SirDennisC
Half-elven
Dec 15 2020, 1:21am
Views: 2413
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Yes, there is a lot to unpack -
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Thank you for sharing this, as it hardly registered the last time I was in that end of the tale for some reason.
It puts me in mind of ancient sayings such as, "do not return evil for evil"; or "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." That certainly seems to be the case here, as Saruman candidly admits.
(A scene from Kingdom of Heaven between Saladin and the newly-minted King of Jerusalem (played by the same actor who played Celeborn in the LOTR films, btw) comes to mind as well: After a great battle, Saladin offers a chalice of ice water to his defeated enemy Jerusalem, who refuses the water; his second in command, making light of the gesture, drinks it instead and is slain on the spot! Selective grace? Is there something about being worthy of grace in the passage you shared?)
But yes, as is often the case, Tolkien packs great depth of meaning into only a few lines: enough to show for instance that Saruman was not so lacking in wisdom that he could not recognize how Frodo had grown. It's interesting too how casually our professor infers that Frodo understood Saruman's behaviour and mood, because of the burden he had carried and wrestled with himself.
Similar to your Ring/Mithril coat observation, there is also the continuation of the effect of pity, first shown by Bilbo, then Frodo (here and elsewhere), that probably spared them both from greater, lasting harm from carrying the Ring.
The passage's brilliance carries on even to the last dot as Saruman does not break character: in his final words he demonstrates once more that he, like the devil, is a liar.
Love it, thanks!
(This post was edited by SirDennisC on Dec 15 2020, 1:30am)
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