Magic in Middle-earth

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Barazinbar just seems to have a nature of its own. One special mountain. I always left it as that in my mind. A stone with a personality.

We can't say that anyone in particular "shaped" it and left a trce of their spirit inside, because Caradhrass is said to dislike both Elves and Dwarves, and Men weren't that lucky either. Even a wizard did not pass. And where the strong failed, even the hobbits failed.

But why specifically Caradhras? I understand that it was done for the purposes of the story, but why not other mountains as well?

I said often places seem to derive their special aura from people and past events– but that's not the only reason. Some things are just "there"... and that's all you can really say about them. I always found the mysterious "what is it?" nature of Caradhras to be one of the things that give the world a sense of depth.

It really disappointed me that the film version turned it into just Saruman spell-casting. I suppose they thought the original version would be confusing.