Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
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 snipped (see above)]
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?
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I expect Tolkien niggled at every passage in the entirety of the book. So yes. And both interpretations do seem to me valid, and not in the least mutually exclusive; how could they be? Nice one, Bb.