I've found this post particularly challenging to write. Not because this chapter isn't interesting or important; quite the opposite. It's because I kept trying to turn it into a comparison of Boromir and Faramir, and there isn't really much to say about that. They're very, very different people. They loved each other dearly, but had almost nothing in common besides their loyalty to their father and Gondor. That's really about all there is to say.
What's really striking about Faramir here isn't how different he is from Boromir - it's how similar he is to Denethor. Every bit as sharp and perceptive, every bit as shrewd in his questions. As Gandalf will point out later, they're both good at seeing into a person's heart, but where Denethor reacts with scorn and contempt, Faramir reacts with kindness and pity. So I'm going to put off most of what I have to say about Faramir as a character until we get to chapter 1 of RotK, “Minas Tirith,” and I can compare the two.
There's another similarity that struck me while reading this chapter: Faramir and Galadriel. Not because they're similar characters - they really are not - but for their role in the story. Both encountered the Ring-bearer in the approach towards the climax of their respective book. Both books paused there for three chapters for the encounter (Lothlórien/The Mirror of Galadriel/Farwell to Lórien and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit/The Window on the West/The Forbidden Pool). Both were quiet, introspective passages dealing with trust and temptation rather than being action packed. Both involved a person with power over Frodo rejecting the lure of the Ring. Both even have a chapter named after a small body of water. It's striking enough that I can't believe I never noticed it before now.
Lastly, I want to talk about Sam. This chapter, and the previous one, more than any others emphasize the master-servant nature of their relationship, which in my experience can be off-putting to Americans especially. Americans have always seen themselves as a classless society, in contrast to the strict class lines of our mother country Great Britain.
(<puts on mod hat> A discussion of the degree to which the perception differs from the reality is beyond the scope of this subreddit. <takes off mod hat>)
(More importantly, it's my reread and I'll cry if I want to I don't feel like dealing with it.)
Anyway. The Frodo/Sam relationship is intended to be an idealized version of the relationship between British Army officers and their batmen (as in soldiers assigned to be manservants or valets, not caped crusaders) that Tolkien saw during World War I. It’s a common trope in literature, as well: the British gentleman and his faithful servant, off sharing hardships and having adventures. Point is, a man of Tolkien's generation would have seen no contradiction whatsoever in two guys sharing genuine love, friendship, respect, and affection while both regarding themselves as unequal - and being ok with that.
Next time, Frodo and Sméagol enjoy a White-Face-lit stroll by the Forbidden Pool.
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