Sauron Supreme: Analyzing Middle-Earth's Rogues Gallery with Tolkien's Conception of Evil

We are following
The will of the one
Through the dark age
And into the storm 

- "Into the Storm" by Blind Guardian

In our discussion on the Ring and Sauron this week, we came upon this idea of evil being the domination of the free will of others. And this works extremely well with both the lore of Middle-Earth, but also Christian beliefs. And ultimately, this gives us Sauron as the great villain of Middle-Earth, because he is the personification of this idea of evil.

To start, consider Saruman. He, believing himself wise (as even Gandalf calls him!), wants to control the world. He says to Gandalf,

The time of the Elves is over, but our time is at hand: the world of Men, which we must rule. But we must have power, power to order all things as we will, for that good which only the Wise can see... and the Wise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct its courses, to control it. (The Lord of the Rings, 259).

His goal, should he obtain the Ring, is to order the world according to "Knowledge, Rule, Order" (The Lord of the Rings, 259). But, even if this was good-intentioned, there is still the lust for power and for dominating the will of others. Therefore, in this conception, Saruman is very clearly evil.

His methods are just as important as his intentions. Saruman speaks in this very political, doublethink fashion. He tries to trick Gandalf and manages to trick Radagast, and all the while playing both sides with Sauron. Should Saruman obtain the Ring, there would undoubtedly be a more forceful domination, but without it, Saruman relies on his sly tongue in order to dominate the will of others. He uses propaganda.

And this perfectly parallels Christian belief. When the serpent convinced Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, he does not force her. He tricks her into doing his bidding, convincing her not only that it is a good idea, but that she wants to do it. He dominates her will in the most powerful way possible: convincing her it is her own. Paralleling this, Eve then convinces Adam to do the same, dominating him with her will (although it is really the serpent's will). Just as Frodo fails, choosing evil because his will is so thoroughly dominated, so Man falls.

The other major force of evil in Middle-Earth (besides the obvious conclusion) is Morgoth. And, admittedly, Morgoth struggles to fit into this as neatly. In contrast with Saruman and Sauron, Morgoth is a very reactive character; he introduces dissonance, knocks over the lamps, destroys the trees, steals the Silmarils. He does not seem to want to dominate the wills over the other Ainur or Ilúvatar; rather, he wants to dominate their creations, namely in stealing or destroying them. As I noted in a blog comment, I think this stems from the initial rejection of Melkor's creation, and that leads to a bitterness such that he wants to destroy other's creations. Therefore, I struggle to see how he fits in with this idea of evil, considering he is undoubtedly evil by the end.

But at the same time, though not written by Tolkien, Blind Guardian's incredible "Into the Storm" has the exact same ideas. "We are following / The will of the one" has a very subtle, yet important word choice. It is not just following someone, like a great leader or exemplary figure; it is following the will, letting your will be dominated by someone else. And the song is very clearly about Morgoth, with the lyrics "The Silmarils / Gems of treelight / Their life belongs to me." Thus, there is absolutely something with Morgoth about dominating wills, but the question becomes what. This is something that I am unsure on but would like to discuss further.

Now, we come to the big bad to end them all: Sauron. What makes Sauron special, in this conception of evil and against the other rogues of Middle-Earth, is that he is the most pure, distilled form of domination over free will, specifically because of his ultimate goal and how he attacks it from all possible angles. 

In Akallabêth, Sauron is described as doing essentially the exact same things that Saruman attempts to do with the Númenóreans—and it works. Númenor is drowned while Sauron laughs, even as his fair form is destroyed. Sauron, at least for a period of time, was capable of acting in this sly form, tricking and deceiving in order to dominate the will of others.

But we also see him act with open intention, as is stated during the council of Elrond: "'The time of my thought is my own to spend,' answered Daín. 'For the present,' said [Sauron's messenger], and rode into the darkness" (The Lord of the Rings, 241). The intentions of the Nazgûl are similarly open:

In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him… The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light. (The Lord the Rings, 196)

They are, in appearance, unquestionably evil, and their following actions reflect this. Sauron is capable of both honesty and deception in the pursuit of his domination. He can openly tell you "I will soon be controlling your thoughts," but he can also weasel his way to become a great advisor and lead to the downfall of a once-great city.

And this is the strength of the Rings as well. Through the Rings given to the Nine, Sauron creates the Nazgûl, his most powerful servants that are completely enslaved to him, with no will of their own. Likewise, through the One Ring and its propagandistic powers, Sauron is able to spread his control far and wide and is able to exert his will over others. This domination is so powerful that, "Of ‘mortals’ no one, not even Aragorn" could resist the Ring at the Cracks of Doom (Letters, #246). And when Frodo fails, it is not just that he is unable to throw the Ring in, but that he says he chooses not to. The Ring controls him to the extent that its will is unrecognizable from his own. Thus, the Ring, as a separate entity, is just as much a part of Sauron's desire to completely dominate the will of all as his own personal actions are.

To tie all this together, through the various villains of Middle-Earth (including those I have not discussed), Tolkien helps to cultivate this idea of evil as dominating free will. Some are clearer than others (Saruman versus Morgoth), but this conception is clear and works extremely well with Christian faith, specifically the Fall. This allows Tolkien to craft Sauron as the ultimate form and personification of evil, a being whose sole goal and purpose is to dominate the wills of others in any and every possible way. He is the Joker to Middle-Earth's Batman. He is the ultimate villain because he is evil incarnate.

-CVB