Today I happened upon a speech by Gandalf and the thought arose: how are readers to understand Gandalf's meaning here?
The passage occurs in the first interview of Denethor, Gandalf and Pippin. I'll quote first Denethor's observation and then Gandalf's.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Denethor, Minas Tirith, Return of the King
"Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men's purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good o fGondor; and the rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man's, unless the king should come again."
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Gandalf, Minas Tirith, Return of the King
"Unless the king should come again?" said Gandalf. "Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom still against that event, which few now look to see. In that task you shall have all the aid that you are pleased to ask for. But I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, thought Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?"
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If Gandalf is a steward, who is his king? It strikes me that some readers may assume the answer to be Aragorn--and they would be correct--while others will interpret a different one--and they also would be correct. Their interpretation would be based upon the collocation of words in these passages, words such as king and kingdom, which have a meaning beyond simply the political one here, given Gandalf's reference to those who might survive the night. Both readings are equally possible here.
I offer this as one example of a passage in LotR which can legitimately sustain two interpretations. Is this a passage which Tolkien niggled at?