Practiced Loyalty

As some of you doubtless saw, sometimes Tolkien is a surprisingly terrible writer.  However, this week we read one of the best scenes in the whole story: Eowyn's faceoff with the Witch-King.

(For those following along, this week we read two chapters, "The Ride of the Rohirrim" and "The Battle of Pelemnor Fields."  The scene we consider comes from the second chapter.)

The Witch-King can be killed by no man, but Eowyn is a woman, and she is able to destroy him.  It's a cheeky loophole somewhat on par with Macduff being able to kill Macbeth due to being delivered C-section (and not the only Macbeth influence on our text). 

But before Dernhelm is revealed as Eowyn in disguise, the text gives us a peak into the loyalty felt by her and Merry.  Her's is considerably stronger.  The Witch-King confronts Théoden, whose horse rears up in terror and falls - with Théoden beneath him.  His body is crushed, and he is completely at the mercy of the Witch-King.  The text says:

But Théoden was not utterly forsaken. The knights of his house lay slain about him,

or else mastered by the madness of their steeds were borne far away. Yet one stood

there still: Dernhelm the young, faithful beyond fear; and he wept, for he had loved his

lord as a father. Right through the charge Merry had been borne unharmed behind him, until the

Shadow came; and then Windfola had thrown them in his terror, and now ran wild upon the

plain. Merry crawled on all fours like a dazed beast, and

such a horror was on him that he was blind and sick.

‘King’s man! King’s man!’ his heart cried within him. ‘You must stay by him.

As a father you shall be to me, you said.’ But his will made no answer,

and his body shook. He dared not open his eyes or look up.

 

Eowyn's loyalty to Théoden is much stronger than Merry's.  Merry promised his loyalty to Theoden, but it has not yet been tested.  "As a father you shall be to me," but words are fleeting.  But Eowyn "Loved [their] lord as a father."  Love is deeper than a newly made promise.  It is easier for her to show her loyalty to Theoden.  But not only is it easier, it's kind of inevitable.

I dabble in stand-up comedy.  I've been doing it for years.  If you know nothing about stand up, know this: Going to open mics is the only way to get better.  But they're late at night and it can be frustrating to wait 2 hours at a bar to get 5 minutes in front of the crowd.  But you have to keep to it.

Sometimes I take a week off.  While it's good for my mental health, it's AWFUL for my stand up.  Free time is nice - lounging around at home after a day of work.  But it's hard to get into the groove again.

I'm sure you've had this issue - if not with comedy then with going to the gym, making home-cooked meals, reading regularly, whatever.  Once you get the momentum you need it's easy to keep going .  It's always harder if you've stopped.  I can't find a source, but there's a Talmudic saying that it takes 4 people to lift a fallen cow but only one to support the cow and prevent the fall.

Doing the right thing is often considered a choice.  You choose to do good.  But I don't think that's really how it works.  Doing good is a habit; it's a way of life.  The more you do good, the easier it is to do good in the future.  At a certain point it's kind of inevitable.  You don't do good because it's the right thing to do.  You do good because of course you do.

We all have an image of ourselves.  But in order to achieve that image we have to do it.  I know that sounds obvious, but how many times have we wanted to do something and failed?  It was an inconvenient time.  We didn't have the money.  We were afraid, or hesitated for any number of reasons.  But if we were accustomed to doing it, we wouldn't accept those things as barriers.

Eowyn is able to stand up to the Witch-King because she couldn't make any other choice.  She was going to fight.  Merry has that same resolve, but without the pattern of success.  He even has to remind himself of the oath he swore.  But Eowyn didn't need to choose to fight - she fights because of course she does.

Eowyn is the goal many of us hope to reach: Where the important things become easy.  To get there, we will need to begin where Merry is: fighting a will that makes no answer.  But once that momentum gets going - oh the things we will do!


If we want to become the people who do the things we wish to do, we must do them often enough that they soon become not just easy, but inevitable.  That's the highest level of loyalty to your values - when your response is beyond question, even to yourself.

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Have No Last Resort

This week we read "The Siege of Gondor," which tells of the fall of Osgiliath, the encirclement of Minas Tirith, and the breaking of the gate.

Before the siege begins, though, Faramir returns from Ithilien and tells Gandalf and Denethor about Frodo.  Gandalf is overjoyed to learn that Frodo is alive, but Denethor is furious that Faramir sent Frodo into Mordor.  Though he doesn't quite know what it is, he knows Frodo is carrying something powerful.

He and Gandalf get into an argument and Denethor accuses Gandalf of being unduly suspicious of him.  Denethor declares he would have not used "this thing", but rather sent it into the vaults beneath his tower and not used it.

‘Nonetheless I do not trust you,’ said Gandalf. ‘Had I done so, I could have sent this thing

hither to your keeping and spared myself and others much anguish. And now hearing you

speak I trust you less, no more than Boromir. Nay, stay your wrath! I do not trust myself in

this, and I refused this thing, even as a freely given gift. You are strong and can still in

some matters govern yourself, Denethor; yet if you had received this thing, it would have

overthrown you. Were it buried beneath the roots of Mindolluin, still it would burn your

mind away, as the darkness grows, and the yet worse things follow that soon shall come upon us.’

Deception is an important part of life.  Living a fully honest life hinders us in many ways.  While honesty, itself, is a virtue there is strength to be found in deception.  How ethical can we be if our bold plans against evil and wrongdoing are always obvious and thus easy to prevent?

But there is risk here, too.  Secret plans and last resorts burn in our mind.  Deception usually involves allowing others to think less than us so that they underestimate the threat we pose.  But it can be frustrating to be underestimated, even on purpose.

Let's say you know a devastating secret about a person.  That's a weapon you can only use once.  When do you unleash it?  This consideration could consume us, constantly wondering if this is the moment to expose them.  And then, when we do use it, what if it fails to have an impact?  Maybe people don't care about it as much as we thought, or maybe they're able to spin the situation to their advantage, or perhaps they counter in just the right way.  All our time and effort will have been wasted.

This is Gandalf's fear of Denethor's plan.  That by having the Ring, even to hide it, their position is weaker.  The Ring will ever be on Denethor's mind, distracting him from other issues.  Denethor may not worry as much about the city's defense, since he knows they have a backup plan if the walls fall.  And then, in trusting so much to it, how terrible will it be when the Ring betrays him, as it betrays everyone who bear it, and all is lost.  Even if defeat is inevitable, Denethor's plan makes it self-inflicted.

The dangers of having a 'card up our sleeve' is we often want to use it just to prove we have it.  Having power over another is exhilarating, and eventually you want to use it.  Even if you have the temperament to wait, the willpower needed will "burn your mind away".  Sooner or later your desire to show your power may cause you to use it needlessly.  Barring that, think of the energy used in waiting and calculating 'the right moment' to use it.  Neither outcome is ideal.

I am fortunate.  I can react calmly and coolly to crises.  I've worked with kids long enough that if I can't see one of the kids I'm in charge of I don't immediately freak out.  Kidnappings are very rare.  My adrenaline focuses me, and usually they are found pretty quickly (Like they went to the bathroom without telling me or decided it would be fun to hide under my desk) and crisis averted

Still, no parent likes to know their child was unsupervised for any amount of time.  This brings me to another strength of mine - apologies.  I am excellent at apologies, and have only become better with research.

Fortunately, both of these strengths are obviously only to be used "in a pinch".  I never have the desire to create a crisis so I can show how well I can handle one.  In fact, I rarely think about how these are my strengths.  But when I  need them, they are there.

That's the best way to have a strength - not think about it.  Have it confidently in your metaphorical backpocket, but don't wonder how you can show it off to the world.  That's your ego talking.  And that's a danger to an ethical life.  We should act to support the greater good, not to show off how strong we are.  Defeating the obstacles in our life is more important than impressing those around us.

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Empowering Ourselves, Empowering Others

This week we read "The Muster of Rohan", during which Theoden and Eomer gather and rally their troops who survived the battles with Saruman (Helm's Deep was not the only battle fought, though it was the largest).  While doing so, a messenger from Gondor comes, begging for them to come at once to its aid.  While they had hoped a week to gather their full strength, such time will not be afforded to them.

Eowyn is appointed to remain at Edoras, despite her obvious desire to ride with them to Gondor.  More surprising, Theoden orders Merry to also remain, since "none of my Riders can bear you as a burden," and "what would you do, Master Meriadoc, sword-thain though you be, greater of heart than of stature."  Though for different reasons than Eowyn, Merry is to be left behind of who he is, and what others assume he is capable of.  But there is a change of fortune.

Merry looked up and saw that it was the young Rider whom he had noticed in the morning.
‘You wish to go whither the Lord of the Mark goes: I see it in your face.’

‘I do,’ said Merry.

‘Then you shall go with me,’ said the Rider. ‘I will bear you before me, under my cloak
until we are far afield, and this darkness is yet darker. Such good will should not be
denied. Say no more to any man, but come!’

‘Thank you indeed!’ said Merry. ‘Thank you, sir, though I do not know your name.’

‘Do you not?’ said the Rider softly. ‘Then call me Dernhelm.’

Merry will get his war.

Dernhelm, we all know, is Eowyn.  Sick of being left behind at every turn, she finally goes rogue and disguises herself as a rider.  We understand.

What is more difficult to understand is why she decides to take Merry with her, thus doubling the chances she will be noticed.  She could presumably be an antisocial rider relatively easily, if she's worried talking to other will give herself away.  But hiding a second person is going to be considerably more difficult.  So why does she take Merry, when it makes her own success more doubtful.

Intersectionality is the idea that all social struggle is connected.  That the fight against racism and the fight against antisemitism and the fight against Islamophobia and the fight against sexism are not four separate fights, but four battles for the same fight for social justice.  If those who fight sexism also fight racism, and those who fight racism also fight sexism, each benefit from the cooperation.  It also prevents people from winning 'their' fight and calling it a day.  White women will fight sexism, but black women obviously must fight both sexism and racism.  By intertwining all struggles, all of these fights have more resources.

Eowyn understands intersectionality intuitively.  She is able to wear armor and pass as a man.  Merry, due to his size, will never be able to do that.  He will need some help.  Rather than leave Merry behind, Eowyn ties their fate together by taking him with her.

Intersectionality is like a ladder.  As you fight for your rights, you go up the ladder.  Once up, you use your new elevation to help others climb up.  It calls on me, a white Jew, to use my whiteness to assist Jews who face more antisemitism because they appear more obviously Jewish.  It also demands I use my whiteness to assist other groups, like Muslims and people of color.  It also says that fighting only antisemitism isn't enough.  Resting once antisemitism is defeated (a tall order to be sure) would make me part of the problem.  Of course, the inverse is true: I can depend on Muslims and people of color to stand up to antisemitism with me.  Viewing our struggles as connected makes it harder for others to be pit us each other - no longer may blacks feels Latinx success comes at their expense.  Justice is not a pie - There isn't a finite amount.

Eowyn realizes leaving behind Merry would be unjust.  His struggle is her struggle - he also wants to fight but has been denied.  Eowyn could leave him behind, but why?  If they both go, they can support each other.  If they both go, she won't have to completely isolate herself to avoid being caught.  If she gets Merry's back now, he will have her back later.  The cooperation benefits them both.  Such as it is with social justice.

Another thing to note is to look at Theoden's words more closely, which reflect a privileges and unreflective viewpoint.  He says since "none of my Riders can bear you as a burden," and "what would you do, Master Meriadoc, sword-thain though you be, greater of heart than of stature."  Let's look at these separately.

"None of my Riders can bear you as a burden" makes the assumption that NO ONE wants to bring Merry along.  Theoden supposes that since he considers it too difficult that everyone else will agree with him.  He doesn't consider that other people may disagree and be willing to take on a burden to assist another's cause.  He considers only the cost of bringing him to battle and not the benefit.

That brings us to the other issue, that Theoden considers Merry only a burden.  He admires Merry's energy, but expresses doubt he can really do anything.  Again, Theoden's thinking is very self-centered.  He can't imagine someone different from himself (in both size and training) making an impact on the battlefield.  Theoden's picture of an effective warrior is very narrow.

This narrow thinking suppresses the potential of those around him.  While Theoden thinks he is protecting Eowyn and Merry by not letting them come, this protection is actually a prison.  They may live, but they will not thrive.  It is essential to a fully realized life that one not only survives but flourishes.  But there are many ways to flourish.  In order to help others thrive we need to broaden our sense of what a full life is - otherwise we are only forcing square pegs into circular holes.

Lastly, it's worth noting Eowyn and Merry do in fact make a difference on the battlefield, and they do so precisely because they are not men (Eowyn is a woman, and Merry is a hobbit).  Had they allowed themselves to be left behind Theoden's forces would have been slaughtered.

I will say it again and again: Just because you do not see what someone's potential is does not mean they have none.  In the critical moment, having a diverse array of skills on hand can only increase the chances of success.  But diversity rarely happens on its own.  We must cultivate and encourage it.

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Ruling with Humanity

And [Eowyn] answered: ‘All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more."
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This week we read "The Passing of the Grey Company," which I think is an odd chapter.  The Grey Company is a group of Dúnedain, a specific race of humans of which Aragorn is a part of.  With them are Elladan and Elrohir, Elrond's two sons.  They appear into the narrative without much explanation (They claim to have been summoned, but no one can say by whom), have many conversations with Aragorn that are hidden to us (either because the dialogue is in riddles or 'off-screen') and by the end of the chapter they (with Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas) ride into the mountains to summon a cursed army.

The whole chapter at once gives the feel of a much larger world at play but also is an overwhelming amount of new information in the final book of our series.  Worse yet, we on repeat reads know that these characters don't do much in the rest of the book.  Unlike Denethor, who becomes a central character in the coming chapters, their leader Halbarad appears in the narrative again only to announce Aragorn's arrival in Gondor.  He is later listed among the dead in a battle with Sauron's forces.  As I said, it's odd.

But the Grey Company is not what I wish to discuss this week.  Before Aragorn leaves with them he rides with Theoden back to Edoras, the Rohan capitol, where Eowyn has been dutifully awaiting the return of the men.  She had been charged with protecting the women and children who did not ride out to Helm's Deep.

Aragorn tells her he must leave to go walk the Paths of the Dead.  She says it's dangerous.

‘If you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in
the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.’

‘Your duty is with your people,’ he answered.

‘Too often have I heard of duty,’ she cried. ‘But am I not of the House of Eorl, a shieldmaiden
and not a dry-nurse? I have waited on faltering feet long enough. Since they falter no longer, it
seems, may I not now spend my life as I will?’

‘Few may do that with honour,’ he answered. ‘But as for you, lady: did you not accept the charge
to govern the people until their lord’s return? If you had not been chosen, then some marshal or
captain would have been set in the same place, and he could not ride away from his
charge, were he weary of it or no.’

‘Shall I always be chosen?’ she said bitterly.

I've already discussed Tolkien's sexism at length.  But here we see something a little different.  Aragorn, usually the text's voice of reason, is entirely unhelpful.  Rather than listen to Eowyn's particular needs, he appeals to general expectations.  Eowyn, as a woman, is expected to care for the people.  Sure, Eowyn doesn't want this life, but who gets to spend their life as they like anyway?  And anyway, if you won't do this, someone else will, and then they are the ones stuck.  It is worth noting his hypothetical 'marshal or captain' is a male.  Aragorn seems to imply it is worse for a man to be trapped by duty than a woman.

Eowyn, as highlighted at the top, is pushed to the breaking point.  She sees her duty as a barrier to what she really wants, which is to join the men in battle.  Her duty will keep her inside, and the best she can hope for is when the war is over and she is burned to death in the house.  That's the closest she can hope to getting a warrior's funeral pyre.

We modern people understand Eowyn's frustration quite easily.  While she gets shut down very directly (Which seems like the text is repudiating feminism), it is of course worth noting Tolkien could have had her personality align with her duty, thus preventing this conflict entirely.  So at least he gives feminism a voice, even if it is defeated.

Empathizing with Eowyn here is easy.  So let's look at things from Aragorn's point of view.  He's just had a group of kinsmen show up and tell him he must walk the Paths of the Dead.  When they arrive, Elrohir says:

‘I bring word to you from my father: The days are short.

If thou art in haste, remember the Paths of the Dead.’

‘Always my days have seemed to me too short to achieve my desire,’

answered Aragorn. ‘But great indeed will be my haste ere I take that road.’

Aragorn does not want to take the Paths of the Dead.  However, he must.  The Dúnedain have come both to tell him the time has come and ensure that he does it.  Aragorn is compelled by the duty of his birth, for only a descendant of the kings of Gondor can summon the cursed army.

Aragorn is wracked with grief by this duty.  He is in no mood to compromise.  When Eowyn confronts him, he holds her to the same standard he holds himself.  This seems noble, if unkind.  Double standards are indeed unfair, and one destined to be king must be fair.  We can excuse Aragorn's obstinance, given his position.

We can, but we should not.  Rules do not enforce themselves.  They should be interpreted, and occasionally bent.  Aragorn is destined to be king.  With great power comes great responsibility.  Eowyn is the niece to a lesser king.  There's no reason Eowyn's duty should be as binding as Aragorn, especially as someone else could do it.  As Aragorn said, if Eowyn did not stay behind, someone else would need to.  But if Aragorn shirks his duty, there is no one else.  Their situations are unalike, and they should be treated that way.

It is easy to enforce rules with a single standard.  You either meet expectations, or you do not.  It is more challenging to enforce rules with nuance.  Sure, everyone should keep their noise level relatively low during a plane ride, but you should react differently to a teenager being too loud than an infant being too loud than an adult being too loud.  Just because you're able to get up in the morning and exercise doesn't mean everyone else who doesn't is simply choosing not to.  People are different.

Understanding and accounting for these differences improves our rules, rather than degrades them.  Mercy strengthens justice by saying those do receive harsh judgments deserve them.  Rules do not enforce themselves, nor do they exist by themselves.  They are created by us to support the kind of community we want to live in.  If we let our rules dictate our community, we have lost sight as to why they were made in the first place.

Sometimes, we must be willing to bend the rules.  Occasionally, we need to replace them entirely.  Community is not a static thing.  Rules should not be, either.  Otherwise, they become a prison of the past.

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What's in a Helmet?

This week we read "Minas Tirith."  Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor, the seat of the throne and the home of Denethor, Boromir's father.  Gandalf and Pippin arrive here having left Isengard previously.  When they arrive, Pippin is questioned by one and all - they've never seen a hobbit, what they call a halfling.  Pippin quickly becomes famous around the city.

When they arrive, Gandalf and Pippin first go to see Denethor.  Denethor is the Steward of Gondor - his job is to lead Gondor until the king returns.  This is the first chapter of "The Return of the King."  You don't need to have read the other two volumes to know that Denethor's time is at an end.  As we will see, he is unhappy about it.

Before entering the throne room (Where Denethor sits, somewhat comically, next to the throne), they pass through a courtyard.  This courtyard is home to the White Tree, which holds great symbolic value to Gondor, though we have not dealt with it much in our story.  For such a special place, special guards and garments are appointed.  We are told:

The Guards of the gate were robed in black, and their helms were of strange shape,
high-crowned, with long cheek-guards close-fitting to the face, and above the cheek-guards were set
the white wings of sea-birds; but the helms gleamed with a flame of silver, for they were
indeed wrought of mithril, heirlooms from the glory of old days. Upon the black surcoats were embroidered
in white a tree blossoming like snow beneath a silver crown and many-pointed stars. This was the livery of
 the heirs of Elendil, and none wore it now in all Gondor, save the Guards of the Citadel before the Court of
the Fountain where the White Tree once had grown.

What can we learn anything from analyzing these outfits?

The armor hearkens constantly back to former days, which the characters view as noble (though, as we've seen on closer analysis, this is not the only reading of the text).  The sea-birds wings recall both the island of Numenor (from which many of the most noble of Gondor are trace their lineange) and The Undying Lands over the sea, where the Elves, the best of all the races of Middle Earth, are destined to live forever.  We are told the helmet is made of mithril, a mineral mined and made into armor by Dwarves.  So already we have a connection to the three major races of Middle Earth.

On their chest is the White Tree, another connection to Numenor.  White Trees (I don't know if they can be pluralized like that...) do not grow naturally in Gondor.  The White Tree  is from Numenor - a sapling of it was brought when that realm fell.  A new White Tree was planted in the courtyard of Minas Tirith.  However, that tree died.  No new sapling has yet been found, so the decision has been made to guard the dead tree, since it represents such an important connection.  Hence why the passage ends "where the White Tree once had grown" but not "where the White Tree once had stood."  The White Tree does not grow any more, but it still remains.

And so we have this armor whose decorations mostly represents the past.  What of it?

The past is what drives us.  Whether our personal past, or an understanding of what has happened to others (Sometimes this is called "history"), it is impossible to make an informed decision without a past to reflect on.  Those who don't know the past are doomed to repeat it, yada yada.  Only by knowing the past can we improve our future.

Of course, the past can only do so much.  I said the past drives us, but maybe it's better to say the past informs us.  After all, we're the driver.  And we drive forward, not back.  In this sense, I think the tradition of Minas Tirith respects the past too much.  I mean, they guard a dead tree from a destroyed realm.  They are not guarding something that can provide for them, but instead only setting watch to its inevitable decay.  At a certain point, the past must be left behind.  You can learn its lessons without dragging it wholesale everywhere you go.

I asked at the top of the post "What's in a Helmet?" On the one hand, the answer is: The parts of your life and history you choose to highlight.  Gondor chooses Numenor and the connection between Humans, Dwarves, and Elves.  But, really, what's in a helmet?  The answer is you.  Your head.  What gives you strength and inspires you to greatness is less important than the follow through.  The future is bright and uncertain and unmolded.  Go make it your own!

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