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Saelind
Lorien
Oct 22 2008, 3:50am
Post #1 of 8
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The Houses of Healing Part IV
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Healing
I’m going to dive into what I think is at the heart of this chapter. The triptych Tolkien creates with Faramir, Eowyn and Merry and their healing by Aragorn.
The three scenes are structured in the same pattern.
Diagnosis: Aragorn describes the precipitating event that caused the physical and spiritual condition of each person
Physical touch: laying on of hands and Eowyn’s case a kiss on the forehead
The individual is called by name
He consecrates the athelas: by breathing on it and crushes it, releasing its scent
The air is sweetened in a distinctive manner
The individual awakens: athough not completely healed, well on their way to recovery.
Faramir
Diagnosis: “’Weariness, grief for his father’s mood, a wound, and over all the Black breath,’ said Aragorn. ‘he is a man of staunch will, for already he had come close under the shadow before ever he rode to battle on the out-walls. Slowly the dark must have crept on him, even as he fought and strove to hold his outpost.’”
Physical touch: “Now Aragorn knelt beside Faramir, and held a hand upon his brow.”
Calling by name: “…and anon he called the name of Faramir, but each time more faintly to their hearing, as if Aragorn himself was removed from them, and walked afar in some dark vale calling for one that was lost.”
The athelas: “Then taking two leaves, he laid them on his hands and breathed on them, and then he crushed them, and straight-way a living freshness filled the room, as if itself awoke and tingled, sparkling with joy. And then he cast the leaves into the bowls of steaming water…”
Distinctive air: “For the fragrance that came to each was like a memory of dewy mornings of unshadowed sun in some land of which the fair world in Spring is itself but a fleeting memory.”
Faramir awakens: “…and he looked on Aragorn who bent over him; and a light of knowledge and love was kindled in his eyes, and he spoke softly. ‘My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?’ ‘Walk no more in the shadows but awake!’ said Aragorn.”
Eowyn
Diagnosis: “’Here there is a grievous hurt and a heavy blow. The arm that was broken has been tended with due skill… but the chief evil comes through the sword-arm… Alas! For she was pitted against a foe beyond the strength of her mind or body. And those who will take a weapon to such an enemy must be sterner than steel, if the very shock shall not destroy them… Her malady begins far back before this day… I have, maybe the power to heal hr body, and recall her from the dark valley. But to what she will awake: hope, or forgetfulness, or despair, I do not know. And if to despair, then she will die, unless other healing comes which I cannot bring.”
Physical touch: “But he bent and kissed her on the brow,…”
Calling by name: “’Eowyn Eowmund’s daughter, awake! For your enemy has passed away!’”
Athelas: “Once more Aragorn bruised two leaves of athelas and cast them into steaming water; and he laved her brow with it, and her right arm lying cold and nerveless on the coverlet.”
Distinctive air: “…as the sweet influence of the herb stole about the chamber it seemed to those who stood by that a keen wind blew through the window, and it bore no scent, but was air wholly fresh and clean and young, as if it had not before been breathed by any living thing and came new-made from snowy mountains high beneath a dome of stars, or from shores of silver far away washed by seas of foam.”
Awakening: Eowyn opens her eyes when Eomer her brother calls her. “’Eomer! What joy is this? For they said that you were slain. Nay, but that was only the dark voices in my dream.”
Merry
Diagnosis: “He is weary now, and grieved, and he has taken a hurt like the lady Eowyn, daring to smite that deadly thing.”
Physical touch: “Then Aragorn lad his hand on Merry’s head, and passing his hand gently through the brown curls, he touched the eyelids..”
Calling by name: “…and called him by name.”
Athelas and distinctive air: And when the fragrance of the athelas stole through the room, like the scent of orchards, and of heather in the sunshine full of bees…”
“…suddenly Merry awoke, and he said: ‘I am hungry. What is the time?’”
There is a strong sacramental component in these scenes. Many of these elements are found in the Catholic/Orthodox sacrament called the Anointing of the Sick. The sacrament is not just for people near death but all those suffering from illness of body, mind or soul. Physical healing is prayed for, but the ill person also receives grace to heal any spiritual illness that may be present. It is also meant to strengthen the person so that they do not to fall into despair. The rite of the sacrament has changed since Tolkien’s time. But it is conceivable that he might have been present when his mother received the sacrament or assisted Father Morgan in the administration of the sacrament. The old rite also included prayers to drive the Devil and evil spirits away and asked for angels to surround the sick individual. This is echoed in Aragorn’s words to Faramir, Eowyn and about Merry. Darkness and all that was in it has fled.
Notice also how full of sensory images these passages are: sight, hearing, touch, taste and scent are all used to describe the action. Notice in particular the descriptions of the ‘air’ released by the athelas. I am of the opinion that the air is from Valinor, the earthly paradise.
Finally, Aragorn shows his worthiness to be king not just by his success on the battlefield but also a healer of his people’s ills.
Comments so far?
I'll have some questions and more observations in the next post.
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Dreamdeer
Valinor
Oct 22 2008, 10:33pm
Post #2 of 8
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Although this passage resembles in spirit the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, in all of its particulars it most resembles the healing techniques of American Indian medicine people. I have heard that Celtic people had similar techniques. Components:
1. Diagnosis. The medicine-person intuits the cause of the malady, often aided by fasting, dreaming, and/or exhauting ordeals. In this case Aragorn has left an exhausting battle without pausing for rest or replenishment, to tend the wounded late into the night. (Digression: Alexander the Great also used to tend the wounded after battles, having received medical training from Aristotle. This probably had a lot to do with why his men would follow him through great feats that no other general could have compelled.)
2. Smudging. The medicine-person uses vapors from a holy plant, in the form of smoke or steam, to clear away any harmful influences that might interfere with the healing. Sage, cedar, sweetgrass, copal, several others I mustn't name...or athelas. In this case Tolkien mixes up the order a bit.
3. Calling back the lost. The medicine-person goes into a trance in search of a lost fragment of the patient's soul, driven out by the trauma mentioned in the diagnosis. (The nature of the trauma gives the medicine-person a clue as to where to look for the lost fragment, and what needs done to calm it and woo it back.) Notice how Aragorn's voice becomes fainter and fainter--he's sinking into a trance state, more and more removed from the bustle around him, in search of the dissociated soul-splinter.
4. Grounding. He snaps back out of the trance as soon as the missing fragment has returned. He might make small-talk with the patient, or ask a loved one to address her, but something occurs to connote a return towards normalcy.
Life is beautiful and dangerous! Beware! Enjoy!
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batik
Tol Eressea
Oct 23 2008, 2:49am
Post #3 of 8
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interesting trivia (and so not OT for RR)
both Aragorn/Viggo and Eomer/Karl have appeared in films where at least some of the NA techniques were shown--"The Prophecy" and "Pathfinder".
'scuse the interruption!
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Oct 23 2008, 8:00pm
Post #4 of 8
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I was very captivated a few years ago on reading Unfinished Tales for the first time (thanks to this forum) and finding a single page about the history of the Elessar stone that Galadriel gave to Aragorn. There were a couple of versions; Tolkien was clearly doodling with some ideas in his mind, so none of it was canon. But he suggested that the stone had special healing powers. A person looking through it could see the world as it used to be: a burned forest would look whole again, a person ravaged by age would look young. And much of Aragorn's power to heal came from the stone (this of course doesn't explain the scene on Weathertop where he at least partially helps Frodo.)
I was so intrigued that I started looking for a green stone of my own, and found several variations. I bought a little non-gem-quality emerald at a rock shop and mounted it in a pewter eagle charm to make an Elessar pendant. I bought a green glass leaf to look through and see the world looking greener than it really is. And just this past year Uncle Baggins bought me a largish green topaz pendant as a 30th anniversary present (he wanted to get me a largish emerald, but of course we couldn't afford that.) And I've also been collecting non-gem-quality beryls at rock shops, thinking of the stone on the bridge that Glorfindel left.
When I have health problems, I often meditate on the scene you're describing, or one like it, only in my meditation Arwen is an important co-healer, with her white gem. I had what felt like an important dream a few years ago, with book-Arwen gathering up the ashes of people who had been killed in Iraq and bringing them back to life and health. I"m off topic now, but this healing scene means a lot to me.
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"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
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"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
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(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Oct 23 2008, 8:01pm)
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Dreamdeer
Valinor
Oct 23 2008, 8:40pm
Post #5 of 8
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I do not necessarily suggest that Tolkien knew anything about American Indian healing. But he did put in an effort to create a myth, and in doing so tapped into the mythic side of human consciousness. He could have spontaneously fabricated the entire account out of imagination that tapped into archetypes which crop up in a wide variety of cultures. I just found that possibility interesting.
Having given everything more thought, although I do believe that Tolkien intended Aragorn's healing abilities as a sort of charismatic gift (as I postulated during the "Choices of Master Samwise" thread, there being some example of each charismatic gift somewhere in the trilogy) I do not think that he intended any parallel to Extreme Unction, AKA Anointing of the Sick. I couldn't find the connections--no oil, no standardized pattern of touching identical for all patients, and no prayers. Most important of all, Aragorn is not a priest qualified to administer sacraments. Tolkien would have been especially sensitive on this point on account of not merely being a Catholic, but an English Catholic. He had encountered discrimination his entire life from those who followed a religion so similar to his own as to be practically indistinguishable from an outside view, its chief difference centering around whether or not a monarch should exert ecclesiastic authority; Tolkien would not feel easy reviving the archetype of the Priest-King.
Life is beautiful and dangerous! Beware! Enjoy!
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Oct 24 2008, 3:16am
Post #6 of 8
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that Tolkien modeled the Elves partially on Native Americans. He talks in his Essay about being fascinated by them as a boy and wishing he could shoot well with a bow. He may not have known much about them, as you say, but I think the interest was at least there.
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"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
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Cyberia
The Shire
Oct 24 2008, 9:46am
Post #7 of 8
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Eowyn For she was pitted against a foe beyond the strength of her mind or body. And those who will take a weapon to such an enemy must be sterner than steel, if the very shock shall not destroy them…
Once again we are back to dealing with Eowyn's victory over the Witch King. I can't help but remember the confrontation in this case. Witch King: Male, incorporeal, immortal, filled with malice and hatred, cloaked in shadow Eowyn: Female, corporeal, mortal, filled with love, wreathed in light Two very opposites. She didn't intend to fight this foe, but found herself in the situation and did her best. In the end, she rose to the occasion, without ever seeking victory over her foe, but success against the foe's intent. The very best of Neumenor, of mankind. Now... consider Aragorn's achievement at Weathertop. Put's things into perspective doesn't it? Aragorn is TRULY a king! Sterner than steel, indeed....and yet the hands of a healer, gentle, and with the grace and understanding of Eowyn's real sickness. Hail Aragorn!
(This post was edited by Cyberia on Oct 24 2008, 9:48am)
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Cyberia
The Shire
Oct 24 2008, 10:01am
Post #8 of 8
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It also reminds me of a phrase Tolkien used to describe Eowyn during the battle against the Witch-king:
"Slender, but as a steel blade. Fair but terrible."
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