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Originally Posted by Galin
Well it's not a perfect analogy-->snip  |
Yeah, but it's still a good analogy, and perfectly so. Your post really got me thinking about w(W)ill in a perfectly different way. I also liked what you did with (M)man - and reckon it adds to pondering the works. For a w(W)ill - one gets a different glimpse - if thinking will versus Will of Men. For men and dear is very different to Tolkien-ese Men and Deer (this one moves to Yavanna and, no doubt the Deer with lines to the Maia and First Faun of the First Age - under, perhaps Tilion's moon born, with First Touch of Valinorean knowing.
The deer and the man of the 21st century yet still both have will. And wondering about those as 'will-natural' (not will-socialised) beings yields knowing about the M(man) who was the Witch King at the end of the Third Age. It was what prompted my thoughts about 'hobbit-ish' and 'woman-ish' blows to fulfil Glorfindel's Prophesy at the Battle of Fornost. Eoywn - she claimed she 'was not a man' (or was it spoken Man).....
Then pondering the Will-Undead, there were also the Wights of the Barrow Downs, who were created, I thought, by Angmar and a part of the reason Arnor failed. The occupation of the Burial Mounds of Arnor were violated by Undead presence which somehow caused the realm to fail... Necromantic Undead Will, even in burial mounds had some pervasive influence on Arnor's strength.
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snip <--It's even arguable that if Imrahil stuck his dagger in the Nazgul-lord's leg he (the Witch-king) might not fall down. Sure it would be painful, but in the heat of battle unless the leg is cut so that it can hardly support weight, one won't necessarily fall down, in my opinion. But this was no ordinary dagger in any case, it had a helpful effect even when not struck in a "lethal" place.
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Well
as Ivriniel (Imrahil's great great....aunt), I'd say that 'my n(N)ephew may well have had a good shot at downing him - with some Elven blood - another candidate, yes, seems like another candidate, if a Hobbit or W(w)oman were successful.
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Here I think Tolkien plays with a seeming (measure of) invulnerability. If not by the hand of M(m)an would the Witch-king fall, how would he be defeated? Well these things are often technical and tricky, and technically Merry is not a Man (although he is male), Eowyn not a man (although she belongs to the race of Men).
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makes sense.