Sauron and Aragorn: Mirror Image?

 The notion of Aragorn and Sauron as mirroring each other in certain ways comes as natural. They are both lords of realms (lordships which they both earned rather than inherited; or perhaps both in the case of Aragorn) which they govern in different, or really opposite, ways. The realms they govern literally face each other, with one being depicted with soaring and graceful architecture hewn into beautiful mountains and the other as a kind of hellish monstrosity, forced upon the ugly mountains it dwells in. Aragorn and Sauron also both face the temptation of power, in several forms, and react in basically opposite ways, with Aragorn showing restraint and Sauron being consumed. However, on top of these ways in which they mirror each other, another way is that both Sauron and Aragorn desire immortality, but express this desire in, following the theme up to this point, opposite ways. Ultimately, as we will see, their desires, while similar on the surface, are at base reflective of entirely different attitudes, one motivated by love and the other by fear.

Sauron’s desire for immortality is essentially the central obstacle in The Lord of the Rings. It is that desire which forces the Fellowship to embark upon their fateful journey. When Gandalf tells Frodo about Sauron, he explains that the Dark Lord desires the Ring because “if he recovers it, then he will command them all again, wherever they be, even the Three, and all that has been wrought with them will be laid bare, and he will be stronger than ever” (LOTR, Shadow of the Past). In other words, Sauron would gain God-like powers, with the ability to command not only all of the ring-bearers but also all of Middle-Earth as well. Furthermore, note that Sauron will be able to command ‘even the Three’ - knowing Tolkien’s Christianity, it does not take a massive leap of faith (if you’ll pardon the expression) to wager that ‘the Three’ here is a reference to the Trinity, and that Gandalf is essentially saying that Sauron will gain the ability to dominate even God, which presumably would go alongside immortality. Sauron’s obsessive desire to control and possess the world and its inhabitants, while not explicitly stated in Tolkien’s work, can easily be interpreted as a fearful reaction to the prospect of destruction and loss. Also, of course, Sauron desires to safeguard the Ring in order to protect his own life, but I find this aspect of his ‘desire for immortality’ less interesting and relevant, as this is more reflective of an immediate reaction to save his own life and less demonstrative of a more profound desire for immortality.

Aragorn’s desire for immortality is not as often recognized, but is present just as it is with Sauron. A central aspect of Aragorn’s story is his love for Arwen, who, while not being immortal, has a life vastly longer than any human. Aragorn’s choosing of Arwen over Eowyn, a human woman and therefore of the same race as Aragorn, symbolizes his repudiation of his own nature and his desire to claim more and longer life. Aragorn’s choice of Arwen over Eowyn is all the more significant considering his kingship over the most important realm of Men in Middle-Earth; he makes a (practically, if not literally) immortal being his fellow-ruler over Men.

So, having established that both Sauron and Aragorn desire immortality, how do their desires mirror and oppose each other? Well, we will have to be more specific about what exactly each character desires. While I have used the general term immortality, each actually wants something that is extremely similar to, but not exactly, in accordance with that term. Sauron desires power so great, his influence will be known for all time. He will live on through his power and strength. Aragorn, on the other hand, desires marriage with an elf who will long outlive him and with whom he will have many children. He will live on through his progeny. Sauron wants to control and destroy the forces of nature and fate that would dictate his annihilation. Aragorn desires to co-exist with and respect those forces. This coexistence and mutual respect is highlighted by Arwen’s choice to remain with Aragorn, knowing well the inevitable tragedy that will result due to the difference in their lifespans. Another way of formulating the difference between Aragorn and Sauron is that Sauron is motivated by fear and Aragorn is motivated by love. Here it may be appropriate to quote from the Scriptures, specifically 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” I think we can assume, or at least safely guess, that Tolkien was inspired by these words in developing Sauron and Aragorn (and the story at large).

I think this tension between fear and love is one of the central elements of Tolkien’s stories. In the Lord of the Rings that tension is expressed often and clearly through different characters. However, I think Aragorn and Sauron mirror each other most clearly in this respect. In fact, given this mirroring, I think Aragorn is a strong candidate for protagonist of the whole story, especially since Frodo falls somewhere between Aragorn and Sauron on the fear/love dichotomy (he carries on through tremendous obstacles out of love for the Shire but fails in the end due to the fear of loss). Besides Aragorn, only Sam remains as a character who clearly and unambiguously chooses love over fear. 

-LM