 |
|
The White CouncilDenethor, Sauron and the PalantirsTolkien and Inklings Discussion |
|
|
The White CouncilDenethor, Sauron and the PalantirsTolkien and Inklings Discussion |
|
Posted by David Freitag on September 20, 1999 at 02:20:54 One thing I like to do with the LR is try to figure who knows what when. Afterall, our side is playing a major deception game on Sauron, especially after Aragorn shows himself to Sauron in the Palantir. But the Dark Lord had several sources of information he seems not to have used effectively, for clues were there for the taking. For instance, there is Denethor. Evidently Denethor has been looking into the Palantir periodically for some time. Sauron has not been able to seduce him, so he has tried another tack: wearing him down, misleading him as to relative dtrengths, leading him towards despair. This contributed to Denethor's grim personality, but, when we first meet him, he clearly still has self-control. He only cracks after Faramir is wounded. He evidently has a major Palantir confrontation which breaks his mind, leaves him suicidal. But Denethor knows of Frodo and the Ring prior to this confrontation. That info was there for Sauron's taking. As he did not alter his strategy, he evidently failed to pick through Denethor's ruined mind: another of Sauron's fatal oversights? Sauron, that master psychologist, has tricked himself, being far too convinced of Aragorn's maskirovka, to check out alternative hypotheses. (Among Denethor's ravings is an accusation of Gandalf's "bringing a wild ranger from the north to supplant me." Pippin had let slip somethings about Aragorn's possible identity, but Sauron, fearing Aragorn had the Ring, must have driven those suspicions home (knowing Denethor's sensitivity on the point), hoping Denethor could do Aragorn some mischief. But he'd used too much mind power on D., or didn't realize how close D. was to breaking.) Maybe Denethor had just enough self-control to deny Sauron this info: he might hate Gandalf and Aragorn, but he'd hate Sauron all the more, and just the effort of holding this tidbit back would have contributed to the breaking of his mind. Denethor was a hero afterall. |
Tip: Earlier messages, if they are missing when you click on the links, may be in a lower-numbered archive. Edit the URL in your browser window to change the archive number. Ex. archive_02/ becomes archive_01/.
Tip: Click on the Tolkien and Inklings Forum link to followup to archived messages. You'll need to copy the text from this message and repost it in your new message.
The Tolkien and Inklings Forum is an SF-FANDOM Web site.
SF-FANDOM is a part of the Xenite.Org network.
Xenite.Org is home to Lord of the Rings movie news. The Tolkien and Inklings Forum is the Web's oldest fan-run forum dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Xenite.Org has been providing the most comprehensive Lord of the Rings movie news on the Web since February 1998.
Xenite.Org also brings you Xena Online Resources. Xena Online Resources is the Web's largest directory of Hercules and Xena-related content.
The Xenite.Org network is home to more than 100 science fiction and fantasy Web sites.
The Tolkien and Inklings Forum is an independent, moderated forum provided as a courtesy to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings, including C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, et. al., by Xenite.Org. Please be sure to review our Posting Policy before participating in our forums. This archive is provided as a courtesy of Xenite.Org and in no way implies or imparts any liability or obligation on our part to uphold or maintain the content provided herein. This message and other archived messages from Xenite.Org forums may contain content not necessarily endorsed, reviewed, or approved by Xenite.Org and/or its moderation staff. All opinions expressed in these archives are those of the original posters and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Xenite.Org, its owner or owners, moderators, administrators, and/or other volunteer staff or agents. All content is copyright the original poster unless otherwise noted. This page is copyright © 1997-2001 Michael L. Martinez. All rights reserved. No reproduction, electronic or otherwise, may be made without the express permission of the copyright holders, except as occurs in normal browser caching and search engine indexing. You may print one copy of this page for your personal use.