Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
The question there is whether Denethor would have allowed Aragorn the chance. After all, that would have put Denethor in Aragorn's debt, wouldn't it? And I really doubt that's a position that would have been acceptable to Denethor.
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Moreover, for Denethor to do that, he would first have to acknowledge his need for healing, i.e. recognize his condition as madness - which is something mentally deranged people are rarely able to.
But supposing for argument's sake Aragorn got a chance, how would such a healing have to be accomplished? Some fragrance of
athelas and laying on of hands wouldn't be sufficient in Denethor's case, I'm afraid. As I see it, the core of his problem was that he felt he had failed in his duty both as a father and as a steward - his sons were one dead one dying, and his city was about to be taken by the enemy. Being the person Tolkien described him to be, as exemplified by his view of himself as the main opponent of Sauron, he naturally took the blame for these desasters on himself (where part of it belonged, but by far not all); for Denethor, to say "The West has failed" was more or less synonymous with "
I have failed (and all I've ever stood for)" - and he couldn't (or wouldn't, which is the same in other words) go on living with the knowledge of this failure. It wouldn't do to tell him "Well yes, you failed, but it's OK." He would have to be convinced that he
hadn't actually failed - that, like Frodo on Mount Doom, he had endured to the limits of his ability and couldn't be blamed for breaking down under stress too great for him; which means he for his part would have to acknowledge both having limits in the first place, and that the situation had gone beyond his limits, without feeling intolerable shame. I have a hard time picturing Denethor being able to adjust his self-image like that.
Great topic indeed,
Faramir! When I first saw it, I thought it was a classical case of what I like to call IMGH4WSBAO (If My Granny Had 4 Wheels She'd Be An Omnibus), but if you think about it, it's a good opportunity to delve a little into Denethor's character - one of the more complex in LotR, and too often misrepresented *coughPJ'smoviescough*.