Sam, when things are in danger:
some one has to give them up, lose them,
so that others may keep them.
MUSIC: Extra Sci Fi intro.
Sacrifice and redemption.
As the story of Lord of the Rings draws to a close,
it's these two themes that loom the largest.
And as events become their darkest,
it's these things that give us hope.
Over and over in the final book; Tolkien presents us with these themes:
from the Dead Men of Dunharrow's final battle,
to Theoden's last charge,
or Gollum's fall.
We see those who have faltered,
who have failed in some way,
be redeemed through their actions.
Each of these sacrifices,
and the others that occur in this book,
are subtly different though.
They each teach us different things.
But, before we can talk about them;
It's impossible to address this part of the book without addressing Tolkien's Catholicism.
This theme of sacrifice and redemption, about penance and forgiveness,
comes right out of Tolkien's Catholic background.
His views here, and what he wants to express,
are clearly reflective of his lifelong beliefs.
He's going to give us a view that sacrifice IS the road to redemption.
That forgiveness comes not merely
from the awareness, acceptance, or contrition of one's transgressions:
but through some act of atonement to pay their price.
In this though, he adopts the moral heart of his religious beliefs,
without, as C.S. Lewis did,
also bringing in specific spiritual, or scriptural elements of his faith,
allowing him to examine it from a number of angles, and think about it in different ways.
First up, is the Dead Men of Dunharrow:
the ancient kingdom that foreswore their oath to defend Gondor.
And so were cursed by Isuldur to walk the undeath,
until one of his descendants called upon them to fulfill their oath.
Aragorn summons them to do exactly that:
fulfill the oath to aid the Gondorean Kings,
that they had so long ago forsaken.
And upon doing so, they are freed from their curse, and leave the world.
This represents the first form of repentance in the book:
Atoning through the undoing of your transgression.
Here, the Dead Men of Dunharrow have a specific crime they have committed:
the breaking of an oath.
Every once in a while though,
we get a chance to reverse something bad we've done:
put back something we've stolen,
or tell someone a truth we have previously avoided telling them.
And here, the Dead Men get that second chance to uphold their oath.
Tolkien is offering a view on redemption
that says that we're all weak at times.
But if we can be strong enough to overcome our weakness,
and set right what we've made wrong:
redemption is available.
Though, in the case of the Dead Men,
It comes with the penance of wandering as the unliving for several hundred years,
but meh, beggars can't be choosers(!)
Plus that's pretty metal!
Sorry! Getting back on track!
Then there's Theoden, Lord of the Rohirrim.
Theoden's crimes can't be as easily undone,
because there's no single deed he must repent for.
Rather, it was the abandoning of his duty,
and being influenced by liars and sycophants,
that did so much harm to his people.
So here instead he must answer in kind.
He must show bravery, where he showed cowardice.
Show leadership, where he showed dereliction.
Show vigor, where he once showed sloth.
And he must do it when he knows the price for doing so may be great.
At last, when he gives his life in service of all the things he once abandoned,
he is redeemed.
He will not be known as Theoden the coward,
but as Theoden Ednew, the renewed.
And his legend will be of one who stood against the Witch-king.
And it's here we get the second form of redemption in the book:
Living a new path.
Even though his trespasses can never be undone,
Theoden is redeemed by honestly turning his life around.
By living all the positive qualities he had previously held the inverse of,
and he has to hold on to those qualities, not when they cost him nothing,
but when they might cost him everything,
and if he can do that, his redemption can be complete.
And then there's Gollum.
We all know his crimes are legion, including, but not limited to murder.
But: he's also an addict,
who can't control the effect his addiction has on him.
We see him throughout the book want to be a better person,
but is simply unable to win that fight for very long.
And here is where we might be able to see the third type of redemption:
the redemption through a single all-important act.
In the very beginning of Lord of the Rings, Gandalf tells Frodo:
"My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it,
for good or evil, before this is over.
The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."
And this is telling:
it's a double admonishment.
Telling us not to dismiss the importance of those we might see as the least of people.
And recommending pity for those who can't escape their own sin.
And this last part is important!
Because the fact that Gollum seems to want to be better,
is essential in Tolkien's scheme.
Even though Gollum doesn't really change,
by making things right, or doing good acts.
He can be redeemed because of two factors:
1. He wants to be better than he is.
2. At the single most important moment,
he does what some might consider: right?
Now hold on comment section!
I know that second point is arguable:
because sure, he bites off Frodo's finger,
but I've never really been able to read that last act as entirely intentional.
Otherwise, it takes too much away from the book.
So if you take into account:
all of the ways in which we're made to see Gollum as "trying to be good",
as a set up for the end.
As Frodo is wavering,
about to be overcome by the same thing that has corrupted Gollum,
Gollum, very much in character, intervenes.
And, albeit perhaps unintentionally:
sacrifices himself, to do what even Frodo could not.
Here I feel Tolkien is saying:
that wanting to be better, coupled with one great sacrifice,
at a moment when it's most important, to help those around you,
can bring at least, a sort of redemption.
And lastly:
we have Aragorn leading an attack on the Black Gate,
to distract Sauron, so that the hobbits might have a chance
Despite the fact that he doesn't even know if the hobbits are still alive.
In this book, this attack is framed as hopeless:
near certain death for all involved,
and yet, a whole army goes:
To give the slightest chance to people they've never met,
so that people they'll never meet have a chance at a better life.
Like Gandalf's sacrifice; this is sacrifice for the redemption of others.
it embodies the very theological idea;
that through self-sacrifice: the world itself is able to be redeemed.
And though this is speculation, I think it's also Tolkien's hope.
He lived through a very dark time in human history,
and I think in writing this, he wanted to see a way out.
A way back.
He wanted to see redemption as something possible,
and something to strive for.
He wanted to show us that even in the darkest of times;
there's hope.
Even for those of us, who at times, have given in to despair, or the darkness.
There's redemption if we can reject that darkness entirely,
and turn to fight against it.
After all, as Gandalf says when the book comes to a close:
"My time is over:
it is no longer my task to set things to rights,
nor to help folk to do so.
And as for you, my dear friends,
you will need no help.
You are grown up now.
Grown indeed very high;
among the great you are,
and I have no longer any fear at all
for any of you."
Let's hope he means us too.
MUSIC: Extra Sci Fi outro.