Tolkien Tuesday: Reading "The Lord of the Rings": The Last Debate"
In the aftermath of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, friends meet and the Captains of the West decide to march against Mordor in order to give Frodo the chance to succeed in his quest.
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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!
Happy Christmas Eve, Omnivorous readers! I thought briefly about writing a special Christmas discussion of Tolkien, but for now, I think I’ll just go through with the normal practice here at Tolkien Tuesday and write about The Lord of the Rings. By this time we’ve now come close to the conclusion of the first part of The Return of the King. In some ways this chapter makes for apposite reading at this time of year, as it reminds us of the importance of doing the right, noble, and brave thing, even (especially) when the future is perilously uncertain and unknown.
Indeed, I’ve always thought there was a strong connection between The Lord of the Rings and Christmas. Father Christmas may not make an appearance like he does in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the spirit of the season suffuses all of Tolkien’s work. After all, the Fellowship does leave Rivendell on December 25!
In any case, we resume our reading of The Return of the King this week with “The Last Debate.” It’s a chapter of meetings, both intimate (that between Merry and Pippin and Legolas and Gimli) and more exalted (the gathering together of those who need to decide what to do in the aftermath of Mordor’s defeat at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields). We learn about what happened after Aragorn and company came to Pelargir, and we also see the extent to which Aragorn and Gandalf remain committed to the success of Frodo’s quest, even though he is now very far from them.
There is grief here, to be sure, as everyone has lost someone. As we’ve seen time and again with The Lord of the Rings, there is never a battle that doesn’t have some consequences and loss, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is no exception. Moreover, this chapter also contains the moment when Legolas speaks of the sea-longing that has now struck him. Having heard the crying of the gulls, he knows that he will never know true peace again so long as he remains in the lands of Middle-earth. This admission is, I think, one of the most haunting in The Lord of the Rings. It’s one of those moments that perfectly captures the melancholy that is such a key feature of the book, particularly where the Elves are concerned, even if Merry does remind him that there are still many who still need him and those like him, in the event that they are able to rebuild Middle-earth after Sauron’s defeat.
“The Last Debate” is yet another of those chapters that remind us of just how skilled Tolkien was when it came to pacing. He had a sense of how to give us as readers time to take our breath and relax for a chapter or two before plunging us once again into the midst of battle and darkness. The doom is still on the horizon, of course, and it manages to sink its tendrils into even a meeting among friends, but there is still reason for hope. And, even if there weren’t, one still has to go on.
This is, indeed, the entire premise of the meeting taking place outside of Minas Tirith, as Aragorn has gathered together those who must decide what will happen in the aftermath of Sauron’s great defeat. Even though they quickly realize that the Dark Lord still has a great deal of strength left to bring against them, and even though they know that going to Mordor will no doubt lead to their demise, they do this because it’s the only thing they can do. They do it because it’s the one thing that is most likely to give Frodo’s effort to destroy the One Ring the greatest possibility of success.
Here, in microcosm, is the Tolkienian worldview. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields–and the Battle of the Hornburg before it–were mighty and titanic conflicts, one that saw tremendous sacrifice and loss of life, yet also much nobility and triumph. And yet, despite the tremendous cost of these battles, they were but the first strike; evil is always poised to bring down the vengeful hammer upon those who have stood in its way. Sauron, after all, is no fool but instead a cunning and shrewd strategist, but he is also proud and incapable of feeling humility or really admitting that he might be defeated. When presented with the gathered might of the West, he won’t be able to resist the chance to destroy those who have already caused him such misery.
This is also another of those moments that reveal just how extraordinarily brave these men have been and remain. It would be easy for Aragorn to decide that the best course of action–for Gondor, if not for Middle-earth as a whole–is simply to withdraw behind the bruised and battered walls of Minas Tirith in the hopes that Frodo will succeed in his quest. If he were someone like Denethor, with his lack of concern for the future, this is exactly what he would do. Yet this is not what Aragorn, Gandalf, and Imrahil do. Instead they take up the burden of leadership and valor. Like the Ents as they march off to Isengard they know that they are very well going off to their doom, particularly since their numbers are so reduced.
These are not just the actions of headstrong fools but instead those of men (and Maia) clear-eyed about what they must do given the nature of their circumstances. Gandalf puts it best when he remarks that “Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” This is wisdom such as only Gandalf the White can pronounce. Given his own transformation as a result of his battle with and death at the hands of the Balrog, he is now able to see far. Yet even Éomer has his own brand of wisdom, though it is the earthier sort associated with the Rohirrim. Just as Aragron helped his folk during the siege of the Hornburg, so he will help the people of Gondor in their hour of need, even though he might give his life in doing so.
“The Last Debate” is, I think, the perfect chapter to read on Christmas Eve. Even if, like me, you celebrate Christmas in a more secular fashion, it’s still empowering to think about the hope that lies ahead for all of us. Moreover, this chapter also shows the extent to which, at this time of year, so many of us are caught between the end of one era and the beginning of another. Just as importantly, this chapter is also a call to all of us to do our part to make sure that, contrary to what Gimli might say, the acts and endeavors of humanity do not become simply might-have-beens. In the end, it’s up to all of us to do what we can to build something of permanence, to craft and bring into being a world that we want to outlast us.