Tolkien Tuesday: Reading "The Lord of the Rings": The Black Gate Opens"
The Captains of the West ride out to challenge Sauron and, in the process, encounter the strange, terrifying, and enigmatic figure of the Mouth of Sauron.
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Welcome to Tolkien Tuesdays, where I talk about various things that I love about the lore and writings of Tolkien, whether in a chapter reading or a character study or an essay. I hope you enjoy reading these ruminations as much as I enjoy writing them and, if you have a moment, I’d love it if you’d subscribe to this newsletter. It’s free, but there are paid options, as well, if you’re of a mind to support a struggling writer. Either way, thank you for joining me!
Well, gang, we’ve made it to the end of the first book of The Return of the King. The Captains of the West, having decided that their move should be to draw out Sauron by launching an all-out assault on Mordor, arrive at the Black Gate. There, they are confronted by none other than the Mouth of Sauron, the most important of the Dark Lord’s many servants. As the chapter draws to a close they are all poised on the very precipice of ultimate defeat, not knowing whether Frodo and Sam have fallen into the hands of Sauron or whether they are still trying to make their way to Mount Doom.
This chapter is a masterclass in creating an atmosphere. As Aragorn, Gandalf, and the others make their way toward Mordor they encounter nothing but silence from their enemies except, most notably, for a small company of Orcs that are easily vanquished. Whether it’s in the ruined city of Osgiliath or in the Morgul Vale, we feel along with the characters as they draw ever closer to what they know could very well be their doom, encountering along the way all of the ruin and damage that Sauron has managed to inflict on the landscape. Who could forget, for example, “the noisome pits” and “the first of the great heaps and hills of slag and broken rock and blasted earth, the vomit of the maggot-folk of Mordor?” Tolkien was remarkably skilled when it came to describing the beauty of nature, but he was just as deft in his depiction of the horrors of industrialization and warfare.
For my money, though, the most fascinating thing about this chapter is the appearance of one of the most terrifying–yet enigmatic–figures in The Lord of the Rings: the Mouth of Sauron. As so often in Tolkien, we only get the briefest of glimpses into this character and his background. We learn, for example, that he was of the group known as the Black Numenoreans, but we don’t really know much about them other than what we can glean from the hints here and in the Appendices.
Ever since I first read The Lord of the Rings I’ve had many questions about this figure. Exactly how long has he been in the service of the Dark Tower? What was his relationship, if any, with the Witch-king of Angmar (were they allies in their servitude to Sauron, or were they opponents or rivals?) Just how long has he been working as the Lieutenant of Barad-dûr? Beyond a few lines of description, though we don’t get much more insight. In other words, Tolkien excels at making us hungry where most he seems to satisfy. Our yearning for more knowledge of this particular character is always doomed to be unfulfilled, perhaps because Tolkien himself had yet to figure out just who he was and what his relationship might have been with his master’s other servants. I know I’ve said this before here at Omnivorous, but Tolkien was really quite brilliant in his ability to give us villains we want to see more of, even as we marvel at their cruelty.
This encounter with the Mouth of Sauron is also another of those moments where Tolkien’s brilliant use of interlacement is most evident and effective, particularly since Sauron’s emissary claims that Frodo has been captured and tortured. As readers we like to think that Frodo has somehow managed to survive but, the last we saw him, he’d been captured by the Orcs of Cirith Ungol, leaving Sam behind to take up custody of the RIng. For all we know (assuming we haven’t read the book before), the Mouth might actually be speaking the truth. We can only hope that this is just another trick by the Enemy to lead those in the West down the treacherous road to despair.
“The Black Gate Opens” also finally offers Pippin an opportunity to have some time on the battlefield, something that he has heretofore been denied thanks to serving Denethor. Yes, he was the one responsible for making sure that Faramir wasn’t murdered by his father, but it’s hard not to feel that he should also get some time showing his martial prowess, particularly Merry proved to be so invaluable when it came to bringing down the Witch-king of Angmar. There’s also something touching about the fact that Pippin strikes a blow against a Troll in defense of his dear friend Beregond. These two have forged quite a remarkable bond during their time serving in Minas Tirith, so it’s only fitting that he would come to the rescue of this important person in his life, even if doing so seems to come at the ultimate cost.
And so the chapter ends with a note of ambiguity, one that won’t get resolved for some time. As the eagles swoop down out of the skies to save our beleaguered heroes, Pippin ends up being crushed beneath a troll. Will he survive this unfortunate happening, or will be one of those whose lives have been spent bringing about the destruction of the One Ring and the final defeat of Sauron?
On one hand, the arrival of eagles just in the nick of time might seem a bit too convenient, especially considering how consistently these giant birds have shown up to save various characters before (most notably Gandalf, but also Bilbo and the Dwarves in The Hobbit). On the other hand, it also seems fitting, since this fateful meeting at the Black Gate involves all of the Free peoples of Middle-earth, all of whom have gathered to make one last assault against the Dark Lord whose rise endangers all of them. And, when it comes down to it, giant eagles are just very cool.
And so we come to the end of one stage of The Return of the King and stand poised on the threshold of the next. After all, we don’t yet know what has happened to Frodo, whether the Mouth of Sauron was speaking the truth or whether he was merely trying to trick and cruelly taunt Aragorn, Gandalf, and the others?
Join me next week as I take the plunge into the last part of The Lord of the Rings, in all of its triumph and tragedy.