LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 10 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

[davem]

Originally Posted by Fordim

Boromir is "proud" or "arrogant" or somesuch -- but he is right to be proud: proud of himself and of his achievements, proud of his land. It is because of this pride that he has come on this journey and suffered along with the rest. But it's because of this heroic pride that he falls to the Ring.

Like all tragic heroes, Boromir is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong, perfect nor flawed. And he's not all of those at once. He's just human, which is to say he is what he is, and there's nothing he can do to change that.

But is he 'right' to be proud? Pride is the deadliest of the Deadly sins. We may not think of Boromir's pride in that way, but the question is did Tolkien? Did Boromir ever display humility before the end? Perhaps Tolkien would have said he didn't have any right to be proud - Faramir fought as bravely as his brother, Aragorn more so, but both displayed not pride but humility. Their role in the war, in life, was to do their duty, & they clearly felt that as it was their duty it deserved no praise. Like the saints they refused to accept any praise or honour for their actions, & thought of themselves almost as 'unprofitable servants' because they'd only done what was required of them.

Boromir is too desirous of honour, & I can't help thinking that it was the very humbling death that he died - shot down by orcs defending a couple of hobbits (who, lets remember, weren't in danger of actually being killed anyway, as Saruman had ordered his servants to capture the hobbits not kill them) that broke him & allowed him his final salvation. A wasteful, pointless death in the eyes of the world, but a death which purified & humbled Boromir. He didn't die as a proud warrior, he died as a humble soul in a state of repentance.

Yes, he was human - or rather he attained humanity in the end, by sacrificing his pride. I wouldn't say he was like us at the end, I'd say he had transcended us. But then how 'human' are we - in the best sense, I mean?

[Boromir88]

I must say more wonderful observations by Professor Fordhim and Professor Davem. Here is a thread of mine, weighs in on the 7 deadly sins and 7 heavenly virtues. It quickly turned out to be a big discussion on Boromir. It looks at Boromir's last moments, what "good things" he did, and the "bad," maybe it can explain something, or just show how much more a complex character Boromir is.

7 Deadly Sins vs. 7 Heavenly Virtues

(I hope I set up this link right, I might have finally figured out how to do it).

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Fordim

I think that it might be a bit of red herring trying to ferret out whether he is "addicted" or "tempted" or "corrupted" or what have you by the Ring.

Well, I wouldn't call it a red herring. There are two "forces" at work here: Boromir's nature on the one hand and the Ring on the other. And it is in the interaction between the two that questions such as temptation, addiction and corruption arise. While Boromir's nature certainly contributes to his downfall, the Ring has no small part to play.

And can we really say that it is Boromir's "greatness" that is his downfall when, in light of the words of Frodo and Sam in this chapter (not to mention the words of the likes of Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel in previous chapters) he manifestly takes the "wrong" course? Then again, if you are saying that it is that within him which makes him great which also makes him flawed, then I would agree. For example, and to pick up on davem's point, pride may very well be an admirable quality in the service of his land, but it is inappropriate and dangerous here. This is explored in the thread to which Boromir88 has linked, where it is suggested that there are different aspects to pride, such as self-confidence (an admirable quality) and arrogance (not so admirable). While Boromir's well-placed confidence in his strength in arms no doubt serves him well in battle, his over-confidence, in thinking that he knows better than the Wise what to do with the Ring, let's him down big time here.

That is, there is no single or easy answer to what 'happens' to him with the Ring.

That I would most certainly agree with, which is why it provides such fertile ground for discussion here.