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between_time_and_42I finished reading The Return of the King this week and I don't know if I'll be able to 1. fit all my thoughts about it into one post, or 2. remember all that I wanted to say about it... But I'm sure as hell going to try to do both things!!
Where we left off, I had been getting upset over Pippin and Merry missing each other while being separated. I'm pretty sure that every chapter or section of a chapter that one of them narrated following their separation mentioned the other one in it. I wonder if they even realized how much they valued each other and how close their friendship was until they had to part from each other. Like I said before, I feel like their capture by orcs and the storming of Isengard really created a deep bond between them that hadn't been present when they'd known each other in the Shire (though of course they'd still been friends back then). Tbh, I was almost more excited to see them reunite than I was to see Sam find Frodo again in Mordor. (Though you want to know what reunion I was looking forward to above all? That of Frodo & Bilbo. We'll get into that later...)
"'There was a battle here three nights ago,' said Gimli, 'and here Legolas and I played a game that I won only by a single orc. And there are caves, Merry, caves of wonder! Shall we visit them, Legolas, do you think?'"
It's SO adorable how Gimli keeps going on about the caves at Helm's Deep, haha, to the point where he forgets that they don't have time to go visit them.
Merry swearing fealty to Theoden was surprisingly heartwarming, especially when he declares that "as a father you shall be to me." It's also an interesting parallel to Pippin offering his service to the Steward of Gondor. Such a shame that Pippin didn't end up having quite the same relationship with Denethor as Merry did with Theoden...
"More than ever he missed the unquenchable cheerfulness of Pippin."
STOP MAKING ME SAD ABOUT THEIR SEPARATION, TOLKIEN!! Comments like this will only make their reunion sweeter, though.
"'There go three that I love, and the smallest not the least,' [Aragorn] said."
I feel like we haven't seen Aragorn express this kind of affection or really show this much emotion towards anyone since Boromir's death, so it really touches me to see him openly state that he loves Theoden, Eomer, and Merry. It's also telling, because Aragorn has known Theoden and Eomer for a much shorter time than Merry, but already he's quick to declare his love for them. (Speaking of which, I was not prepared for Eomer and Aragorn to develop such a close friendship/admiration, and I ended up loving their scenes together so much.)
There's a LOT to unpack in the scenes between Aragorn and Eowyn as Aragorn prepares to set off for the Paths of the Dead. On the surface, I initially read it as Eowyn bemoaning the fact that she as a woman is always asked to stay behind and tend to affairs at home while the men of Rohan ride into battle. She wants more agency and she wants to be seen as capable and equal among her peers. However, the narrative later reveals that the situation is more complex than that, and I'm interested in diving into this scene and reviewing it after getting further into the book.
Speaking of the Paths of the Dead... This was the part of the book that became a little confusing and boring to me. I found it hard to follow the lore that explained the backstory of the Paths of the Dead... as evidenced by the fact that I can't explain it in this post. To be fair, I also didn't really understand this part of the movie, either. All I know is that Aragorn got some allies out of it and with their help, they were able to free the Gondorians who had been taken/defeated by Sauron's army and bring them back to fight as reinforcements at Minas Tirith. So, even if I don't understand how exactly it happened, at least the outcome was good?
"A tall man entered, and Merry choked back a cry; for a moment it seemed to him that Boromir was alive again and had returned."
The way my heart leapt for a split second when I thought this was Faramir... lol. :P (I LOVE FARAMIR.)
Merry: "I won't be left behind, to be called for on return! I won't be left behind, I won't."
Theoden, one page later: "In a little while I shall take the road[...] You shall abide here, and if you will, you shall serve the Lady Eowyn, who will govern the folk in my stead."
RIP. Poor Merry. His service to Theoden was over before it even really began. At least he was able to keep Theoden company for a bit. But I feel so bad for him, since he so obviously wants to do SOMETHING to help in this war, and yet no one is taking him seriously...
"'Thank you indeed!' said Merry. 'Thank you, sir, though I do not know your name.'
"'Do you not?' said the Rider softly. 'Then call me Dernhelm.'"
I can't help but feel slightly amused at Eowyn's "Do you not?" As if she expected Merry to recognize her right away and is going "...seriously? All I did was put on a helmet and armor and suddenly you have no idea who I am?"
Back to Pippin... Another amusing moment where Pippin wakes up to see that the breakfast Gandalf has provided for him is very meager, and his IMMEDIATE reaction is "Why did you bring me here?" Being in danger as Gondor is besieged is something he can handle, but not being able to have a full breakfast is taking it too far.
Okay, so. By now, y'all know I love Faramir. Y'all know how highly I admired him almost as soon as he was introduced. Now Faramir has reunited with his father, Denethor, and Denethor is basically shitting all over the decisions he's made in battle while simultaneously looking down on him for wanting his father's approval. (Not gonna lie, this kind of reminds me of my mother- not that she's anywhere near as bad as Denethor, but she is the type of person who wont' give advice/instruction and will then get upset if I do something wrong, even though she didn't tell me until after I've done it, and she'll also express those feelings of being upset in a passive-aggressive way... But hey, this isn't about my family! This is about Faramir's!) And THEN, this exchange happens:
"'Ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle. That may well befit one of high race, if he sits with power and peace. But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.'
"'So be it,' said Faramir.
"'So be it!' cried Denethor. 'But not with your death only, Lord Faramir; with the death also of your father, and of all your people, whom it is your part to protect now that Boromir is gone.'
"'Do you wish then,' said Faramir, 'that our places had been exchanged?'
"'Yes, I wish that indeed,' said Denethor. 'For Boromir was loyal to me and no wizard's pupil. He would have remembered his father's need, and would not have squandered what fortune gave. He would have brought me a mighty gift.'"
Man. Denethor is a PIECE OF WORK. I get the feeling that nothing Faramir could do would ever please him. My heart broke for Faramir here, and I actually got so angry that I yelled "Fuck you, Denethor!" and started flipping off the book as I was reading. Here's a pic if you don't believe me. When Denethor had first said something along these lines- "My Boromir! Now we have need of you. Faramir should have gone in his stead"- I tried to interpret it more charitably in that he wished that Faramir had gone because he wouldn't have fallen prey to temptation like Boromir did, and he would have fulfilled his role to play in the Fellowship without breaking them up. But this whole conversation just shows that he genuinely would have preferred Faramir to have died than to have disappointed him. JESUS. Poor Faramir, having to live in his brother's shadow like that while still presumably grieving him... Not to mention, Denethor thinks that Boromir would have "brought me a mighty gift," not even realizing that if Boromir had claimed the Ring, he would have fallen into ruin and probably led Gondor itself into ruin as well. All of this just makes me think that these two brothers probably did not have the greatest childhood...
"'I have sent the company of Ithilien to strengthen [Osgiliath], as I have said.'
"'Not enough, I deem,' said Denethor. 'It is there that the first blow will fall. They will have need of some stout captain there.'
"'There and elsewhere in many places,' said Faramir, and sighed. 'Alas for my brother, whom I too loved!'"
SERIOUSLY. Denethor, you are not the only one grieving this man. You're not the only one whose pain matters. FUCK YOU.
...Anyway...
So I think I had mentioned that I found the battle of Helm's Deep to be underwhelming when I was reading it, compared to when I was watching it in the movie of The Two Towers. That was definitely NOT the case for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (at least, I think that's what this battle is called... beginning with the Siege of Gondor and going into The Ride of the Rohirrim, and ending with the Pyre of Denethor). Which is saying a lot, because that battle in Return of the King (the movie) is honestly probably my favorite scene in the movie. Yes, I like it more than the climax at Mount Doom and the reunion of the Fellowship and Aragorn's coronation and possibly even slightly more than the Grey Havens (although that scene would be a VERY close second). But- and this is going to sound so bad, but... I mainly like it because of 1. how the army in Minas Tirith starts loading the catapults up with pieces of the fallen walls and flinging them at the orcs, and 2. that scene where Denethor runs off the side of the building while on fire. I feel like such a horrible person for laughing at that, but it's so fucking ridiculous that I can't help but love it. And I also feel silly for focusing on only the parts that make me laugh, instead of, for example, Eowyn's epic confrontation with the Witch King. But perhaps it's because my favorite parts of that battle are the funny parts that I loved the book's depiction of it so much more, because I was genuinely at the edge of my seat going "how are they going to get out of this?!" when I already knew that Gondor would win the battle. The suspense, the action, the emotion... all of it was so well-written and perfectly depicted. I'm not even sure if I can sum up all my reactions to these chapters, but I'm going to try...
The parts depicting Denethor's descent into madness filled me with what I can only describe as dread. (Come to think of it, that's a great word for the scene in Shelob's lair from The Two Towers, too.) When reading about how Pippin was stuck in the hall with Denethor, watching him grow more and more despondent and not reacting to those who were bringing him news of the battle until he finally snapped and had himself and Faramir taken away to be burnt alive together, I felt this dark sense of gloom bearing down on me, of being caught in a nightmare from which I couldn't awaken. It was absolutely horrible. Thank GOD Pippin took matters into his own hands and went to find Gandalf. I'll get into it in a bit, but I really admired Pippin's actions here and consider them to be more heroic than those in the book seem to.
"Merry wanted somebody to talk to, and he thought of Pippin. But that only increased his restlessness. Poor Pippin, shut up in the great city of stone, lonely and afraid. Merry wished he was a tall Rider like Eomer and could blow a horn or something and go galloping to his rescue."
STOPPPP I CAN'T. THE WAY HE LOVES PIPPIN AND DREAMS OF RESCUING HIM...
Even the "I am no man" scene plays out better in the book than it does in the movie, imo. Funnily enough, I had completely forgotten that Eowyn was even a character when I rewatched the movies recently, although I remembered that quote because I've seen people quote it online over the years. (Side note, I had also completely forgotten that Boromir existed, lol. I only knew of him because of the famous "one does not simply" meme, but I had forgotten who he was and that he was part of the Fellowship.) I'm not going to say that it's a bad scene at all, and it's certainly not as forgettable as I'm making it sound like it was for me. It's just... The movie scene plays in such an epic way, but in the book, it's epic and desperate and scary at the same time. Probably because we're seeing it through Merry's eyes, and he's scared out of his mind. But it also really affected me to read that Eowyn was crying and mourning Theoden seconds before confronting the Witch King, and she basically had to quickly put aside her grief and attack. I just feel like the emotion hit so much harder in the book, at least for me personally.
"Then suddenly [Eomer] beheld his sister Eowyn as she lay, and he knew her. He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the midst of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face was deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed for a while. A fey mood took him.
"'Eowyn, Eowyn!' he cried at last. 'Eowyn, how come you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!'"
OH, GOD. I gotta be honest, I never felt much of an attachment to Eomer as a character, but his reaction to seeing Eowyn on the battlefield and thinking she's dead is just... UGH.
"And still Meriadoc the hobbit stood there blinking through his tears, and no one spoke to him, indeed none seemed to heed him."
OH NO, MERRY!!! Once again Merry is being overlooked, even after performing an amazingly heroic deed for which he will later receive plenty of praise. And this time Merry can't even be bothered to care, because he's just watched Theoden die and is mired in grief, not to mention that in stabbing the Witch King, he's been poisoned. For some reason this one sentence hit me so hard to read it... and that's not even the end of it.
"For there were the servants of Denethor with swords and torches in their hands; but alone on the porch upon the topmost step stood Beregond, clad in the black and silver of the Guard; and he held the door against them. Two of them had already fallen to his sword, staining the hallows with their blood; and the others cursed him, calling him outlaw and traitor to his master."
FUCK YEAH, BEREGOND!! He may have been introduced late in the narrative, but already he's endeared himself to me. I'm glad that at least one of the guards listened to Pippin. (I also liked that he always treated Pippin with respect, too.)
I did NOT see Denethor having a palantir coming, though I'm not entirely sure I understand the implications of that. (It does seem to make sense why he seemed to know so many things before they were reported to him, though.) I also didn't expect him to burn alive like that... Like I mentioned before, the scene where Denethor burns to death in the film is inappropriately funny to me, but in the book... man. What a horrific mental image. I honestly wouldn't doubt it if Pippin was scarred for life after witnessing that.
Now that the battle is over, I have to point out how much I loved the sudden abundance of sentences that included "behold!" and "lo!" I hadn't noticed it that much throughout Fellowship or Towers, but there was something strangely endearing about the way it kept popping up throughout Return of the King, as if Tolkien himself was getting excited over what he was writing.
The next chapter, "The Houses of Healing," begins with what I was waiting for most of all... The Merry/Pippin reunion!! Although it's not a happy reunion, necessarily, because Merry is dazed and still grieving Theoden and weakened from his attack on the Witch King... But Pippin is so kind and helps him up and gets help for him and stays with him until help arrives. And throughout it all, he maintains his upbeat attitude, which was what Merry had missed about him (though he's definitely worried, but he's putting on a brave face). What a beautiful friendship. I have to say, I really wasn't expecting Merry to be so deeply affected from the battle and from losing Theoden, and it hurts to see him- he who shrugged off being kidnapped by orcs- brought to such a state. Especially when he asks Pippin "Are you going to bury me?" I can hear that line in my head being delivered in such a plaintive tone. Poor Merry... Now he has a sense of what Frodo went through when the Witch King stabbed him at Weathertop. (At least I assume it's the same sort of thing, because his right hand is icy cold the way that Frodo's hand was after he was stabbed.)
I admire Aragorn so much for choosing not to enter Minas Tirith and immediately take charge as king, because he knows that its people have just been through A Lot and asking them to accept a new leader out of nowhere right on the heels of a draining battle would be a challenge. As if I needed another reason to admire Aragorn... <3
Ioreth the healer and the herb-master are cracking me up, Ioreth with her long-windedness and the herb-master with his tangents on the various names for different herbs. I'm really glad there's some humor in this part of the book- we needed that levity after the battle, and it adds to the cathartic feeling overall.
"My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?"
DAMN, Faramir doesn't even KNOW Aragorn at this point and immediately he recognizes him as his lord and king. Please tell me this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, like the one between Aragorn and Eomer.
So now we get to more of Eowyn's story, and like I said before, there's a lot more that went into her decision to ride into battle as Dernhelm than just feeling stifled and boxed into the role of a lady when she feels more suited for the role of a knight/soldier. Gandalf suggests that her role took more of a toll on her than anyone had realized, because in being urged to stay home, she had to see her uncle suffer under Wormtongue's spell and, for me perhaps most crucially, she was preyed upon by Wormtongue as well. No wonder she longed to ride out into battle. She must have had to stay vigilant at all times, living with a predator like Wormtongue, and watching Theoden decline must have broken her faith and killed her hopes. It seems to me that she wasn't just the typical "I want to fight like the men do!" female character- her actions/choices come from a deep feeling of depression and hopelessness. She just wanted to escape from what felt like a prison to her. And then there's this:
"Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned."
I'm honestly surprised that Aragorn would feel so strongly about not returning Eowyn's feelings... I know he's a fictional character and so not supposed to be a reflection of real-world behaviors, but... I dunno, it sounds silly to say this, but... I've been in that situation, where someone has asked me out and I turned them down, and then I felt so bad for them because I wanted to make them happy but I couldn't make myself feel anything for them. And I always thought that that was the reaction of a people pleaser, and that I shouldn't be feeling this way, and that "normal" people wouldn't care about that. I especially never imagined that a man could feel that way. But here's Aragorn admitting that it pained him to turn down Eowyn almost as much as his rejection pained her. And he obviously was in the right for doing this, not only because (as I understand it) he's already betrothed to Arwen, but also because he himself states after this that Eowyn didn't really love him for who he was, only as "a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan." Basically, Eowyn was so desperate to escape her current situation that as soon as she met someone like Aragorn, who was clearly destined for greatness, she thought she was in love with him because he had given her hope. She would have gone with him just to get away from Rohan. This makes Eowyn's character completely fascinating to my eyes, and so much stronger than she might have been had she just been written as a basic "Action Girl." I also love that Eomer had no idea that his sister was going through anything like this- I think it's very true to life, in that even the closest people to you can have no idea what you're struggling with mental health-wise.
"I am hungry. What is the time?"
...And then, after all that, there's Merry. :'D I just love how important food is in hobbit culture, to the point where after waking from his coma/delirium (neither of those words are right but I can't find a better word now), Merry instantly has to announce that he's hungry. It's giving the same vibes as when Gandalf, the Three Hunters, and the Rohirrim came to Isengard to find that Merry and Pippin were alive and unharmed, feasting on the battlefield. What a little shit (affectionate). Although this is immediately followed by Merry asking for a pipe, and then realizing that he doesn't want to smoke again because it reminds him of the conversation that he never got to have with Theoden. Again... I wasn't prepared for Merry to take Theoden's death that hard, and I find it interesting that he does.
"Merry seized [Aragorn's] hand and kissed it. 'I am frightfully sorry,' he said. 'Go at once! Ever since that night as Bree we have been a nuisance to you. But it is the way of my people to use light words at such times and to say less than they mean. We fear to say too much. It robs us of the right words when a jest is out of place.'"
This line explains SO much about hobbit behavior/culture. It did stand out to me how after Merry & Pippin had escaped from the orcs, they immediately went strolling around as if nothing had happened, without talking about their ordeal. It makes so much sense to learn that this is just how all hobbits behave. And of course, Aragorn accepts it and gently reminds Merry that he's prepared to tease him right back. There's something so human and relatable about this interaction. It's that thing where you get really comfortable with a friend and so you can tease them knowing that they won't take offense. This was my favorite part of the whole chapter.
"Pippin remained behind. 'Was there ever any one like him?' he said. 'Except Gandalf, of course. I think they must be related. My dear ass, your pack is lying by your bed, and you had it on your back when I met you. He saw it all the time, of course.'"
Torn between laughter and "awwww's" at this part, tbh. I love Pippin so much :')
I don't really have much to say about the last two chapters of Book Five, except:
"'You are not fit for such a journey,' said Aragorn. But do not be ashamed. If you do no more in this war, you have already earned great honor. Peregrin shall go and represent the Shirefolk; and do not grudge him his chance of peril, for though he has done well as his fortune allowed him, he has yet to match your deed.'"
So... you're telling me that Pippin defying Denethor's orders, commanding Denethor's servants not to aid Denethor's madness, and running to get Gandalf so he can help prevent Denethor and Faramir from being burned alive together isn't as great a deed as Merry stabbing the Witch King? I'm sorry, but I'd say they're on equal ground for that, if only because without Pippin, Faramir would have been killed, and also because I find it heroic that Pippin went "screw these orders, I'm doing what's RIGHT!" I guess not everyone sees it the same way I do, though...
...But then, even though Pippin does go to the Black Gate to fight in the battle, he still doesn't end up doing anything of note. He kills a troll, and the troll's body pins him to the ground, and he almost DIES. And that's where we end Book Five- with Pippin on the ground, slowly falling into unconsciousness. NOOOO!!! PIPPIN!!!! I can't believe we have to wait a whole book to find out wh...
"Sam roused himself painfully from the ground. For a moment he wondered where he was, and then all the misery and despair returned to him. He was in the deep dark outside the under-gate of the orcs' stronghold; its brazen doors were shut."
NOOOOO!!! SAM!!!! I can't believe I forgot about Sam!! And now I'm going to have to end this post and start another one to cover Book Six (although I have a feeling I'll have to split Book Six into two posts, the "before" and "after" posts. We'll see).
"'There was a battle here three nights ago,' said Gimli, 'and here Legolas and I played a game that I won only by a single orc. And there are caves, Merry, caves of wonder! Shall we visit them, Legolas, do you think?'"
It's SO adorable how Gimli keeps going on about the caves at Helm's Deep, haha, to the point where he forgets that they don't have time to go visit them.
Merry swearing fealty to Theoden was surprisingly heartwarming, especially when he declares that "as a father you shall be to me." It's also an interesting parallel to Pippin offering his service to the Steward of Gondor. Such a shame that Pippin didn't end up having quite the same relationship with Denethor as Merry did with Theoden...
"More than ever he missed the unquenchable cheerfulness of Pippin."
STOP MAKING ME SAD ABOUT THEIR SEPARATION, TOLKIEN!! Comments like this will only make their reunion sweeter, though.
"'There go three that I love, and the smallest not the least,' [Aragorn] said."
I feel like we haven't seen Aragorn express this kind of affection or really show this much emotion towards anyone since Boromir's death, so it really touches me to see him openly state that he loves Theoden, Eomer, and Merry. It's also telling, because Aragorn has known Theoden and Eomer for a much shorter time than Merry, but already he's quick to declare his love for them. (Speaking of which, I was not prepared for Eomer and Aragorn to develop such a close friendship/admiration, and I ended up loving their scenes together so much.)
There's a LOT to unpack in the scenes between Aragorn and Eowyn as Aragorn prepares to set off for the Paths of the Dead. On the surface, I initially read it as Eowyn bemoaning the fact that she as a woman is always asked to stay behind and tend to affairs at home while the men of Rohan ride into battle. She wants more agency and she wants to be seen as capable and equal among her peers. However, the narrative later reveals that the situation is more complex than that, and I'm interested in diving into this scene and reviewing it after getting further into the book.
Speaking of the Paths of the Dead... This was the part of the book that became a little confusing and boring to me. I found it hard to follow the lore that explained the backstory of the Paths of the Dead... as evidenced by the fact that I can't explain it in this post. To be fair, I also didn't really understand this part of the movie, either. All I know is that Aragorn got some allies out of it and with their help, they were able to free the Gondorians who had been taken/defeated by Sauron's army and bring them back to fight as reinforcements at Minas Tirith. So, even if I don't understand how exactly it happened, at least the outcome was good?
"A tall man entered, and Merry choked back a cry; for a moment it seemed to him that Boromir was alive again and had returned."
The way my heart leapt for a split second when I thought this was Faramir... lol. :P (I LOVE FARAMIR.)
Merry: "I won't be left behind, to be called for on return! I won't be left behind, I won't."
Theoden, one page later: "In a little while I shall take the road[...] You shall abide here, and if you will, you shall serve the Lady Eowyn, who will govern the folk in my stead."
RIP. Poor Merry. His service to Theoden was over before it even really began. At least he was able to keep Theoden company for a bit. But I feel so bad for him, since he so obviously wants to do SOMETHING to help in this war, and yet no one is taking him seriously...
"'Thank you indeed!' said Merry. 'Thank you, sir, though I do not know your name.'
"'Do you not?' said the Rider softly. 'Then call me Dernhelm.'"
I can't help but feel slightly amused at Eowyn's "Do you not?" As if she expected Merry to recognize her right away and is going "...seriously? All I did was put on a helmet and armor and suddenly you have no idea who I am?"
Back to Pippin... Another amusing moment where Pippin wakes up to see that the breakfast Gandalf has provided for him is very meager, and his IMMEDIATE reaction is "Why did you bring me here?" Being in danger as Gondor is besieged is something he can handle, but not being able to have a full breakfast is taking it too far.
Okay, so. By now, y'all know I love Faramir. Y'all know how highly I admired him almost as soon as he was introduced. Now Faramir has reunited with his father, Denethor, and Denethor is basically shitting all over the decisions he's made in battle while simultaneously looking down on him for wanting his father's approval. (Not gonna lie, this kind of reminds me of my mother- not that she's anywhere near as bad as Denethor, but she is the type of person who wont' give advice/instruction and will then get upset if I do something wrong, even though she didn't tell me until after I've done it, and she'll also express those feelings of being upset in a passive-aggressive way... But hey, this isn't about my family! This is about Faramir's!) And THEN, this exchange happens:
"'Ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle. That may well befit one of high race, if he sits with power and peace. But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.'
"'So be it,' said Faramir.
"'So be it!' cried Denethor. 'But not with your death only, Lord Faramir; with the death also of your father, and of all your people, whom it is your part to protect now that Boromir is gone.'
"'Do you wish then,' said Faramir, 'that our places had been exchanged?'
"'Yes, I wish that indeed,' said Denethor. 'For Boromir was loyal to me and no wizard's pupil. He would have remembered his father's need, and would not have squandered what fortune gave. He would have brought me a mighty gift.'"
Man. Denethor is a PIECE OF WORK. I get the feeling that nothing Faramir could do would ever please him. My heart broke for Faramir here, and I actually got so angry that I yelled "Fuck you, Denethor!" and started flipping off the book as I was reading. Here's a pic if you don't believe me. When Denethor had first said something along these lines- "My Boromir! Now we have need of you. Faramir should have gone in his stead"- I tried to interpret it more charitably in that he wished that Faramir had gone because he wouldn't have fallen prey to temptation like Boromir did, and he would have fulfilled his role to play in the Fellowship without breaking them up. But this whole conversation just shows that he genuinely would have preferred Faramir to have died than to have disappointed him. JESUS. Poor Faramir, having to live in his brother's shadow like that while still presumably grieving him... Not to mention, Denethor thinks that Boromir would have "brought me a mighty gift," not even realizing that if Boromir had claimed the Ring, he would have fallen into ruin and probably led Gondor itself into ruin as well. All of this just makes me think that these two brothers probably did not have the greatest childhood...
"'I have sent the company of Ithilien to strengthen [Osgiliath], as I have said.'
"'Not enough, I deem,' said Denethor. 'It is there that the first blow will fall. They will have need of some stout captain there.'
"'There and elsewhere in many places,' said Faramir, and sighed. 'Alas for my brother, whom I too loved!'"
SERIOUSLY. Denethor, you are not the only one grieving this man. You're not the only one whose pain matters. FUCK YOU.
...Anyway...
So I think I had mentioned that I found the battle of Helm's Deep to be underwhelming when I was reading it, compared to when I was watching it in the movie of The Two Towers. That was definitely NOT the case for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (at least, I think that's what this battle is called... beginning with the Siege of Gondor and going into The Ride of the Rohirrim, and ending with the Pyre of Denethor). Which is saying a lot, because that battle in Return of the King (the movie) is honestly probably my favorite scene in the movie. Yes, I like it more than the climax at Mount Doom and the reunion of the Fellowship and Aragorn's coronation and possibly even slightly more than the Grey Havens (although that scene would be a VERY close second). But- and this is going to sound so bad, but... I mainly like it because of 1. how the army in Minas Tirith starts loading the catapults up with pieces of the fallen walls and flinging them at the orcs, and 2. that scene where Denethor runs off the side of the building while on fire. I feel like such a horrible person for laughing at that, but it's so fucking ridiculous that I can't help but love it. And I also feel silly for focusing on only the parts that make me laugh, instead of, for example, Eowyn's epic confrontation with the Witch King. But perhaps it's because my favorite parts of that battle are the funny parts that I loved the book's depiction of it so much more, because I was genuinely at the edge of my seat going "how are they going to get out of this?!" when I already knew that Gondor would win the battle. The suspense, the action, the emotion... all of it was so well-written and perfectly depicted. I'm not even sure if I can sum up all my reactions to these chapters, but I'm going to try...
The parts depicting Denethor's descent into madness filled me with what I can only describe as dread. (Come to think of it, that's a great word for the scene in Shelob's lair from The Two Towers, too.) When reading about how Pippin was stuck in the hall with Denethor, watching him grow more and more despondent and not reacting to those who were bringing him news of the battle until he finally snapped and had himself and Faramir taken away to be burnt alive together, I felt this dark sense of gloom bearing down on me, of being caught in a nightmare from which I couldn't awaken. It was absolutely horrible. Thank GOD Pippin took matters into his own hands and went to find Gandalf. I'll get into it in a bit, but I really admired Pippin's actions here and consider them to be more heroic than those in the book seem to.
"Merry wanted somebody to talk to, and he thought of Pippin. But that only increased his restlessness. Poor Pippin, shut up in the great city of stone, lonely and afraid. Merry wished he was a tall Rider like Eomer and could blow a horn or something and go galloping to his rescue."
STOPPPP I CAN'T. THE WAY HE LOVES PIPPIN AND DREAMS OF RESCUING HIM...
Even the "I am no man" scene plays out better in the book than it does in the movie, imo. Funnily enough, I had completely forgotten that Eowyn was even a character when I rewatched the movies recently, although I remembered that quote because I've seen people quote it online over the years. (Side note, I had also completely forgotten that Boromir existed, lol. I only knew of him because of the famous "one does not simply" meme, but I had forgotten who he was and that he was part of the Fellowship.) I'm not going to say that it's a bad scene at all, and it's certainly not as forgettable as I'm making it sound like it was for me. It's just... The movie scene plays in such an epic way, but in the book, it's epic and desperate and scary at the same time. Probably because we're seeing it through Merry's eyes, and he's scared out of his mind. But it also really affected me to read that Eowyn was crying and mourning Theoden seconds before confronting the Witch King, and she basically had to quickly put aside her grief and attack. I just feel like the emotion hit so much harder in the book, at least for me personally.
"Then suddenly [Eomer] beheld his sister Eowyn as she lay, and he knew her. He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the midst of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face was deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed for a while. A fey mood took him.
"'Eowyn, Eowyn!' he cried at last. 'Eowyn, how come you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!'"
OH, GOD. I gotta be honest, I never felt much of an attachment to Eomer as a character, but his reaction to seeing Eowyn on the battlefield and thinking she's dead is just... UGH.
"And still Meriadoc the hobbit stood there blinking through his tears, and no one spoke to him, indeed none seemed to heed him."
OH NO, MERRY!!! Once again Merry is being overlooked, even after performing an amazingly heroic deed for which he will later receive plenty of praise. And this time Merry can't even be bothered to care, because he's just watched Theoden die and is mired in grief, not to mention that in stabbing the Witch King, he's been poisoned. For some reason this one sentence hit me so hard to read it... and that's not even the end of it.
"For there were the servants of Denethor with swords and torches in their hands; but alone on the porch upon the topmost step stood Beregond, clad in the black and silver of the Guard; and he held the door against them. Two of them had already fallen to his sword, staining the hallows with their blood; and the others cursed him, calling him outlaw and traitor to his master."
FUCK YEAH, BEREGOND!! He may have been introduced late in the narrative, but already he's endeared himself to me. I'm glad that at least one of the guards listened to Pippin. (I also liked that he always treated Pippin with respect, too.)
I did NOT see Denethor having a palantir coming, though I'm not entirely sure I understand the implications of that. (It does seem to make sense why he seemed to know so many things before they were reported to him, though.) I also didn't expect him to burn alive like that... Like I mentioned before, the scene where Denethor burns to death in the film is inappropriately funny to me, but in the book... man. What a horrific mental image. I honestly wouldn't doubt it if Pippin was scarred for life after witnessing that.
Now that the battle is over, I have to point out how much I loved the sudden abundance of sentences that included "behold!" and "lo!" I hadn't noticed it that much throughout Fellowship or Towers, but there was something strangely endearing about the way it kept popping up throughout Return of the King, as if Tolkien himself was getting excited over what he was writing.
The next chapter, "The Houses of Healing," begins with what I was waiting for most of all... The Merry/Pippin reunion!! Although it's not a happy reunion, necessarily, because Merry is dazed and still grieving Theoden and weakened from his attack on the Witch King... But Pippin is so kind and helps him up and gets help for him and stays with him until help arrives. And throughout it all, he maintains his upbeat attitude, which was what Merry had missed about him (though he's definitely worried, but he's putting on a brave face). What a beautiful friendship. I have to say, I really wasn't expecting Merry to be so deeply affected from the battle and from losing Theoden, and it hurts to see him- he who shrugged off being kidnapped by orcs- brought to such a state. Especially when he asks Pippin "Are you going to bury me?" I can hear that line in my head being delivered in such a plaintive tone. Poor Merry... Now he has a sense of what Frodo went through when the Witch King stabbed him at Weathertop. (At least I assume it's the same sort of thing, because his right hand is icy cold the way that Frodo's hand was after he was stabbed.)
I admire Aragorn so much for choosing not to enter Minas Tirith and immediately take charge as king, because he knows that its people have just been through A Lot and asking them to accept a new leader out of nowhere right on the heels of a draining battle would be a challenge. As if I needed another reason to admire Aragorn... <3
Ioreth the healer and the herb-master are cracking me up, Ioreth with her long-windedness and the herb-master with his tangents on the various names for different herbs. I'm really glad there's some humor in this part of the book- we needed that levity after the battle, and it adds to the cathartic feeling overall.
"My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?"
DAMN, Faramir doesn't even KNOW Aragorn at this point and immediately he recognizes him as his lord and king. Please tell me this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, like the one between Aragorn and Eomer.
So now we get to more of Eowyn's story, and like I said before, there's a lot more that went into her decision to ride into battle as Dernhelm than just feeling stifled and boxed into the role of a lady when she feels more suited for the role of a knight/soldier. Gandalf suggests that her role took more of a toll on her than anyone had realized, because in being urged to stay home, she had to see her uncle suffer under Wormtongue's spell and, for me perhaps most crucially, she was preyed upon by Wormtongue as well. No wonder she longed to ride out into battle. She must have had to stay vigilant at all times, living with a predator like Wormtongue, and watching Theoden decline must have broken her faith and killed her hopes. It seems to me that she wasn't just the typical "I want to fight like the men do!" female character- her actions/choices come from a deep feeling of depression and hopelessness. She just wanted to escape from what felt like a prison to her. And then there's this:
"Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned."
I'm honestly surprised that Aragorn would feel so strongly about not returning Eowyn's feelings... I know he's a fictional character and so not supposed to be a reflection of real-world behaviors, but... I dunno, it sounds silly to say this, but... I've been in that situation, where someone has asked me out and I turned them down, and then I felt so bad for them because I wanted to make them happy but I couldn't make myself feel anything for them. And I always thought that that was the reaction of a people pleaser, and that I shouldn't be feeling this way, and that "normal" people wouldn't care about that. I especially never imagined that a man could feel that way. But here's Aragorn admitting that it pained him to turn down Eowyn almost as much as his rejection pained her. And he obviously was in the right for doing this, not only because (as I understand it) he's already betrothed to Arwen, but also because he himself states after this that Eowyn didn't really love him for who he was, only as "a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan." Basically, Eowyn was so desperate to escape her current situation that as soon as she met someone like Aragorn, who was clearly destined for greatness, she thought she was in love with him because he had given her hope. She would have gone with him just to get away from Rohan. This makes Eowyn's character completely fascinating to my eyes, and so much stronger than she might have been had she just been written as a basic "Action Girl." I also love that Eomer had no idea that his sister was going through anything like this- I think it's very true to life, in that even the closest people to you can have no idea what you're struggling with mental health-wise.
"I am hungry. What is the time?"
...And then, after all that, there's Merry. :'D I just love how important food is in hobbit culture, to the point where after waking from his coma/delirium (neither of those words are right but I can't find a better word now), Merry instantly has to announce that he's hungry. It's giving the same vibes as when Gandalf, the Three Hunters, and the Rohirrim came to Isengard to find that Merry and Pippin were alive and unharmed, feasting on the battlefield. What a little shit (affectionate). Although this is immediately followed by Merry asking for a pipe, and then realizing that he doesn't want to smoke again because it reminds him of the conversation that he never got to have with Theoden. Again... I wasn't prepared for Merry to take Theoden's death that hard, and I find it interesting that he does.
"Merry seized [Aragorn's] hand and kissed it. 'I am frightfully sorry,' he said. 'Go at once! Ever since that night as Bree we have been a nuisance to you. But it is the way of my people to use light words at such times and to say less than they mean. We fear to say too much. It robs us of the right words when a jest is out of place.'"
This line explains SO much about hobbit behavior/culture. It did stand out to me how after Merry & Pippin had escaped from the orcs, they immediately went strolling around as if nothing had happened, without talking about their ordeal. It makes so much sense to learn that this is just how all hobbits behave. And of course, Aragorn accepts it and gently reminds Merry that he's prepared to tease him right back. There's something so human and relatable about this interaction. It's that thing where you get really comfortable with a friend and so you can tease them knowing that they won't take offense. This was my favorite part of the whole chapter.
"Pippin remained behind. 'Was there ever any one like him?' he said. 'Except Gandalf, of course. I think they must be related. My dear ass, your pack is lying by your bed, and you had it on your back when I met you. He saw it all the time, of course.'"
Torn between laughter and "awwww's" at this part, tbh. I love Pippin so much :')
I don't really have much to say about the last two chapters of Book Five, except:
"'You are not fit for such a journey,' said Aragorn. But do not be ashamed. If you do no more in this war, you have already earned great honor. Peregrin shall go and represent the Shirefolk; and do not grudge him his chance of peril, for though he has done well as his fortune allowed him, he has yet to match your deed.'"
So... you're telling me that Pippin defying Denethor's orders, commanding Denethor's servants not to aid Denethor's madness, and running to get Gandalf so he can help prevent Denethor and Faramir from being burned alive together isn't as great a deed as Merry stabbing the Witch King? I'm sorry, but I'd say they're on equal ground for that, if only because without Pippin, Faramir would have been killed, and also because I find it heroic that Pippin went "screw these orders, I'm doing what's RIGHT!" I guess not everyone sees it the same way I do, though...
...But then, even though Pippin does go to the Black Gate to fight in the battle, he still doesn't end up doing anything of note. He kills a troll, and the troll's body pins him to the ground, and he almost DIES. And that's where we end Book Five- with Pippin on the ground, slowly falling into unconsciousness. NOOOO!!! PIPPIN!!!! I can't believe we have to wait a whole book to find out wh...
"Sam roused himself painfully from the ground. For a moment he wondered where he was, and then all the misery and despair returned to him. He was in the deep dark outside the under-gate of the orcs' stronghold; its brazen doors were shut."
NOOOOO!!! SAM!!!! I can't believe I forgot about Sam!! And now I'm going to have to end this post and start another one to cover Book Six (although I have a feeling I'll have to split Book Six into two posts, the "before" and "after" posts. We'll see).
