The White Council

Re: The Mouth of Sauron

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: The scene of the negotiations with Sauron's emmisary before the gates of the Morannon is very effective drama, but, on reflection, leaves me wondering. It seems inconsistent on the level of what each side could know about the intentions/actions of its opponents.

: 1. Gandalf does not act like he knows the Mouth of Sauron was running a bluff, he seems to be genuinely horrified, but he HAD to know it was a bluff: had Sauon regained the Ring, Gandalf, as possesor of one of the Three would already be under the dominance of Sauron's will.

: 2. Using his evidence of Frodo's capture as his bargaining chips, the M.O.S. is implying that Frodo's mission is of great importance that the Captains of the West would not want to fail, but what, other than the attempt to destroy the Ring could be all so important. What makes Sauron think that the presumed holder of the Ring would forego his assault on Mordor to gain the release of (to Sauron's thinking) an expendable pawn.

: 3. For Frodo to be as important as the M.O.S. implies, Sauron would have had to conclude just what he was up to, and if so, he'd surely have dropped his battle strategm and concentrated on his hunt for the prisoners that he must know have escaped and haven't been recaptured. (Did that orc-captain who came upon Frodo and Sam on the roadside report his missing captives, or keep his mouth shut so as to save his own skin: in Mordor, I don't doubt wach "officer" would be watched (and potentially) be reported upon by another- the Soviet system of dual command (military and political officers) comes to mind - so I don't think this driver would keep his mouth shut.

: Thus the whole bluff seems to rely on Sauron knowing Aragorn and Gandalf would place great importance on something so as to think it worthwhile to tease his enemies with it, but Sauron not wondering why and taking appropriate steps (it wouldn't take that many troops to patrol Gorgoroth for fugitives). Did he think A. and co. would want Frodo and Sam out of mere sentimentality, not a quality I'd think he'd attribute to a new, ambitious Ringlord.

: Is all of this just evidence of Sauron's disordered thinking?

Gandalf's fondness for halflings was probably legendary. Sauron would never miss a chance to twist the knife.