Quote:
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Upon their shields they bore a strange device: a small white hand in the centre of a black field; on the front of their iron helms was set an S-rune, wrought of some white metal.
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Why? Why a White
Hand?
Does it symbolise a command to Halt!? Does it symbolise control, manipulation. It seems to imply both. And the image of a human hand is incredibly ancient, even appearing on cave walls from the stone age. It is, after all, a
human symbol - four fingers & an opposible thumb. If we didn't have this particular structure on the end of our arms we wouldn't have achieved anything. It gives us control over our environment by allowing us to make & use tools & to pass on information by writing. Effectively it is the
third 'force' we've encountered in these last two chapters - the
Eye, the
Voice & now the
Hand. Two out of three of these are presented as 'evil' - yet the three of them have made us the creatures we are - we
see the world (the 'Eye'), communicate our 'sight' to others (the 'Voice'), & are able to
control & manipulate what we've seen & described (the 'Hand').
Whatever point Tolkien is making with these attributions - the Eye to Sauron, the Voice to Gandalf & the Hand to Saruman - escapes me at the moment, but it is certainly intriguing.
Oh, one final point, going back to the points made about Galadriel's symbolic 'connection' to Sauron - the Eye being 'also in my mind' - there is only
one other occurence of the phrase 'white hand' in LotR other than to Saruman:
Gandalf's verse in Meduseld
Quote:
In Dwimordene, in Lorien
Seldom have walked the feet of Men,
Few mortal eyes have seen the light
That lies there ever, long and bright.
Galadriel! Galadriel!
Clear is the water of your well;
White is the star in your white hand;
Unmarred, unstained is leaf and land I
n Dwimordene, in Lorien
More fair than thoughts of Mortal Men.
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