Posted: April 02, 1998 at 09:32:13: by Martin Read
You're right about the importance of Aragorn's "Revealing himself" to Sauron, by using the Palantir, in that it precipitated Sauron's major offensive. I think that Tolkien hinted that Aragorn had some sort of benefit over Sauron when using the Palantir because he was using it as its rightful owner, being the heir of Elendil.I always think of Denethor as being a tragic character rather than merely Sauron's dupe or an inherently wicked person. There is something noble about even his despair, and his end was spectacular to say the least. Like you say, Tolkien was wise in not allowing the reader a direct view of Sauron - it keeps the awe and dread of Sauron, that is gradually built up, alive to the end. However well described, a peek into the throne room of Barad-dur would have made Sauron appear more mundane. I've been thinking about the second-hand glimpses we get of Sauron, and if you add them together a reasonably good description of Sauron's physical appearance (post Akkalabeth -sp?)does emerge. He was: About "Man-size". That is he wasn't of giant proportions otherwise the ring wouldn't have fitted a hobbit however insecurely even allowing for shrinkage when cool. It is nowhere explicitly stated, but it can be inferred that he was roughly humanoid in shape: two arms, bipedal and upright - one head etc. He had black skin, or a black outer surface. I imagine it as a sort of obsidian-like darkness not similar to what is called black-skin in human terms. He was physically hot. Isildur burnt his fingers on the ring. He had only nine fingers. Isildur cut one off getting the ring. He therefore mirrors Frodo in this respect. He had only one eye. Personally I think of him as cyclops-like rather than having one eye and an empty socket. This eye was lidless and rimmed with fire. The eye was cat-like with the pupil a vertical slit "a window onto nothing". All in all not exactly a beauty!
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