LotR -- Book 3 - Chapter 05 - The White Rider

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

First, the Saruman/Gandalf "old man" who comes to the Three Hunters. Here's a wild idea, but isn't there a tradition in certain Christian faiths/stories of the "unseen third" who walks beside us through life, and that person being Christ? Is there some way of looking at this strange third person (not really Gandalf, not really Saruman) as an actually divine vision??? Like I said, just a real wing-dinger of a speculation. . .

It was a sore trial for such a man: a warrior, and a lord of men. Galadriel told me that he was in peril. But he escaped in the end.

This is an interesting ‘final word’ on Boromir, isn’t it? Here we have Galadriel and Gandalf both effectively weighing in on the tricky topic of Boromir and rather unambiguously stating that he “escaped” his peril in the end – he did in fact die in honour, as Aragorn said, and not as a slave to the Ring or himself. It’s also interesting that Gandalf seems to have such sympathy for Boromir, acknowledging that he fell because of his greatness: “a warrior and a lord of men.” He’s not saying that Boromir was weak or flawed. In fact, what he’s saying about Boromir is precisely what he is depending upon Aragorn for! He’s returned to get Aragorn back in the action.

And once again, we see in this chapter the kind of hero that Aragorn is. He’s willing to lay aside his life and his dreams for the sake of Merry and Pippin. He’s not about taking care of himself, but of others. He is motivated by a selfless love of those who need him…best stop, in danger of swooning.

That we should wish to cast him down and have no one in his place is not a thought that occurs to his mind. That we should try to destroy the Ring itself has not yet entered his darkest dream. In which no doubt you will see our good fortune and our hope.

So between them our enemies have contrived only to bring Merry and Pippin with marvellous speed, and in the nick of time, to Fangorn, where otherwise they would never have come at all!

I love these two moments in which Gandalf, now the White, reveals so much to us about the nature of evil in Middle-earth, and about the relation between good and evil. The great weakness of evil is its inability to judge or think in the way so beautifully demonstrated by Aragorn. If he is able to think only of the other, evil (Sauron) is able only to think of the self: he cannot even imagine that others would want to destroy his Ring. He is so consumed by the self that he cannot see beyond the limits of his own eye/I – great irony: the eye is blinded by the I. What I find most remarkable about this revelation of Sauron’s one weakness is how Gandalf calls it their “good fortune and hope.” It is not a strategic result of their work on Sauron that has made him weak, and it is not a flaw or chink in his armour that they can take advantage of, but the result of “fortune” (how things are, the way things work in the fabric of Middle-earth) and therefore a source of “hope.” Like Aragorn, Gandalf is here suggesting that the way to proceed is by giving oneself over rather than putting oneself forward. Just as Aragorn is willing to die for Merry and Pippin, Gandalf was willing to die for Middle-earth, and remains willing to follow “fortune and hope” rather than act against Sauron directly – as he says, Black is mightier than White. He cannot defeat Sauron, but he’s willing to do what he must in the defeat that he hopes fortune has allotted for Sauron.

And there is real reason for hope, insofar as Gandalf also points out the essentially self-defeating nature of evil. He recognises that what appears to be a source of despair and loss (the capture of Merry and Pippin) is actually a source of happiness and good. Fortune, apparently, works in mysterious ways…

There’s one more very interesting passage:

Dangerous!…And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.

The suggestion here seems to be that the real danger to the peoples of Middle-earth is not really evil, but power. Perhaps not even this: perhaps the only real danger is that of beings who put themselves forward before all others. Boromir almost did this, but “escaped” in the end. Aragorn refuses to do this – he does not put himself forward, but is called by those who need his strength. Evil is merely the result of power that seeks to fulfil itself, or power that follows its own desires rather than submitting to the needs of others. So rather than attacking the evil outright or directly (that is, the White wizard attacking Sauron) the only hope of Middle-earth is to destroy Sauron’s self-directed-power (the Ring). Do away with that, and the evil that is the result of that will crumble away.

EDIT: very nice point, Child, about the necessity of making small, local decisions of right and wrong, versus attempting to grapple with the rather more abstract and unweildy notions of good and evil. If everyone just did what was right for their neighbour then the Good would take care of itself!

[Aiwendil]

One interesting point about this chapter: I recall (though I cannot find it at the moment) Tolkien saying in Letters that he did not think LotR perfect and offering as an example of a flaw the manner of the presentation of Gandalf's return. I have never quite understood this. What is the flaw? Is it that he did not make the most of the suspense available at this point? Probably not; Tolkien rarely thought in such terms. Is it that some other scenario for Gandalf's re-entry into the story would have been more believable or better suited to the plot? Perhaps, but it's difficult to see why his appearance in Fangorn is unsatisfactory. Is it that Gandalf's explanation of his death and return should have been stronger or clearer? But if so, then the flaw would have been quite easy to fix merely by altering Gandalf's speech.

Davem wrote:

What could Gandalf mean - 'I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see.'? Clearly he's not claiming that his resurrection has made him 'longsighted'. Perhaps the 'things far off' are spiritual realities - ie the 'realities' of the spiritual realm, & the 'things close at hand' are the things of the world. He has 'forgotten much' - mundane, everyday things - even his own name (the one given to him by the peoples of Middle earth we must assume, not his 'true' name, Olorin). But it seems that he has re-learned his mission, & the spiritual truths which motivated it.

This is a valid reading. But I always understood Gandalf's claim in a more mundane sense. After Gandalf's return, the chapter consists primarily of a discussion of Frodo's mission, the politics of Isengard and Mordor, and so on. Gandalf has a lot to say with regard to these big issues - yet, at first, he barely recalls the name "Gandalf". He sees (i.e. knows about or understands) things that are far off, the broad strokes of the struggle, but there are small things, things close at hand, that he does not know. It is as if he was for a time taken outside the world and allowed to look down upon it from a distance, so that he saw it as a player sees the chessboard, not as a chess-piece sees it. And indeed, from this point onward, Gandalf always seems to be thinking in very broad terms about the war and the quest.

In this connection, I have always thought that the answer to The Saucepan Man's question:

One thing does mystify me in connection with the Three Hunters' eventual meeting with Gandalf. Although it clearly serves to heighten the tension of the moment, I do wonder why Gandalf chose to be so darn mysterious in his approach, keeping his face hooded and greeting them like strangers.

. . . is simply that they are "close at hand" and Gandalf literally cannot at first recall them.

[Child of the 7th Age]

There are many interesting ideas here. But, like Aiwendil, I'll start by considerng the question that Saucepan Man raised earlier:

One thing does mystify me in connection with the Three Hunters' eventual meeting with Gandalf. Although it clearly serves to heighten the tension of the moment, I do wonder why Gandalf chose to be so darn mysterious in his approach, keeping his face hooded and greeting them like strangers. It is almost as if he wants them to mistake him for Saruman. Is he perhaps playing a trick on them? Or even teaching them a lesson - not to go on the attack when not in full possession of the facts? But the latter explanation would go against his later comment:

But, of course, I never blamed you for your welcome of me. How could I do so, who have so often counselled my friends to suspect even their own hands when dealing with the Enemy.

I was reading the chapter at work this morning ( ) and came to the same conclusion that Aiwendil did, although by a separate route. I, too, was left with the impression that Gandalf quote honestly could not remember many things closest to him, and inadvertently gave the impression that he was attempting to "disguise" himself. Quite the opposite was the case. Being so close to the mysterious and other-worldly transformation that had taken place 'beyond' Arda, he did not have the guile to think in terms of something so mundane as "disguise".

Now, I'd like to creep a little further out on the limb.....

Gandalf's vision and understanding have been sharpened in many important respects, but clouded over in another sense, something which Aiwendil has addressed. But he is not the only character in the chapter whose vision and understanding have been obscured. This entire chapter seems to be about what we see and fail to see, and how limited our understanding is.

First, take a look at the description of Gandalf. He is described as being an "old beggar man" who uses a staff and wears a ragged grey garment. His head is bowed, but the members of the fellowship can still make out a wide-brimmed hat and a beard. This doesn't sound like a disguise to me; the description actually sounds similar to the way Gandalf appeared in the earlier chapters. His garments are a bit more raggedy, which would not be surprising if someone was returning from a battle with a Balrog. The fact that Gandalf's head is bowed could be a function of weariness or an indication of someone absorbed in deep thought. Despite the hood that Gandalf wore, Aragorn could still make out his eyes underneath, and there is even reference to Gandalf's "hooded brows", so something of the latter must have been visible, if only a glimpse.

Given this familiar description, I would argue that, in any ordinary situation, the members of the fellowship would and should have been able to recognize Gandalf, once he came out from behind the trees. There could be two reasons for the fact that they did not recognize him. First, the transformation beyond Arda could have changed Gandalf to the point that he was no longer the same person. Lalwendë mentioned this in her own post when she asked if Gandalf was a different person. Secondly, it is possible that the blindness of Aragorn, Gimli, and Legalos did not lie in any disguise by Gandalf but in shortcomings of their own.

I feel there is enough evidence to suggest that both of these things may have contributed to the fellowship's inability to "see" Gandalf the White. First, we know from other passages that Gandalf has changed, not only physically but in terms of his personality. His very "essence" seems to have changed. The cantankerous, feisy, and very human figure becomes someone who almost seems to be a "holy" warrior, who is somewhat removed and even aloof, and thinks in broad terms about the war and the quest. This change in personality comes close to a change in being, so it's not surprising that Legalos, Gimli, and Aragorn had trouble "seeing" him.

Yet part of the problem also seems to be their own limitations: as incarnate flawed creatures, they can only see in part. Throughout the Legendarium, Tolkien stresses that, outwardly, good and evil can be hard to distinguish: fair things can indeed be evil. Sometimes, good and evil are so close to be outwardly indistinguishable. There is the comment much earlier in regard to Aragorn and his "foul" appearance. There is also the fact that Gandalf returns in "white", making him appear similar to Saruman. The difference lies not on the outside. It can not be perceived by the eye, but only by the heart. In both the "vision" in the early part of the chapter and Gandalf's own real appearance at this point in the story, the travellers are confused by the outer similarities between Saruman and Gandalf. Only gradually is their inner sight restore.

Thus, it is Aragorn who is first able to recognize that the "old man" is more than an old man:

Yet it seemed to Aragorn that he caught the gleem of keen eyes and bright from within the shadow of the hooded brows."

Words like "gleem" and "bright" can only be veiled references to "light", the term that Tolkien loved to use for "goodness". Although Aragorn can not see fully, he is the first to glimpse this light within Gandalf.

In this subsequent passage, Aragorn feels as if he has been wakened from sleep:

....'As for my name?' he broke off, laughing long and softly. Aragorn felt a shudder run through him at the sound, a strange cold thrill; and yet it was fear or terror that he felt: rather it was like the sudden bite of a keen air, or the slap of a cold rain that wakes an uneasy sleeper.

To me, this sleep is one that afflicted Legalos, Gimli, and Aragorn from the very beginning of the chapter. Only now is the curtain slowly drawing back. It is noteworthy, I think, that the horses greeted the shadow figure with glee even the evening before. They could apparently sense what Tolkien's notes hinted at (thanks so much to Davem for that reference): that the projection had come from Gandalf's mind---the mind of someone full of goodness but still confused by things close at hand, someone who could not yet fully recall known people or even recognize his own actions. The horses had enough innate sense to recognize the light in the vision the evening before and rejoice in it. Yet Aragorn awakes to the realization and the light only when he hears the words "As for my name...." Still, he is the first of the company to do so. By the end of the chapter, everyone's sight has been restored, and Gandalf is on his way to recovering at least some of the close-at-hand details he'll need to carry on the fight.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Aldarion,

Excuse me for popping in again. I am thinking in shorthand and not explaining things in detail.

Good question that needs more explanation! What I meant to say was that Gandalf could not win the fight except by giving up his own life. There are hints of this in his earlier reluctance to go through the mines of Moria. He sensed that something waited for him there that, by himself, he could not overpower and simply walk away.

By agreeing to give up his own life, Gandalf was seemingly letting go of all chances of personally defeating Sauron. This is something that Tolkien himself discusses in the Letters. I don't have them at hand, but I recall that he said something to the effect that Gandalf agreed to lay his own interests aside and hand matters over to the "Authority" (meaning Eru) trusting that things would somehow come out right in the end.

Hope this helps.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by davem

The idea that Gandalf could (unconsciously) 'project' an image of Saruman which others could see is fascinating. More Osanwe here? The Istari, it seems are capable of both astral & thought projection, but the former seems the most interesting in the light of Osanwe - was it possible to 'detatch' the Fea from the Hroa? If so, was this a 'technique' which could be mastered by others? Could it even be made to happen to someone against their will? This could explain the Nazgul - were they Hroa-less Fea?

Reading Morgoth's Ring today the following passages about the nature of the houseless fea caught my eye:

...wander houseless in the world, unwilling to leave it and unable to inhabit it, haunting trees or springs or hidden places that once they knew. Not all of these are kindly or unstained by the Shadow.

Some are filled with bitterness, grievance, and envy. Some were enslaved by the Dark Lord and do his work still, though he himself is gone.

From this it is clear that in the case of Elves, there certainly were Hroa-less Fea. And they were clearly not always to be trusted. Although those Elves who had 'faded' were a different matter and occasionally appeared to Men, much to their delight. The comparison here reminds me of the difference between visions of ghosts or spectres and visions of angelic or faerie figures.

Originally Posted by Child

First, the transformation beyond Arda could have changed Gandalf to the point that he was no longer the same person.

Was Gandalf sent back in a different body? Did his Hroa change? I'm not clear on the point, but do the Maiar also return to the Halls of Mandos, with the possibility that they too can be returned ina new body?

Originally Posted by Child

This entire chapter seems to be about what we see and fail to see, and how limited our understanding is.

That's a good point! It does seem that this chapter somewhow explores 'sight' on many levels. There is our 'failing' to see, quite literally, coupled with our failure to see what is beyond or just outside our normal comprehension. Tolkien also explores how we 'see' people in a particular 'from' but they may not always appear in that 'form'. Interestingly, Tolkien plays with a strong image, that of the Old Man or Hermit. Do Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli see this image at first, instead of 'seeing' Gandalf? And by doing this, is Tolkien asking us as readers if we 'see' Gandalf in a certain way up until this point and he now wants us too to look at him in a whole new 'light'?

[Boromir88]

This post is directed mostly to Fordhim, and mostly at Boromir (mutters of "What a surprise ").

This is an interesting ‘final word’ on Boromir, isn’t it? Here we have Galadriel and Gandalf both effectively weighing in on the tricky topic of Boromir and rather unambiguously stating that he “escaped” his peril in the end – he did in fact die in honour, as Aragorn said, and not as a slave to the Ring or himself.

Nice point, and of course, I agree. But what is it that actually makes Boromir die in honor, and not as a slave to the Ring? Here are some interesting finds....

One of my favorite quotes ever, in a book, comes from Heroes, byRobert Cormier. When the man who is a hometown hero, as well as a war hero, rapes a highschool girl, he says "Does one sin of mine wipe out all the good things I have done?"

I just felt like posting that because I love the quote. Now onto the question of "How is it that Boromir retains his honor?" A quick run down of the closing events....

Boromir tries to take the ring (an act of sin)
He realizes he's wrong, and rushes to defend the hobbits
In defending the hobbits, he sacrifices himself and is slain
He confesses his wrong to Aragorn, who in a way blesses him. "You have conquered!"

People are quick to jump that this is an example of Christianity, well not necessarily. It's almost to christianity (not quite), but in fact, resembles more the Norman/Anglo-Saxon theology...

It follows the Anglo-Saxon/Norman law of Compensation.

Compensation meaning, that because you have broken the law, by injuring or killing, you must compensate for those sins. Now Boromir didn't break the law, but he broke his oath to help Frodo, and did try to harm him. Now in order for his salvation he must compensate for these sins. In Anglo-Saxon culture there are two ways you can do this...

One, you must pay lots of money, and confess your crimes publicly.

Or...

You must forfeit your own life, but on top of that...you must confess your crimes, and then do an act of love to "make up" for those you have hurt (Frodo). This happens to Boromir...

He commits a crime
He sacrifices his life
He confesses to his sins
His act of love is defending Merry and Pippin.

Aragorn, the priest figure, declares that he has conquered, and "fully compensated" himself for his crimes.

To give a modern day situation, since this we can tie into our Justice System. If you break into someone's house and steals valuables. Then are caught, and found guilty in court. You first must confess/apologize for your crimes. Then there are various ways to compensate yourself, or sacrifices yourself. Whether this is jail time, community service, or payment of the valuables...etc. Until the court decides that you have been "fully compensated" for your crimes, hence the Laws of Compensation.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I've perhaps always just taken Gandalf at his word when he says that he is no longer Gandalf the Grey -- i.e. he truly is a new person or being: Gandalf the White is Saruman as he was meant to be. Given that he is literally a new person, it would make sense that he has forgotten much that was close to Gandalf the Grey, who died in Moria.

I'll go back to my bizarre 'hidden third' person: Gandalf the White is neither Gandalf the Grey nor Saruman the White, nor is he an 'amalgam' of the two or the 'synthesis' of them. He is the resolution of the differences between these two figures with the creation of a new being.

Hmmmmmm. . .

[Tuor of Gondolin]

A few quotes from "Letters" which seem relevant to some above Gandalf
observations:

I think the way in which Gandaldf's return is presented is a defect, and one other critic, as much under the spell as yourself [Tolkien letter is addressed to Robert Murray, S.J.] curiously used the same expression: 'cheating'. That is partly due to the ever-present compulsions of narrative technique. He must return at that point, and such explanations of his survival as are explicitly set out must be given there-but the narrative is urgent, and must not be held up for elaborate discussions involving the whole 'mythological' setting.....Gandalf really 'died', and was changed: for that seems to me to be the only really cheating, to represent anything that can be called 'death' as making no difference. 'I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death'. Probably he should have said to Worrmtongue: ' I have not passed through death (not 'fire and flood').....the return of Gandalf is as presented in this book a 'defect' and one I was aware of, and probably did not work hard enough to mend.

("letters" # 156)

Gandalf alone [of the wizards] fully passes the test, on a moral plane anyway (he makes mistakes of judgment). For in his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defence of his companions, less perhaps then for a mortal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to 'the Rules: for all he could know at the moment he was the only person who could direct the resistance to Sauron successfully, and all his mission was in vain. He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up all personal hope of success. That I should say is what the Authority wished, as a set-off to Saruman. The 'wizards', as such, had failed; or if you like: the crisis had become too grave and needed an enhancement of power. So Gandalf sacrificed himself, was accepted, and enhanced, and returned. 'Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf.' Of course he remains similar in personality and idiosyncrasy, but both his wisdom and power are much greater.....He was sent by a mere prudent plan of the angelic Valar or governors; but Authority had taken up the plan and enlarged it, at the moment of its failure.

("Letters", # 156)