<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 140</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/wight.jpg" align=absmiddle> Wizards' Staffs
I've wondered about Saruman's ring, too. Saruman seems to have been, by the end at least, a very misguided and self-deluded fellow. Perhaps he fancied that he had created some sort of ring of power, but really it was just an ordinary ring? Or maybe JRRT was building in a little hook for a potential sequel?
Actually, though, what really interested me in reviving this thread was the staff reference. In a few scenes, much is made of the wizards' staffs. Saruman's power is broken when Gandalf shatters his. Gandalf convinces the door-warden of Theoden's Hall to permit him to take his staff inside, and much is made of it when he (apparently) uses the staff to create a moody meteorological moment. At other times, Gandalf uses his staff in the casting of spells.
To what extent did the wizards' power rely on their staffs? Was Gandalf's shattering of Saruman's staff just a symbolic act, like the way a commander rips off the rank insignia of a dishonored soldier in the movies? Or did he really reduce his power in some way by destroying his staff?
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