LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 09 - The Great River

[Lhunardawen]

Please don't kill me, but when I first thought about this chapter, the only thing that comes to mind is the Argonath.

The left hand was raised as a gesture of warning...

Doubtless a warning to foes who think of assailing Minas Tirith. But could it also be a warning to the Fellowship? That they would be broken, someone would die an untimely death, or succumb to evil in any way? But the upraised hand can also be a sign of peace or welcome, to those who were returning to the land of Gondor, or to their allies. So the Argonath is welcoming the Fellowship, and at the same time giving them a warning.

Here is shown the perfect epitome of a swoon-worthy man..."Strider, and yet not Strider," no longer a Ranger, now "a king returning from exile to his own land." It was enough to make you proud of him, then he says...

Would that Gandalf were here! How my heart yearns for Minas Tirith and the walls of my own city! But whither now shall I go?

For me, his acceptance of helplessness without Gandalf makes him swoon-worthier than ever. But it seems that their delaying tactic of travelling by boat did not help him much...