I must thank everyone for this discussion of Boromir - I’ve been thinking a lot about him recently, & I think my opinions are changing. This will be a bit fumbling & possibly a bit contradictory, as I’m trying to put some thoughts together.
I think we have to ask what Tolkien actually wanted to
do with Boromir. He goes, in the early drafts, from the only human presence in the Fellowship, through various phases, becoming a villain as [b]B88[/i] has indicated, to his final incarnation of flawed ‘hero’, bravely sacrificing himself for Merry & Pippin.
The question is: is Boromir’s final incarnation simply an amalgam of bits & pieces from the earlier accounts & a foil for the others, or is he a valid character in his own right?
Well, he’s believable - he doesn’t come across as an amalgam. He has many obvious faults, but also many virtues. As to the question of whether he would have left Frodo & gone on to Minas Tirith if he’d survived depends on whether he’d been overwhelmed by his desire for the Ring against his will, or whether he’d willingly surrendered to it.
Did Tolkien intend him to be seen as a ‘Judas’ figure - a ‘satan’ within the Fellowship, the one who betrayed Frodo & brought about his death? It seems that he was motivated by desire for power - not simply power to defeat Sauron, but power for its own sake - yet that was natural in a sense: he’d been brought up to rule, & probably the only person he’d ever taken orders from was his father. This would put him in an incredibly difficult position, as he surrendered his natural authority first to Gandalf, then to Aragorn & finally (in a struggle he lost) to Frodo. He has gone from being a ruling ‘prince’ & commander, to a footsoldier having to obey orders. Lets give him his due, he submits to external authority better than many in his position would have.
Certainly, all his suggestions are valid (apart from the last one he makes to Frodo). He may glory in war, but it is a ‘just’ war. His suggestion at the council, to use the Ring against Sauron, may have been dismissed but it was a rational reaction - he at least didn’t suggest throwing it into the sea!
In the second branch of the Mabinogion, ‘Branwen, Daughter of Llyr’, we find two brothers - Nissien & Efnissien:
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Nissien & Efnissien - peaceful & not-so-peaceful are the translations of their names - are polarised to no purpose in this story, since Nissien contributes nothing to the action. Efnissien’s role as disruptor is readily parallelled throughout mythology & folkstory...Efnissien is fated to wreak havoc on both family & nation.....(but) He is the champion of Sovereignty & the land of Britain (Matthews, ‘Mabon & the Mysteries of Britain’
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Basically, the story is that The ‘Irish’ (Otherworldly) King, Matholwch, comes to Britain & weds with the Princess Branwen. Efnissien objects & insults the ‘Irish’ visitors. The marriage goes ahead anyway & as a wedding gift the Irish are given a magic cauldron - if the dead are placed in it they will be brought back to life. Later the British discover Branwen is being abused by Matholwch, so they set sail to free her. A battle ensues which the British look to be losing, as every time an ‘Irish’ warrior is killed he is placed in the cauldron & brought back to life. To stop this happening, Efnissien lays himself among the ‘Irish’ dead, & is placed in the cauldron. When this happens the cauldorn shatters.
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Efnissien’s only redress is to break the cauldron’s power by entering it as a living man...However we guess at his likely motivation, & lament his actions, Efnissien’s death is a noble one.(ibid)
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Efnissien is not ‘admirable’, but he is a great defender of his people - he kills 200 ‘Irish’ warriors who are hiding in sacks hung up in the Hall waiting to spring out in ambush.
Like Efnissien, Boromir is a great defender of his people, a great patriot, but this makes him intolerant & contemptuous of others - not uncommon in our own times - how many times do we hear, instead of ‘This is a great democracy’, ‘This is the
greatest democracy’, or instead of ‘This is
one of the best countries in the world’ that ‘This is
the best country in the world’ with little or no evidence to back that claim up? Boromir is too certain of himself, his people & his nation, but while that may be a fault it is motivated by a sincere & deeply felt love.
He would have died willingly for Gondor, but before he joined the Fellowship he wouldn’t have died for a couple of hobbits. Basically, his experiences break him of his pride & his desire, & that only becomes possible when he has sunk as low as possible. My own sense is that Boromir’s growing desperation is due less to a desire for the Ring - which is merely the catalyst - & more to an awakening into maturity. He’s fighting against all the values & beliefs he’s been brought up with - power, control, the superiority of Gondor - I think this is what the Ring comes to symbolise for him. Its this inner conflict which explodes in his confrontation with Frodo. Basically, he’s ‘torn in two’, fighting on two fronts.
As much as anything his attempt to claim the Ring for himself is a temporary victory of his old self over his slowly emerging new self. I’m not sure I agree that his desire for the Ring would have re-asserted itself if he’d survived. A ‘madness’ took him, but it passed, & as Aragorn told him, in the end he
had conquered.
I’m starting to feel that Boromir’s story is one of spiritual growth - he begins as cocky, self assured & intolerant & is gradually humbled & eventually broken. In the end he arises as a new person. While it may have been better for the Company of Faramir had gone instead of Boromir, it wouldn’t have been better for Boromir. Effectively, he was saved in the end, & became a hero, but, more importantly, he became a good man.
So, while perhaps we may find out a lot about Aragorn by comparing him with Boromir, I think Boromir is more than just a foil to the greater hero.