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Originally Posted by Lhunardawen
But what of Théoden's response, "So be it!"?
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I don't think he & Ghan were reading from the same hymn sheet. Or maybe Theoden was just being condescending - I don't know. What's interesting to me about this 'relationship' is that the Rohirrim saw the inhabitants of the Druadan forest as being only useful for hunting until they were in trouble & needed something from them. At that point they were willing to make use of them. I'd probably take Theoden's words as accepting Ghan's help & agreeing that he's stop his people hunting the Wild Men. Notice he doesn't deny Ghan's statement that the Rohirrim had hunted the Wild Men. Its as if he's saying 'I realise now that you people have your uses, so we'll keep you around.'
This is a subject that I haven't seen discussed much. The tendency is to see the Rohirrim in a heroic light, but Tolkien clearly states that they had hunted the Wild Men - he didn't have to put that in. Taking into account the Rohirrim's approach to the Dunlendings what we see is perhaps something 'darker' in their attitude to the native inhabitants of their land - maybe 'ethnic cleansing' wouldn't be too extreme a label to put on it. I've certainly seen that accusation levelled at the incoming Anglo-Saxons regarding their behaviour to the native Britons they encountered when they came to Britain - notably in Peter Beresford-Ellis's book 'Celt & Saxon'.
In their own way they are as insular & contemptuous of other peoples as the Gondorians. Tolkien doesn't hide this fact, or try & pretend that all the enemies of Sauron are a bunch of goody-goodies. Peoples & races live insular lives in closed off communities & this manifests in at best suspicion, through contempt & hatred to, at worst, ethnic cleansing & genocide. True friendship between members of different races is rare. The Gimli-Legolas friendship is unique & every alliance between different races is held up by Tolkien as unusual & worthy of special comment. Read in the light of the Silmarillion the 'Fellowship of the Ring' is truly an amazing thing - its far from the norm in Middle-earth to see members of diverse races coming together in that way - & that's only because of the extremity the West finds itself in.....