Death and Decline

The passage of time is a defining characteristic of Tolkien’s Legendarium. As Arda grows older, a sense of diminishment is ever-present. From the destruction of Beleriand to the disappearance of the bloodlines of Numenor and the bending of the world, time brings a great sense of loss as the world changes. Knowing about Tolkien's recurring dream of a civilization-ending deluge, we can better understand the world that Tolkien has crafted in The Third Age as one existing in the remnants of a more noble and elegant past. The characters of the tales we love exist within their shadow. We notice its length through their perspective, whether it be the Fellowship of the Ring traveling through the long-deserted Kingdoms of Eregion (Hollin), Thorin’s Company observing the gloomy ruins of Arnor, or the bloodlines of Numenor dissipating within Gondor.  

If we were made to choose the race in Middle-earth that has the best grasp of the passage of time, we would undoubtedly pick the Elves. Their immortal nature allowed them to experience most of history, from their awakening under the stars to the end of the Third Age. However, their inability to accept the natural passage of time and their attempt to cling to it led to the creation of The Rings of Power, one of their greatest transgressions. Sauron plays on their desire to prevent the diminishment of their respective kingdoms, helping them craft rings that manipulate the flow of time within them.

A final chance at permanence is presented to Galadriel when Frodo offers her The One Ring. This gives her an opportunity to stop the oncoming decay of Lothlórien, as Frodo will either destroy the power of her current ring or, in failure, bring it under the control of Sauron. Ultimately, she forgoes her attachment to Middle-earth and accepts the inevitability of diminishment, “passing” her test and choosing to go into The West. Surrendering a chance at the ultimate power in a way redeems the earlier mistake of the Elves. Galadriel's decision represents the Elves' now fully putting their faith in the doom of the world and rejecting the opportunity to exert undue influence beyond their mandate, acknowledging that their time in Middle-Earth must come to an end and entrusting the fate of the world to men.  

Within the hearts of men, specifically Faramir and Boromir, we find a similar conflict to that faced by Galadriel and the Elves, as their reactions to dreams and the presence of The One Ring represent the dichotomy of choosing to remain faithful or falling short in the face of hopelessness. Boromir, influenced by his dream about Isildur's Bane, attempts to snatch The Ring from Frodo and use it as a weapon in hopes of saving Minas Tirith. In contrast, Faramir, who had the same dream, famously says he would not take it up even if  “Minas Tirith [was] falling in ruin and [he] alone could save her,” preferring to leave it “by the highway,” fearing it would turn him into a ruthless warlord, albeit a victorious one (Book IV, Ch, 5). His restraint allows Frodo and Sam to continue on their journey, resulting in the destruction of The Ring.

Faramir's temperance may be explained by another of his visions, the famous great wave over Numenor inherited from J.R.R. Tolkien himself and the characters from The Lost Road. When asked by Eowyn whether he fears an oncoming “Unescapable Darkness” similar to that which overtook Numenor in his dreams, Faramir responds that, despite reason telling him the end of days are near, he feels undeniable hope and joy in his heart, and that darkness will not endure (Book VI, Ch, 5). Faramir has put his belief in an ultimate resolution despite all that seems to be lost or deteriorated around him, refusing to let grief best him as it did his brother. Perhaps it is this strong faith in what is to come that protected him from The Ring’s seductive power, which plays on the desire to control one's own fate, which, for men, is death. Sauron succeeded in exploiting this disordered desire, sapping the faith of the men of Numenor in both The Lost Road and The Akallabeth (where it had been brewing before his arrival), promising them the ability to escape death, playing on their pride by offering a way to preserve their power through immortality. This ultimately delivers them straight to their fall and punishment. Similarly to Galadriel helping redeem the Elves, Faramir's decision not to take The One Ring, knowing it would lead to catastrophe, in a way, helps redeem not only his family but also the Men of Westernesse, of whom he is descended.  

Tolkien mentioned in his letter to Milton Waldman that while his stories don't explicitly include religion, they contain, in solution, “elements of moral and religious truth (or error)” (Letter 131). The ever-present feeling of decline and diminishment within the world feels like the aftermath of an Edenic fall from grace, with the plight of man growing with each passing century, taking them further and further away from the beautiful past. When viewed through the lens of decline, we can see why Tolkien wrote, in his letter to Herbert Schiro, that at the core of The Lord of the Rings is a story about “death and the desire for deathlessness” (Letter 203). To not accept death is to not have faith in or understand your role within the great tale, an attempt to influence the order of things out of an over-attachment to the world, which is what overcame both the Elves and Men of Numenor. Death is the fate of all men; its certainty stems from the inevitability of time. The decline within oneself matches that which permeates throughout Tolkien’s world. That decline creates a stark reality for the characters to face. The crushing nature of a long, drawn-out defeat tests their faith in the final victory and will to continue the struggle, and to do so by right means, even if they won't see it through, as Aragorn was prepared to do at The Black Gate or Theoden did at Pelennor Fields. The contrast of the resulting actions of the characters who remain steadfast and those who falter points to what Tolkien seems to have held to be an important truth: to maintain faith in ultimate victory in the face of despair and to play the right role suited to you during your allotted time.

-SDV