LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 04 - The Siege of Gondor

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

He's one of the few instances in the stories which acknowledges that evil happens in many different ways, and that simply destroying the Dark Lord will not be the end of evil; this is why I think, Bb Denethor is being directly compared to that other 'free agent of evil' Shelob in that passage you somewhat coyly cited above. I have already promised at some point a fuller Denethor-Shelob meditation, but again time is against me here...

And having time enough, I shall coyly await your thoughts on Denethor-Shelob. I do so enjoy it when people pick up on my hints.

Originally Posted by Lhunardawen

That makes me wonder why he was mad at Faramir at all for not getting it. Did Denethor think that the Ring would be the safest away from Sauron if it were in Gondor? Or did he really mean to use it, but said "I would hide it" so Gandalf would not know his real intention? Why did he want to have the Ring in his hands at all if he only thinks of hiding it, when there could be a whole lot of other hiding places?

(There goes me suspecting Denethor of lying. )

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

It is hard to deny that it is a reasonable assumption.

This is what is so fascinating about Denethor, the complexity of his motivation. It strikes me that in his vanity--as Fordim says, his 'vainglory'-- he assumes that he alone must or can save his city, whereas so much of LotR suggests that it is a community united in common belief and pursuits that provides the best defense. He is arguably one of the first to demonstrate the "Trust No one" perspective.