[Lalwendë]

Tolkien's war experience is another interesting angle on this.

Interestingly, Tolkien and the other Inklings were proud of their war service, in the sense that they had 'done their duty', much as ex-servicemen (and women) are today, in that they have pride in having served but not pride in the 'killing' aspect of war. If I've expressed that correctly...? It's a hard thing to explain! I've also heard about how veterans find it difficult to talk about what they went through but to comrades they can talk for hours...

Boromir's an interesting case. I love reading about him on the journey down the Anduin - it's a perfect study of a man trying to keep his feelings in check as he tries to submit to Aragorn's leadership. He's a man who is full of pride of course and ends up deeply humble.