcome her selfish desires and redeem herself. Boromir and Éowyn both present options or reflections to Aragorn himself, however. Boromir reflects that part of Aragorn that wishes to proceed directly to Minas Tirith and claim the Throne, the Quest to Mordor be darned. Éowyn presents to him the option of an immediate gratification for a desire that to him must seem faint and fading fast – marriage with a beautiful and honourable princess. Again they together chart out the difference between other and self: Aragorn must overcome his Boromir-desire to protect his people and his throne at the expense of everyone else, and he must overcome his Éowyn-desire for a selfish relationship.

In the end, it is Éowyn and Gollum who redeem Boromir’s failure of his duty at Amon Hen. Gollum, like Boromir, tries to take the Ring, but this completes the Quest. Éowyn, like Boromir, rides out to battle in despair and for personal glory, but she manages to kill the Witch-King and – most importantly – she learns from this experience where her true duty lies: that is, she transmutes the love she feels for Aragorn from a personal affection to a dutiful one.

* * *

All right, so why I am going on and on about all this? Partly to get something off my chest (our out of my breosthord) that has been there a long time, but also because I think that these three characters, when we look at them together, have an awful lot to offer to our understanding of the extraordinarily thorny issues around free will, good and evil, desire and sacrifice, that are explored elsewhere in the story through relatively ‘simple’ forms of opposition. For example, in the contest between Good and Evil we have Aragorn versus Sauron. In the contest between Selfishness and Selflessness we have the Ring and Frodo. In Hope and Despair, there’s Gandalf and Saruman/Denethor. But Boromir, Gollum Éowyn we have all of these issues being played out in and with individual characters. So:

1) Good and evil: how do these three characters show us the difference between good and evil? What is evil about what they want and/or do, and how is it that good triumphs?

2) Free will: all three of them act selfishly, but all three of them end up promoting the Story – is there free will here? Are they making choices that are becoming incorporated into an evolving Story, or are they unwittingly playing parts that have been scripted for them?

3) Despair: do they all despair in the same way, or for the same thing? Why are their fates so different if they are all giving way to despair? Why do they not have hope to begin?

4) Other smart ideas I’ve not had yet: undoubtedly the most significant part of what I hope will be an intriguing discussion!

[Boromir88]

Right now I'm pressed for time, and too much thinking going on sadly, but here's what I've thought of...

What are the reasons behind Eowyn's despair? I would have to say Grima. She can't do anything about her beloved Uncle's Kingdom who's slipping away, and on the verge of being over run, she probably knows who is behind it (Grima), just can't do anything about it. Eomer definately knows who is behind it, but when he tries something, he's hauled off to jail. Also, I think Tolkien leaves us with this uneasy feeling about Grima and Eowyn. In the movie it's Eomer who says these lines, but in this case Gandalf....

"Down on your belly! How long is it since Saruman bought you? What was the promised price? When all the men were dead, you were to pick your share of the treasure, and take the woman you desire? Too long have you watched her under your eyelids and haunted her steps."
Eomer grasped his sword. "That I knew already," he muttered. "For that reason I would have slain him before, forgetting the law of the hall. But there are other reasons." He stepped forward, but Gandalf stayed him with his hand.
"Eowyn is safe now," he said.

So we get this vibe that something's happened with Eowyn and Grima. Which could be the reason for her despair.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Right now I'm pressed for time, and too much thinking going on sadly, but here's what I've thought of...

What are the reasons behind Eowyn's despair? I would have to say Grima. She can't do anything about her beloved Uncle's Kingdom who's slipping away, and on the verge of being over run, she probably knows who is behind it (Grima), just can't do anything about it. Eomer definately knows who is behind it, but when he tries something, he's hauled off to jail. Also, I think Tolkien leaves us with this uneasy feeling about Grima and Eowyn. In the movie it's Eomer who says these lines, but in this case Gandalf....

So we get this vibe that something's happened with Eowyn and Grima. Which could be the reason for her despair.

I think there is something else Gandalf says about Grima having words not just for Theoden - the "What is the house of Eorl but a thatched barn ......" bit. Again, I have speculated elsewhere that another possible reason for Eowyn's rejection of marriage is she feared that Grima would be the likely groom. I doubt anything actually happened beyond Eowyn being aware of this being a likely fate and having the sleazoid creep watch her every move....

[The Saucepan Man]

Great topic, Fordim, and a fascinating analysis.

Unfortunately, I have no time now save to make a few passing comments.

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

They are some of the most interesting characters because they are psychologically in complex and perhaps more realistic than the more consistently noble characters who disregard their own feelings with regard to the greater good.

I heartily agree with this, and it was a point that became clear to me during the discussion on the Psychological Depth thread. Together with Denethor, they are the most psychologically complex characters in the book, and it seems to me, therefore, that it is natural that they should be grouped together in an analysis such as this. Is there a place for Denethor too here, I wonder? Probably not, despite his psychological complexity:

1. Although he certainly despairs, he does not triumph.
2. He is not an unwitting player and is more aware of his "part in the Story" than many others - hence, in many ways, his despair.
3. Desire did not play a great role in his actions, save perhaps the desire to preserve his position.
4. His failure to achieve his ends does allow the Return of the King unopposed.
5. He certainly opposes the will of the "heroes".
6. But he occupies a different place in the structure of the narrative than the three subjects of this thread.

So there are some parallels, but they are not borne fully out. Nevertheless, I feel that Denethor does have some place in this discussion, as Boromir's father, if for no other reason. Alas, no time to develop this further.

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

It is one of those neat little twists that the hobbits who Boromir dies saving facilitate the survival of Faramir and Eowyn. Little Hobbit cupids bringing them together at thehouses of healing

Good point. Merry and Pippin do form a link between Boromir and Eowyn/Faramir, although their connection with Gollum is less clear ...

One final thought. Eowyn can be distinguished from the other two, it seems to me, on one analysis. The selfish and disobedient actions of Boromir and Gollum (ie going against their oaths and attempting to seize the Ring) are unambiguously portrayed as "wrong", even though they have (unintended) fortuitous consequences. On the other hand, Eowyn's selfish and disobedient act (disobeying her King's orders) has an intentionally fortuitous consequence - she kills the Witch King and saves her King from a grisly end. Admittedly, she did not set out to kill the Witch King, but she did set out to do battle. The consequences of her acts are more within the scope of that which she intended to achieve. Accordingly, her "wrongful" act seems, to me at least, to be of a different character - less unambiguously "wrong" than the acts of Boromir and Gollum.

Sorry, my disordered and incomplete thoughts are the result of haste. I will return ...

[Boromir88]

I think some other connections between the three, are their parents. Eowyn's parents died, Boromir's parents died (yes his father died after him, but he died). With Gollum, his own family kicked him out.

In Boromir's case, a reason for his glory lust, and valour, could be Denethor. Denethor saw Boromir as Gondor's only hope left, and put a lot of pressure on him. Eager to please his father, and to see Gondor victorious, he feels the only way to do that is through the Ring.

Eowyn's parents died at a very young age, Boromir's mom died when he was young, his father was a good strategist, but a bad parent, and Gollum, as mentioned was shunned by his own family. So, none of them have this strong relation with their parents.

I'm not sure about Gollum, but in Boromir and Eowyn's case they have people to help them out. With Boromir, it's Faramir, who he's always looking after, and as it states in the appendix, despite the father's favortism they rarely fought. Eowyn has Theoden she's looking after, and Eomer is looking after her. I'm not sure where Gollum fits in, because he really doesn't have anyone, except the Ring.

This is just some of the my thoughts, with the three characters parents, it could quite honestly lead to no where.

[Mithalwen]

It occurs, remembering that lovely scene when Faramir has given his mother's mantle that she is filling various voids in his life - it could be a bit creepy but it could be seen more positively in that they are everything to each other * sleps self before getting too gooey thinking about Faramir and Eowyn... * :P

[mark12_30]

Wonderful stuff.

However:

5) They oppose the wills of the heroes, even try to hinder them, but they are not evil.

This is probably the most important point about them. They are the story’s only truly flawed characters who undergo some process of redemption transformation. It is why they are the most interesting characters in some ways. They do evil things (even Éowyn, who breaks her oath to her King) but they are not evil. They are, in fact, good, but mistaken in their actions and desires.

I think it's a stretch to say that Gollum isn't evil.

"Nothing is evil in the beginning-- even Sauron was not so." I would say the same thing about Smeagol. The fellow had every intention of eating Bilbo; um, ex-hobbit eats hobbit, that's cannibalism. In Mirkwood there was the rumor of some evil creature that drank blood and made small children disappear. We know that while still in the caves, when he tired of fissssh he ate goblins. (Aside: "And they don't taste very good, does they, precioussss?" Great line.)

Who else has he eaten?

Sam's fear that Smeagol would strangle them in their sleep was not an unfounded one. If the Ring hadn't had a still stronger hold on Smeagol than hunger, Frodo and Sam would have been lunch.

IMO this makes Smeagol's near repentance that much more profound and amazing. We're not looking at the repentance of someone who's been caught stealing cookies. ONe would guess that five centuries of cannibalistic murder produces a tremendous hardening of the heart and soul. Frodo's persistent love and mercy and kindness and compassion actually whittled through THAT kind of hardening. It's like pondering, for the sake of argument, the repentance of one of the ringwraiths-- hard to imagine, and I doubt Tolkien would go for it; but Smeagol's repentance is somewhat like that. The odds against it are seemingly insurmountable, and if Sam hadn't seen it with his own hasty eyes, would you believe it?

Compared to that, the repentance of Boromir and Eowyn is in a different league.

I don't think that hurts your arguments all that much, Fordie, except for the part that "the three of them aren't evil". Two aren't, and the third wasn't evil in the beginning-- that works for me.

[Mithalwen]

Is there any significance in that these three characters never meet (as far as we know- obviously it is not impossible that the paths of the "first lady" of Rohan and the heir to the steward of Gondor might have crossed. Indeed had Boromir not devoted himself to warfare, and if Rohan and Gondor followed the practice common amongst European royalty until even the last generations, it would have been a highly suitable dynastic match. However that devotion to warfare and skill in arms and the rejection of family life is a shared characteristic of Boromir and Eowyn. It is one of those neat little twists that the hobbits who Boromir dies saving facilitate the survival of Faramir and Eowyn. Little Hobbit cupids bringing them together at the houses of healing - don't forget that Merry fills Faramir in of Eowyn's sadness! If I remember the early drafts rightly, Tolkien originally thought that Eowyn would die ... it may be a fancy ( and I have a well known fondness for Faramir!) but I wonder if one of the reasons that Faramir wandered from the woods of Ithilien and in to the plot to Tolkien's own surprise, was to (in a sense) provide a kind of "cleansed" reincarnation of Boromir . They are some of the most interesting characters because they are psychologically in complex and perhaps more realistic than the more consistently noble characters who disregard their own feelings with regard to the greater good.

I feel it is harsh to single out Eowyn's action as evil - Faramir and Eomer also break the rules crucially for the plot.

All three are slightly lonely figures striving for something beyond their reach. Eowyn is a women alone among men - no mother, sister, aunts to provide role models. I have argued elsewhere that her upbringing might have predisposed her to avoid a traditional female role and the same might also be argued of Boromir - much is said in the few lines that tell the story of Denethor and Finduilas. And when Boromir arrives at Rivendell he has travelled far and alone - it is not surpising he too seems defined by his pride. Used to being revered in his own land he arrives at Imladris almost as a beggar at the gates to a place where even his noble line is relatively lowly; little surprise that he sounds his horn as he leaves refusing to go forth as a thief in the night. Little of course is known of Gollum's background but he is more alone than anyone.

I would also make a point about education - if they do not fully understand the story this must surely have a role. Faramir has learnt enough from the archive of Minas Tirith and Gandalf to get the bigger picture whereas Boromir regard sthe ring as a weapon - such is his training and inclination. Gollum is a relatively primitive creature - a true victim of circumstance if he could never have been expected to resist the lure of the ring (btw a typo just made me realise that rule and lure are anagrams ...) . Eowyn, well I see her a little as a force of nature. She is often described as a flower - a lily tocuched by frost.... she is not a barbarian, if anything she aspire to a higher civilisation than the one she was born into but she still feels trapped by convention. Oh dear ... anopther stream of consciouness ramble and the essence of what I am trying to say escapes me ... but I there may be a few things that people may choose to run with!