‘Here we will wait,’ he said. ‘But send not for the
embalmers. Bring us wood quick to burn, and lay it all about us, and beneath;
and pour oil upon it. And when I bid you thrust in a torch. Do this and speak no
more to me. Farewell!’
‘By your leave, lord!’ said Pippin and turned and fled in
terror from the deathly house. ‘Poor Faramir!’ he thought. ‘I must find
Gandalf. Poor Faramir! Quite likely he needs medicine more than tears. Oh, where
can I find Gandalf? In the thick of things, I suppose; and he will have no time
to spare for dying men or madmen.’
At the door he turned to one of the servants who had remained
on guard there. ‘Your master is not himself,’ he said. ‘Go slow! Bring no
fire to this place while Faramir lives! Do nothing until Gandalf comes!’
‘Who is the master of Minas Tirith?’ the man answered.
‘The Lord Denethor or the Grey Wanderer?’
‘The Grey Wanderer or no one, it would seem,’ said Pippin...
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Was cremation used in Gondor? Cremation does have a Slavic
tradition (and Tolkein does pull from this). Christian tradition
recognizes burial (most common), cremation (especially in times of plague)
or burial at sea. And I do know early Hebrew beliefs required that the body to
be buried underground... I've included these interesting articles in
the Catholic Encyclopedia on both Christian
Burial and Cremation
to read if you're interested in history and religious
beliefs.
-
Why does Denethor choose this way out? Is he so
full of despair? Earlier he showed Gandalf
and Pippin his armor and said he was ready to meet Sauron. Could
part of it be he is afraid to meet Sauron face to face? Here's another very interesting
article in the Catholic
Encyclopedia on the church 's stance on suicide. Reading this you'll
see that Frodo's path is positive and indirect; Denethor's negative and
direct. Comments/observations?
-
Denethor is one of Tolkien's most complex characters.
When reviewers criticized LotR for being "simple minded" (Letter
154), Tolkien points to Denethor as one example of its complexity
(Letter 183). Characters in Tolkien are generally good or evil. Do you think
Denethor is a 'grey' character?
-
Didn't Pippin swear to obey Denethor? To quote my husband,
"soldiers must follow orders. It's their duty. It's not up to
them to chose." I argue with him that there are
instances when a soldier must go beyond orders and listen to their
conscience. I wonder how many obey Denethor out of duty, and how many
do it out of fear. Comments/observations?
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To
Reverend:
Alas,
we cry for us today--
A
dearest friend has gone away.
As
we recall his words we read
And
weep for words not to be said--
Remember
what our eyes enclose:
The
lasting imprints of his prose.
The
purest tribute our heart rends
Is
written within minds of friends.
~ CA Jolin
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