LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 07 - The Pyre of Denethor

[davem]

'Since when has the Lord of Gondor been answerable to thee?' said Denethor. 'Or may I not command my own servants?'

Denethor again shows that he believes himself to be absolute monarch of Gondor - or perhaps something more. He seems to believe that his position gives him power of life & death over his servants, There is no room on their part for moral choices. Whatever Denethor says is Law & his servants must obey. Power has gone to his head. The slaves of the Dark Lord slay themselves at the command of the WK, & it seems that Denethor demands no less. The oath sworn by Pippin (& one assumes by the others in the service of Gondor/Denethor) is very precise:

'Here do I swear fealty and service to Gondor, and to the Lord and Steward of the realm, to speak and to be silent, to do and to let be, to come and to go, in need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying, from this hour henceforth, until my lord release me, or death take me, or the world end.

In Denethor’s mind at least this oath is little better than an ‘oath’ of slavery. Once sworn it gives Denethor power to command whatever he will & obliges (as far as he is concerned) his servants to obey his will without question. He cannot seem to get free of this idea - even when his ‘power’ extends to the life & death of his son. He simply cannot understand how anyone in his service could question any of his commands.

The interesting thing is that when he is confronted with the outcome of his command to Faramir he is broken by it. He commanded his son to undertake what was effectively a suicide mission, but when his son is apparently mortally wounded as a result of his order, he snaps. He claims the power of life & death over others, but he cannot accept the consequences. Shockingly, he still cannot break himself of using that power. He has seen the result of its use first hand & yet he is still driven by his pride to command his servants to commit murder. Like Saruman, he has looked into the Palantir & striven with Sauron. Saruman surrendered, Denethor did not, but it seems that in some way both of them ended up by ‘imitating’ Sauron in the way they treat their servants.

What’s interesting in this context is the way Denethor’s servants seem to accept this power. They don’t seem (apart from Beregond) to question Denethor’s will. They seem little better than robots, apparently feeling that the oath they swore removes their own moral responsibility & they can claim that whatever they do they we’re ‘only obeying orders’. We see how far Gondor has fallen.

Finally, Denethor’s comment is interesting:

'Hope on then!' laughed Denethor. 'Do I not know thee, Mithrandir? Thy hope is to rule in my stead, to stand behind every throne, north, south, or west.

Denethor accuses Gandalf of desiring to replace him and to ‘stand behind every throne’. Denethor betrays his true sense of himself here - he, Denethor, should rightfully stand behind every throne - not Gandalf. He can only think in terms of rule, power, control. In his mind Gandalf can desire no more than to replace him - what higher aim could he have? Saruman has accused Gandalf of the same desire & no doubt Sauron believes the same thing. Once exposed to the mind & will of Sauron it seems that the individual is infected by his mindset - whether they surrender & offer fealty or not.

[the phantom]

Imrahil plays a small yet vital role again - how do we account for his position that makes him a candidate for temporary ruler?

You know, at this point in the story I wasn't wondering why Imrahil was given command. I wondered on what point of law or legal right Gandalf could take that decision upon himself to give a military command. What authority does Gandalf have to assign Imrahil the command?

I suppose it might seem a bit presumptuous for Gandalf to go around appointing people and such, but seeing as he is a person of importance in the city (he was a seventh circle regular, a royal advisor, and was given clearance to come and go as he pleased) he might as well give orders, especially since he knew what was best.

For instance, when my friends and I play a game of football, I don't hold any sort of legal power, but when I say "Ok, here's what we're going to do..." my friends don't argue with me. They believe that I am properly qualified to lead them and make decisions so I really don't need to "pull rank" on them.

I think the same thing goes for Gandalf. He is qualified to lead and make decisions and he is powerful and everyone knows it, so why not give orders?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by the phantom

I suppose it might seem a bit presumptuous for Gandalf to go around appointing people and such, but seeing as he is a person of importance in the city (he was a seventh circle regular, a royal advisor, and was given clearance to come and go as he pleased) he might as well give orders, especially since he knew what was best.

For instance, when my friends and I play a game of football, I don't hold any sort of legal power, but when I say "Ok, here's what we're going to do..." my friends don't argue with me. They believe that I am properly qualified to lead them and make decisions so I really don't need to "pull rank" on them.

I think the same thing goes for Gandalf. He is qualified to lead and make decisions and he is powerful and everyone knows it, so why not give orders?

Because Mithrandir has a dubious reputation in several places over Middle-earth and it is only readers who have a complete trust in him. And Pippin and the hobbits. Make that only these particular hobbits.

My question isn't really so much about 'pulling rank' as asking how and why characters in M-e come to have 'authority.' Or even simply, 'what is authority?'--which is I think one of the larger issues in this chapter especially in light of Beregond.

[the phantom]

how and why characters in M-e come to have 'authority.'

Oh, that's an easy one. According to Dennis the peasant, the authority comes from "a mandate from the masses".

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I'm of the opinion that a farcical aquatic ceremony is the only legitimate means of conferring true authority.

Now that my jest is guaranteed an intelligible context, here are a few brief thoughts on this chapter.

In her excellent introduction, Estelyn posed the question:

Do you think the palantír came as a surprise to Gandalf, or did he suspect that all along?

I think that we can approach an answer by looking at an earlier passage. In Minas Tirith, Beregond tells Pippin:

And the Lord Denethor is not like other men: he sees far. Some say that as he sits alone in his high chamber inm the Tower at night, and bends his thought this way and that, he can read somewhat of the future; and that he will at times search even the mind of the Enemy, wrestling with him.

If this rumour, which was obviously current among the guards of the Citadel, reached Gandalf's ears, I doubt that he would have found it very difficult to put together 'he sees far' and the meaning of Palantír. In fact, I think it very likely that Gandalf knew that there was a Palantír in Minas Tirith, and feared that someone might be tempted to use it.

The reference to 'wrestling' with Sauron naturally brings to mind the earlier contest which Aragorn initiated using the Palantír of Orthanc, which he won only by the narrowest of margins. The events of this chapter are, then, foreshadowed much earlier in the narrative and only at this point explained as they come to a head.

The reference to 'heathen kings' reminds me of a passage from Beowulf, one of the narrator's many Christian comments on the events in the narrative:

Hwilum hie geheton æt hærgtrafum
wigweorþunga, wordum bædon
þæt him gastbona geoce gefremede
wið þeodþreaum. Swylc wæs þeaw hyra,
hæþenra hyht; helle gemundon

in modsefan, metod hie ne cuþon,
dæda demend, ne wiston hie drihten god,
ne hie huru heofena helm herian ne cuþon,
wuldres waldend.

Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed
offerings to idols, swore oaths
that the killer of souls might come to their aid
and save the people. That was their way,
their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts
they remembered hell. The Almighty Judge
of good deeds and bad, the lord God,
Head of the Heavens and High King of the World,
was unknown to them.

Lines 185a-173a. Translation by Seamus Heaney.

The appeal of both of these comments is to an awareness of the superiority of present faith over the untutored heathendom of the past. Gandalf is appealing to Denethor's cultural vanity by comparing him with the untutored forebears of Men. The implication is that there is a higher power than temporal strength at work in the world, but Denethor's pride will never allow him to see it. He has been considering the struggle in terms of military strength and political alliance, so that he succumbs to despair just as his fortunes are about to revive. Those who hope on against all odds, whom he considers to be deluding themselves, are eventually justified.

I'm afraid that I don't have time to give any more than those very brief ideas, but I hope that they are of some use.

[Celuien]

Hmm, Gandalf taking charge never seemed strange to me, although I suppose there isn't a clear "authorization" from the Gondorian leadership of the moment for him to do so. But if not Gandalf, who is left to take charge? Denethor is not behaving rationally and Faramir ill, so there's no one in the House of Stewards that I'm aware of who could take charge. The Prince would be a candidate as another prominent leader, but he too goes to Gandalf for guidance. I suppose he could have implied permission from Aragorn, who will be the last word in Gondor once he reclaims the throne.

With regard to the weather, I thought it was interesting that the wind specifically brought the rain, given the importance of winds as messengers (the song as Boromir is sent down the river, the West wind rejecting Saruman after his death, etc). I also don't remember if rain is always grey. Frodo's grey rain-curtain as he reaches the West was the first image that came to mind on this re-reading.

[Aldarion Elf-Friend]

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

(Denethor) has been considering the struggle in terms of military strength and political alliance, so that he succumbs to despair just as his fortunes are about to revive.

I think that Denethor saw this as a lose-lost situation for him. Either Sauron wins and D's out of power, losing his whole city in the bargain, or the forces of good win, the King returns to take his throne, and again D's out of power, now as a vassal to the true and rightful king.

For one so filled with pride as Denethor, this would be an untennable situation.

(resume lurk mode...)

[Alphaelin]

The Squatter of Amon Rudh said

I'm of the opinion that a farcical aquatic ceremony is the only legitimate means of conferring true authority.

Right, you can't go around saying you're king just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. <pausing for fond contemplation of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'>

Okay, to get back on topic: I have always thought that Gandalf was able to take up authority in Gondor after the battle of Pelenor Fields simply because he was on the spot and started taking care of things that needed to done, starting with sending Faramir to the Houses of Healing. And really, there aren't any other candidates available right after the battle: Denethor, dead; Faramir, at death's door; Prince Imrahil, busy on the battlefield plus he's not actually Gondorian -- he's part of the Steward's family by marriage; Aragorn, not willing to take on the leadership of the city officially; Eomer, certainly not Gondorian and busy with his own people. Of course, Gandalf isn't Gondorian either, but he is at least sane, healthy and not as tired as the rest of the leadership is after fighting for most of the last 24 hours.

As Gandalf isn't making a bid for permanent power and is trying to get things under control, why not let him run things for awhile?