In Boromir's Defense...
This is my essay on Faramir and Boromir! Two of my greatest loves! XD I decided to go out on a limb from the normal and defend (and possibly redeem) Boromir rather than condemn him for being "corrupt" :D
Human nature, a central theme in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, can be studied in great detail in many of the most prominent characters, including Boromir and Faramir, sons of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. At first glance, the two brothers are easily paired and contrasted, often judged to be polar opposites; Boromir is the evil brother who failed, and Faramir is the good brother who prospered. Closer study, on the other hand, can produce a different assessment. Kindred in more ways than solely being brothers, Boromir and Faramir share many likenesses and parallels in their characters, so that they are akin in their traits, such as bravery, kindness, shrewdness, honour and nobility, making them more alike than different. The relationship between the two men’s characters not only leads to their highly intertwined fates, but also to affirm the staying power of some of the highest human virtues: humility, wisdom, and self-mastery.
In a world caught in the middle of war, bravery is a trait much valued and respected in leaders; it is one of the traits seen most often in Boromir and Faramir. When others speak of either of the brothers, the most frequent descriptions are brave, bold, valiant, valourous and other names for courage, but their courage shows in their actions as well. Since the moment Boromir is introduced, his most prominent trait is bravery; the most exalted and respected characters recognize and acknowledge this quality in him: Aragorn (Fellowship of the Ring [I], p. 362), Eomer (The Two Towers [II], p. 35), Gandalf (II, p. 115), Theoden (II, p. 142), Frodo (II, p. 336), and Faramir (III, p. 356). Faramir even says of him, “So even was my brother, Boromir, a man of prowess, and for that he was accounted the best man in Gondor. And very valiant indeed he was: no heir of Minas Tirith has for long years been so hardy in toil, so onward in battle, or blown a mightier note on the Great Horn” (II, p. 356). Boromir demonstrates his bravery countless times in battle, such as when he faces the wolves, which he feared (I, p. 391), when he blows his horn and challenges the Balrog and the Orcs in Khazad-Dum (I, p. 433), and in every other attack upon the Company while he lives. For all his bravery in life, however, Boromir’s bravest moment comes as he’s dying before Aragorn (II, p. 6). Fully realizing and repenting of his error in trying to take the Ring from Frodo and risking the failure of their mission, Boromir confesses his actions to Aragorn, whom he holds in high esteem and honour. He risks Aragorn’s scorn and resentment, as well as all the world-renown respect and honour that he has worked tirelessly to gain in his 40 yrs. For one as proud as Boromir, this is the greatest measure of bravery.
Faramir’s bravery is less obvious, but it is a match for Boromir’s. As Beregond and even Tolkien himself state, Faramir is just as bold as Boromir, but because he is less rash and eager than Boromir, he is perceived as less courageous than his older brother, though this is an inaccurate assessment (Return of the King [III], p. 31, 412). In battle, rather than delegate his men to fight while he safely keeps a distance, as his father does (III, p. 99), Faramir leads his men without question. This is best demonstrated in the battles in Cair Andros against the Haradrim, and on the Pelennor fields, where he knew he was almost certain to meet with death and defeat, but bravely went ahead to try to fulfill Boromir’s role (II, p. 329; III p. 96). When he is struck with an arrow and brought to Denethor by Prince Imrahil, the Prince makes it known that Faramir went down bravely (III, p. 102). Even after Faramir has come out of the nearly-fatal fever and coma that this wound resulted in, and he can no longer show his valor in war, he finds other ways to express it. Similar to Boromir’s case, Faramir’s courage is from the first moment that Faramir begins falling in love with Eowyn in the Houses of Healing, he boldly and courageously tells her of his feelings for her and asks her to wed him, knowing that she has suffered for Aragorn, the most exalted Man in Middle-Earth, and risking himself more grief should she reject him, and as in Boromir’s case, his bravery rewards him (III, 286, 292).
Because of Boromir’s boldness or his disagreements with Gandalf or Aragorn, he can give the impression of antagony or hostility, but in a reversal of roles, Boromir’s kindness can be easily overlooked while Faramir is widely considered kind and gentle; in reality, they are both kind and thoughtful. Boromir best shows kindness and consideration for others while the Fellowship is climbing Caradhras. When Frodo falls asleep in the snow from cold and sheer exhaustion, Boromir is the first to aid him in lifting him out of the snow and bidding Gandalf that they do something to help the hobbits, Frodo in particular. Gandalf has him pass around miruvor, a revitalizing cordial from Rivendell, but Boromir is not entirely appeased. He sees how cold the members of the Fellowship are, and asks Gandalf to allow them a fire to keep them warm (I, p. 380-381). The following day, when the snow on the mountain is too deep for the Fellowship to continue on the path, Boromir offers to help in what way he can. He ends up leading Aragorn and labouring his way the snow, he creates a clear path for the others to follow more easily (I, p. 383). Pippin then despairs that the hobbits will not be able to cross the wind-drift anyway. Boromir puts his mind at ease and assures him that though himself tired, he and Aragorn would carry them past the drift. As he does so, Pippin notices that Boromir is yet working to widen the path and make the journey easier on all those behind him (I, p. 384). As they progress on their journey, Boromir often offers advice to Gandalf or the rest of the Company to make the suffering lighter for them, and later when Pippin first meets Faramir and thinks back on Boromir, he remembers him to have always been kindly (III, p. 88). Even Frodo, having been attacked by Boromir for the Ring in a moment of madness, loved Boromir and remembered him fondly enough to grieve him when Faramir told him of Boromir’s death (II, p. 336). Aside from being proud and self-regarding, Boromir is still, by nature, kind.
Faramir’s kindness is not hard to see, but it is particularly prominent with Frodo, Gollum and Eowyn. After a long day of travel and interrogation by Faramir at the garden of Ithilien, Frodo begins to sway with exhaustion. In a parallel to Boromir’s act of kindness toward Frodo (but with more provisions to offer), Faramir gently lifts and carries Frodo to the bed, where he puts him down and covers him warmly so that he may rest and recuperate well (II, p. 360). The following morning, Faramir asks Frodo about the creature who has trespassed into the pool (Gollum) and asks for a reason to spare the creature’s life, as he’s required by Gondor’s law to kill him without question for the trespass. Against his better judgment, Faramir allows Gollum to defend himself, and though he believes Gollum to have even committed murder in his past, Faramir decides he cannot fairly judge Gollum’s past actions. He can tell that Gollum is presently telling the truth, and because of his naivety and lack of ill intentions, Faramir shows him mercy and obliges Frodo in sparing Gollum (II p. 365-370). When Frodo leaves with Sam and Gollum the next day, Faramir aids him further. He arranges for provision to sustain the hobbits on their journey, warns them of what water is and is not safe to drink, gives them staves as gifts to ease their walk towards Mordor, and affectionately sees them off (II p. 376-378). Faramir’s kindness is not limited to Frodo, however. Later, when Faramir is in the Houses of Healing and first meets Eowyn, he notices her sadness and her broken arm and is moved to help her in any way that he can, and Eowyn can readily see the tenderness in his eyes from the start. He sends for the beautiful blue robe that belonged to his late mother and wraps it around her for warmth, thinking of it as fitting for her beauty and sorrow. As time progresses, Faramir showers Eowyn with kindness, respect and consideration for her sorrows, and with tender affection, as he tries to comfort her. It is enough that Eowyn’s sorrow heals and she falls in love with Faramir (III p. 284-293). Had Boromir lived longer he could have demonstrated more considerate acts, but even so, he and Faramir share a deep kindness that others see and value in them.
In times of war, keen perception and a sense of the practical, or shrewdness, are vital. Although they show it in different ways, Boromir and Faramir both practice shrewdness, sometimes to the point of skepticism, Boromir more so than his brother. In Rivendell, when Gandalf voices doubt regarding Rohan’s loyalties and states that evil was already at work in Rohan, Boromir quickly rose to Rohan’s defense and called the true and valiant (I p. 344). It is only later when Boromir has died that Aragorn admits that he agreed with Boromir’s assessment, and later still when they ally with Rohan in the war against Sauron that Boromir is proven right (II p. 28, 35). When passing over Caradhras, Gandalf and Aragorn wonder at the unexpected heavy snow in their way and the Fellowship feels as though they are being deliberately attacked by the stones and the snowstorm, but Boromir offers, “I wonder if this is a contrivance of the Enemy…. They say in my land that he can govern the storms in the Mountains of Shadow that stand upon the borders of Mordor. He has strange power and many allies” (I p. 378). Gimli voices doubt over this possibility, but Gandalf interjects, supporting Boromir’s suggestion. Boromir once again hits on a truth that the others do not entirely realize after the Fellowship’s encounter with Galadriel, “Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose; but almost I should have said she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give” (I p. 470). However, here Boromir goes too far and is skeptical of Galadriel’s intentions, earning a rebuke from Aragorn (I p. 470). His skepticism also shows when he resists believing that the Ring presented in Rivendell is Isildur’s Bane, that Aragorn truly is the heir of Isildur, and that Sauron was once not evil, but good (I p. 324, 326, 350). Boromir practices shrewdness and practicality, but is capable of taking good, fair judgment to the extreme of misguided skepticism.
Faramir, while rarely accepting claims or appearances as truth without evidence, is less apt to rash judgment than Boromir is, and shows less skepticism; however, it is the same trait of shrewdness. Faramir even says to Frodo and Sam the day that they meet, “I will leave two to guard you, for your good and for mine. Wise man trusts not to chance-meeting on the road in this land” (II p. 329). Later in the day, Faramir prepares to interrogate Frodo, and Frodo notes, “He could see Faramir’s face, which was now unmasked; it was stern and commanding, and a keen wit lay behind his searching glance. Doubt was in the grey eyes that gazed steadily at Frodo…. Plainly he saw that Frodo was concealing from him some matter of great importance” (II p. 334). It is apparent from the first that Faramir is very perceptive and can easily detect a lie. He is a better judge of character than his brother, eventually trusting Frodo, guessing that Gollum had murdered in his past, that Boromir’s conflict with Frodo was due to Isildur’s Bane, and that the conflict in the Fellowship was indeed entirely due to Boromir’s temptation of the Ring (which he comes close to discovering the nature of before Sam lets the secret slip). One could even liken Faramir’s keen perception, especially of other people, to Denethor’s, widely-known to be exceptional. However, like Boromir misjudges, sometimes the most important correct character judgments escape Denethor (like those of Gandalf, Galadriel, Saruman, Frodo), as well. Both Boromir and Faramir show an inheritance of this trait, but they show it more strongly in different ways.
Often accompanying kindness is honourableness or nobility, of which loyalty is a part of. Faramir is often considered to be noble, but despite Boromir’s folly in trying to take the Ring, he is as honourable as his younger brother, or very near to it. In spite of Boromir’s treachery and Faramir’s resistance of the Ring, key moments in the Lord of the Rings, loyalty may paradoxically be the trait that best ties Boromir and Faramir. The difference between them may lie solely in the ways in which each of the men shows his loyalty, and to whom or what each is loyal. Faramir’s nobility, honour and loyalty are apparent. Beregond describes him as wise, resolute, learned in lore and song, and a man of hardihood and swift judgment (III p. 31). Pippin believes him to be “of high nobility such as Aragorn at times revealed, less high perhaps, yet also less incalculable and remote: one of the Kings of Men born into a later time, but touched with the wisdom and sadness of the Elder race” (IIIp. 88). Sam, though less articulately than Pippin but as wholeheartedly, likens him to Gandalf instead (II p. 360). Both comparisons are high praise, as is Beregond’s faith in Faramir’s ability to be a noble, honourable, resolute and competent captain while being wise, learned in lore and song, steadfast and of keen wit (III p. 31). We do not only hear of Faramir’s nobleness second hand, however, but see it in his acts. One of Faramir’s defining moments is when he is tempted by the Ring, but manages to master himself. Parallel to Boromir’s reaction, once Faramir discovers the nature of Isildur’s Bane and is presented with the opportunity to take it for himself, his eyes glint, he smiles strangely, and he stands tall before Frodo. He overcomes his temptation and says to Frodo,
Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them. But I am not such a man. Or I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee…. I do not wish to see it, or touch it, or know more of it than I know (which is enough), lest peril perchance waylay me and I fall lower in the test than Frodo son of Drogo (II p. 358-359).
Not only does Faramir show self-mastery be refusing the Ring, he shows wisdom in admitting that while his intentions are pure and noble, he is human and therefore capable of erring and giving in to temptation. He is not immune to sore trials, as Boromir thought himself to be, but is able to quietly overcome his fears and anguish (III p. 88), an honourable trait.
Boromir, though failing the test that Faramir passed, is honourable in other ways. Before setting out from Rivendell, for example, Boromir proudly blows his war-horn. Elrond reprimands him for blowing it in Rivendell and when he is not in dire need. Boromir, unphased, responds, “But always I have let my horn cry at setting forth, and though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night” (I pp. 366-67), showing admirable honesty and noble intention. Boromir is the High Warden of the White Tower and the Captain-General of Gondor, but titles alone mean nothing - it is Eomer’s and Faramir’s assertions that Boromir s a worthy man, the most beloved man of Gondor, and a great captain of his people (II pp. 35, 328) that let us know that his titles were hard-earned. Even after Boromir’s attack on him, Frodo still calls Boromir a high, honourable man. Even when Sam knows that Boromir has somehow frightened Frodo enough to make him put on the Ring, as protective as Sam is, he knows that Boromir is still honest, whatever else he may be (I p. 532-33), which is honourable in itself. Even so, Boromir’s one of Boromir’s most noble acts comes when he gives his own life to save those of Pippin and Merry. Pippin remembers him bravely fighting the entire first army of Orcs by himself and those he didn’t kill, fled. It wasn’t until the second army of over one hundred Orcs attacked Boromir alone, that he met with defeat and died, defending his friends (II pp. 6, 46-47). As he’s dying, Boromir blames himself and his attack on Frodo for his own death, feeling he deserved it. It would be easy to think so. However, Aragorn brings to light that although tempted by the Ring, Boromir has conquered and gained a great victory, which does not agree with what seems to have happened. Reviewing the events leading to his death, however, one can see that Aragorn may be right. Boromir, sorely tempted by the Ring, gives in and attempts to take the Ring from Frodo. His desire is great, and there is no doubt that had Boromir taken it, he would have become corrupt and led the Ring back to Sauron, if he did not himself become a great dark lord; therefore, it really is in the best interest of the Ring to betray Frodo and pass itself onto Boromir, and the magnitude of Boromir’s desire attests for the Ring bending its will to him. Instead, Frodo, out of the (perhaps unconscious) desire to keep the Ring and his fear of Boromir, puts on the Ring and prepares to escape. Suddenly, Boromir trips and jolts himself back to his senses, realizing his folly, but Frodo can no longer hear his repentance (I pp. 522-25). In other words, it is possible to conclude that Boromir himself overcame his burning desire to take the Ring, and having been the one to come closest to completing the act, his may be the greatest conquest, an honourable feat. Aragorn recognized this.
If both Boromir and Faramir are brave, kind, shrewd, and noble, what led to the difference in their fates? The answer is tied in with their loyalties. No one would argue that Boromir is fiercely loyal to Gondor, always quick to its defense from any who might speak ill of his homeland or his people. His dying wish is not even his own redemption, but the redemption and victory of his beloved home, Minas Tirith (II p. 6). It is a great love of his home that drives Boromir to desire the Ring in the first place, in order to save that and those he loves most. But for all that he loves Gondor and the Ancient Houses of Numenor, the trait that Boromir lacks, that his brother does not, is wisdom. Boromir cannot see that in order to save Minas Tirith, the entire of Middle-Earth must first be saved, and that that could come only by destroying the One Ring and not using it. Instead he believes that “True-hearted Men, they will not be corrupted” (I p. 523). Boromir’s greatest mistake was in his judgment that he, or anyone, could save Minas Tirith while Sauron lived; his pride blinds him. Faramir too, is loyal to Gondor and to the Ancient Houses of Numenor, as he demonstrates when he says, “I love only that which [wars] defend: the city of the Men of Numenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom. Not feared, save as men may fear the dignity of a man, old and wise” (II p. 346), and in his daily silent tribute to Numenor before mealtimes (II p. 352). Nevertheless, unlike his brother, he can be deeply loyal to his home while still being humble and wise. Nearly all those who speak of him, save his father, recognize that he is “touched by the wisdom and sadness of the Elder Race” (III p. 88) and treasure this quality in him. Though he lacked the trait himself, even Boromir sees the worth in wisdom. When he is tempted to take the Ring, he voices aloud that what he most greatly desires is to cast down Mordor and be a king that is both benevolent and wise, both traits that Faramir possesses. Even while Faramir yearns for his father’s approval and wishes he could please him in his actions, he still more often follows his own wisdom and does as he chooses (III pp. 90-2). Boromir may have never fully realized it through his pride, but on some level he recognizes that it is more desirable to be like his brother Faramir. Gandalf attests to this: “By some chance the blood of Westernesses runs nearly true in [Denethor]; as it does in his other son, Faramir, and yet did not in Boromir whom he loved best” (III p. 21). From this, we know that Faramir too is farsighted and can perceive men’s hearts and minds when he desires it, despite great distances, and so it is hopeless to try to deceive him. Though in most other things Boromir and Faramir are akin, Boromir did not have these traits. From this stems the difference in their fates.
Mablung speaks wisely when he says to Frodo, “[Faramir] leads now in all perilous ventures. But his life is charmed, or fate spares him for some other end” (II p. 330). Boromir and Faramir share the dream that summoned them to the Council of Elrond in Rivendell, and it seems that Faramir is the one whom dreams urge to go; if this were so, however, Boromir would not have shared in the dream, and Faramir would have joined the Fellowship instead. Boromir’s moment of temptation seems to be what ultimately caused his death, but had he not attacked Frodo, Frodo would not have been able to be clear in his mind on the correctly chosen path, and he would have taken the Ring into Denethor’s realm, which would have surely ended in the failure of his entire mission. Frodo explicitly thanks Boromir for this (I p. 524). It had to be that Boromir went in Faramir’s stead, for if Boromir had not gone and the party had not broken up, he could not have rescued Pippin and Merry, Pippin would not have felt the deep love and gratitude for Boromir that caused him to give his service to Denethor and allowed him to be witness to his madness. Pippin could not have warned Gandalf of Faramir’s peril in time, and Faramir would have died prematurely, never marrying Eowyn and continuing his noble bloodline; the last heir of the Steward would have died. In fact, Denethor predicted that Faramir would die, due to his gentleness, which Denethor believed to be foolish (III p. 91). Instead, Faramir lived, and in him continued not only all the qualities that he shared with Boromir and which made them akin in more ways than just brothers, but also the high qualities adored and praised in the Ancient Men of Numenor. As in life and in youth, Boromir, who chose to take no wife but instead take glory mostly in battle, was his brother’s protector and helper (III p. 412), in his death, Boromir protected and helped Faramir still, helping ensure that Faramir, in accordance with his fate, lived. It was the kinship between the two brothers, in blood and in character, and their fates that ensured the continuity of the noble traits adored in the Ancient Houses of Numenor that Boromir and Faramir loved: humility, self-mastery and wisdom.