Why didn't Galadriel warn Aragorn that Boromir wanted the Ring?

[Inziladun]

Thinking on this, maybe it's possible Galadriel didn't know exactly what was on Boromir's mind. When Gandalf the White meets Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he says Galadriel warned him Boromir was in peril. That's fairly vague.
Boromir himself said of his experience with Galadriel's "trial", that

'....it seemed exceedingly strange. Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose; but almost I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give. It need not be said that I refused to listen. The Men of Minas Tirith are true to their word.'

FOTR The Mirror of Galadriel

Why would Galadriel be "offering" the Ring? It was not in her possession, and Boromir would not have felt her permission to use it necessary. And what word would Boromir have been breaking by taking the Ring? Elrond specifically said at Rivendell that only Frodo was held to an oath in relation to the Quest. Perhaps Galadriel divined a more general lust for power to defeat Sauron, coupled with a desire to have Aragorn out of the way and rule Gondor himself. After all, I doubt Galadriel could literally read minds. The test of the Fellowship seems more like a overall sensing of the target's emotional state, in response to Galadriel's selective "temptations".

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Thinking on this, maybe it's possible Galadriel didn't know exactly what was on Boromir's mind. When Gandalf the White meets Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he says Galadriel warned him Boromir was in peril. That's fairly vague.
Boromir himself said of his experience with Galadriel's "trial", that

FOTR The Mirror of Galadriel

Why would Galadriel be "offering" the Ring? It was not in her possession, and Boromir would not have felt her permission to use it necessary. And what word would Boromir have been breaking by taking the Ring? Elrond specifically said at Rivendell that only Frodo was held to an oath in relation to the Quest. Perhaps Galadriel divined a more general lust for power to defeat Sauron, coupled with a desire to have Aragorn out of the way and rule Gondor himself. After all, I doubt Galadriel could literally read minds. The test of the Fellowship seems more like a overall sensing of the target's emotional state, in response to Galadriel's selective "temptations".

Yes. I suspect, exactly, that probing others for Sauronic perversion meant probes for detecting lust, greed and power in the motivational architecture of the being she was reading. There was a particular constellation of mental artefacts--a subset of overall cognition--that Tolkien imputed were 'Sauronic'. Domination, callous sadism, corruption (of Elvish beauty--though he saw beauty in his own realm, no doubt), violation of will, enslavement. And, especially, lust and greed.

I wish I could find the quote from LotR, but I forget where I saw it. Sauron had some kind of partial win, or there was reference to that, in LotR, or Silmarillion about how his mind worked. Tolkien actually wrote "...and his lust and greed were increased...".

Tolkien tended to use the word 'lust', and I think with somewhat non-sexual connotations. Some sexual emphasis was also apparent in Tolkien's 'Dark Lord' motifs though also in his use of lust for power. E.g. Morgoth coupling with a troll to birth Gothmog (FA Gothmog), and Maeglin's perversion through the promise of (oh god, I forget, was it Idril or Aredhel!).

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

...and Maeglin's perversion through the promise of (oh god, I forget, was it Idril or Aredhel!).

Idril. Aredhel was his (dead) mother.

I don't think Galadriel was looking for "Sauronic" traits or influence. I don't think she was looking for anything. She was just showing each person to himself, playing the role of an external conscience. The person with a clear and doubtless conscience wasn't embarassed, upset, afraid, etc. In a way, she spelled out each person's dilemma that they may have been half-consciously hiding in their minds. She wasn't exactly tempting, but taking an existing temptation out in the open.

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Idril. Aredhel was his (dead) mother.

I don't think Galadriel was looking for "Sauronic" traits or influence. I don't think she was looking for anything. She was just showing each person to himself, playing the role of an external conscience. The person with a clear and doubtless conscience wasn't embarassed, upset, afraid, etc. In a way, she spelled out each person's dilemma that they may have been half-consciously hiding in their minds. She wasn't exactly tempting, but taking an existing temptation out in the open.

Not so sure about this--why:

Galadriel had faced the evil variant of tolkienian perversion since valinor. She'd been fighting it in numerous incarnations for millennia, knows its stench and all the guises of mortal men in how they lie to themselves about their 'lust for power '.

She saw her ost in edhel destroyed, saw celebrimbor's head on a pike, and - through her own ring - knew first hand the taint of saurons touch.

I find it highly unlikely that - knowing the evil of the ring was in Lorien - knowing saurons presence through it, that boromir's stench would not have been divined. And attributed to the ring and how men deny - outwardly - evil influence.

I suspect his denial of 'temptation' smacked of the duality in boromir's persona versus inner greed--and lust--for the power of the ring .

Nine for the mortal men doomed to fie

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

Not so sure about this--why:

Because I just can't envision Galadriel in a police search dog role, or a security guard role. "Scanning for virus. Minds left: 8. Estimated time: 6.4 seconds". In that moment, as in most moments, I see her as radiating power because she radiates that power, not to accomplish a purpose that would otherwise be unachievable. She can sense people's emotions because she can sense them, not because she needs or wants to find out about who is tainted with Sauron. And because evil that men bring with them, as Aragorn says, is not necessarily Sauron's touch. And because some of these "temptations" are not even evil, but are still temptations. If Galadriel is testing, it's not for signs of "Sauronism", but for the strength of the loyalty to the quest.

[Ivriniel]

I've moved up in the hierarchy - I'm a Haunting Spirit! Post 51

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Because I just can't envision Galadriel in a police search dog role, or a security guard role. "Scanning for virus. Minds left: 8. Estimated time: 6.4 seconds". In that moment, as in most moments, I see her as radiating power because she radiates that power, not to accomplish a purpose that would otherwise be unachievable. She can sense people's emotions because she can sense them, not because she needs or wants to find out about who is tainted with Sauron. And because evil that men bring with them, as Aragorn says, is not necessarily Sauron's touch. And because some of these "temptations" are not even evil, but are still temptations. If Galadriel is testing, it's not for signs of "Sauronism", but for the strength of the loyalty to the quest.

I don't dispute that Galadriel reads emotions. Or that she is part of the LAPD, or NYPD, and that she doesn't have sniffer dogs. I'm sure she didn't have a meth lab either, though I wouldn't be surprised if Sauron did. Orcs, after all, were rather perverse and behaved much like a human being on stims.

Having said that, her realm was guarded by the equivalent (of sniffer dogs, both in the literal and metaphysical senses). They had bows, and were xenophobic to serious extremes. Binding the eyes of the Ringbearer's quest was a rather intrusive gesture, after first threatening their lives.

I'm not going to see Galadriel as blunted in perception to the extent that she wasn't looking, *very* closely at the Ringbearer's company to see who stank of corruption. She read how their miens responded to her probing Elfy eye. Her whole realm was in danger, and she'd faced Sauron before. She knows, first hand, how he works. And she knows, first hand, how people fall to evil and temptation. She, herself, was tempted by The Ring and knew how it weaved violation upon those it ensnared. Recall Bilbo's equivocation just on the East side of the Misty Mountains after he found the Ring and how Gandalf sensed the subtle change in Bilbo's character. We're talking about someone (Galadriel) tens of thousands of years old, who'd dwelt in Valinor, witnessed Morgoth's prevarication, and saw the Two Trees, and their fate. She'd fought in the wars for the Silmarils, had stared at Balrogs and Dragons. She knew that Sauron had a tower on Sirion in (FA) with a den of vampires, and knew how Sauron worked. He was an enslaver, an energy thief, an invader of the mind, a perverter and someone who possesses mortal souls. She had seen the early signs of perversion in many mortal men well before Boromir. As I noted, his very denial, to what he took as 'temptation' would have announced his human foibles to her, in a heartbeat. *That* he saw 'temptation' in Galadriel's gaze *was* the test that he set for himself and that he failed. To Galadriel, watching on, she would have seen a face clamp down, shut her out, and announce some kind of human pride to Galadriel. She wasn't trying to tempt him-but that's what he saw when he looked at her. These features would have been very revealing of Boromir to Galadriel, especially since she knew she wasn't 'tempting' him at all. In modern times, we'd call it a 'projective test'.

In her position, who wouldn't use every power known to Elvendom to establish the emotional state of the Ringbearer's company. She was aware, I suspect, of Boromir's peril, though what she meant, saw, appreciated and discerned, exactly, we'll never quite know.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

I've moved up in the hierarchy - I'm a Haunting Spirit! Post 51

Congrats! Quick promotion!

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

Having said that, her realm was guarded by the equivalent (of sniffer dogs, both in the literal and metaphysical senses). They had bows, and were xenophobic to serious extremes. Binding the eyes of the Ringbearer's quest was a rather intrusive gesture, after first threatening their lives.

I don't know about that. Yes, Lorien wasn't the most welcoming place you could find. But that is to everybody, and by the nature of the place itself, not because of Galadriel specifically - and not without good reasons. She, on the other hand, (and Celeborn, of course), allowed the Fellowship so many freedoms that it's just ridiculous how much she trusts them without having seen them. Then why does she have to test them later? Because that's not a test for evil, but a test for loyalty. Its results do not affect their stay in Lothlorien.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

I'm not going to see Galadriel as blunted in perception to the extent that she wasn't looking, *very* closely at the Ringbearer's company to see who stank of corruption. She read how their miens responded to her probing Elfy eye. Her whole realm was in danger, and she'd faced Sauron before. She knows, first hand, how he works. And she knows, first hand, how people fall to evil and temptation. She, herself, was tempted by The Ring and knew how it weaved violation upon those it ensnared. Recall Bilbo's equivocation just on the East side of the Misty Mountains after he found the Ring and how Gandalf sensed the subtle change in Bilbo's character. We're talking about someone (Galadriel) tens of thousands of years old, who'd dwelt in Valinor, witnessed Morgoth's prevarication, and saw the Two Trees, and their fate. She'd fought in the wars for the Silmarils, had stared at Balrogs and Dragons. She knew that Sauron had a tower on Sirion in (FA) with a den of vampires, and knew how Sauron worked. He was an enslaver, an energy thief, an invader of the mind, a perverter and someone who possesses mortal souls. She had seen the early signs of perversion in many mortal men well before Boromir. As I noted, his very denial, to what he took as 'temptation' would have announced his human foibles to her, in a heartbeat. *That* he saw 'temptation' in Galadriel's gaze *was* the test that he set for himself and that he failed. To Galadriel, watching on, she would have seen a face clamp down, shut her out, and announce some kind of human pride to Galadriel. She wasn't trying to tempt him-but that's what he saw when he looked at her. These features would have been very revealing of Boromir to Galadriel, especially since she knew she wasn't 'tempting' him at all. In modern times, we'd call it a 'projective test'.

Yes, but. I don't think she was testing for signs of Saurnishness. That implies that all evil (or ungood) comes from Sauron. But it doesn't. I think that's part of what Aragorn tells Boromir - that evil doesn't come from external sorcery and whatnot, but it comes from within men. If she is looking for evil/ungood, she's looking for that - and yes, she does have a lot of experience with it - but not necessarily, or specifically, for Sauron. Secondly, I think that she's not trying to see how weak a person is, but rather how strong they are. She would not be judging them based on their temptation, but based on how faithful they are to the quest despite that temptation. Which is why Sam, who blushed and looked away because of the temptation, still appears to her incredibly faithful - because he truly did overcome his temptation - but Boromir, who even in his mind denies any dilemma, appears like trouble - not because he is more tempted, or more evil, but because he is less loyal and dedicated to the quest.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

She was aware, I suspect, of Boromir's peril, though what she meant, saw, appreciated and discerned, exactly, we'll never quite know.

We'll never know indeed.