This week we read "The Passage of the Marshes," which details Frodo and Sam's growing partnership with Gollum. He has lead them out of Emyn Muil, and now guides them through dangerous marshland.
But beyond the regular dangers of a marshland - namely sinking beneath the weeds and water - these marshes hold another risk, which Sam discovers when he looks beneath the surface of the water.
‘There are dead things, dead faces
in the water,’ he said with horror. ‘Dead faces!’...
‘Yes, yes,’ said Gollum. ‘All dead, all rotten. Elves and Men and
Orcs.
The Dead Marshes. There was a great battle long ago, yes, so
they told him when
Smeagol was young, when I was young before
the Precious came. It was a great battle.
Tall Men with long swords,
and terrible Elves, and Orcses shrieking. They fought on
the plain
for days and months at the Black Gates. But the Marshes have grown
since
then, swallowed up the graves; always creeping, creeping.’
‘But that is an age and more ago,’ said Sam. ‘The Dead can’t be
really there! Is it some devilry hatched in the Dark Land?’
‘Who knows? Smeagol doesn’t know,’ answered Gollum. ‘You
cannot reach them, you
cannot touch them. We tried once, yes,
precious. I tried once; but you cannot reach them.
Only shapes to
see, perhaps, not to touch. No precious! All dead.’
It's an interesting observation that Middle Earth experiences evil, or at least something unsettling, that may not be the work of Sauron. Certainly, Sam assumes he must be behind it, but we know that isn't necessarily true.
So why do these dead remain? It seems obvious they were left on the field to rot - swallowed up by the fens. But why would the Elves and Men allow that? Impossible to know.
There are a few spirits in Middle Earth we meet throughout our text. The Nazgul, the oathbreakers of Dunharrow whom Aragorn summons, and the Barrow-wights. The first two suffer from unfinished business. The Nazgûl are bound to the Ring, and the Dead Army are bound to their oath. The Barrow-wights's reason for being is much less clear. The text mentions "Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places with a clink of rings on cold fingers, and gold chains in the wind," (although when the hobbits are captured by the Barrow-wights they appear suddenly and silently). The Barrow-wights are, in some ways, tied to their material wealth. But what about these spirits?
We don't get any information about them beyond this chapter. They end up being just one of many references that make Middle Earth feel very, very large - but perhaps full only of loose ends and incomplete ideas. There may be some explanation in the appendices, but for these write-ups I always try to stay to the main text. I could never properly refer to all of Tolkien's writing without much more time, which I don't have. I also, frankly, don't think have much interest. I find Middle Earth lore, largely, dull.
Death is inevitable. Would it be better to return as a spirit, or to go onward? Our text makes it clear that remaining behind is bad. None of these spirits are doing good in the world, or are happy about remaining. While we might plausibly argue the Nazgûl could be happy about serving their master in perpetuity, I think within the text that is impossible. Orcs can experience joy, though their laughter is generally harsh and their smiles vicious. The Nazgûl are associated with despair. They don't serve Sauron out of loyalty or love.
Death is inevitable, but the Ring thwarts death. Gollum and Bilbo both live unnaturally long. Gollum's life becomes one of suffering and loyalty without love - this is true before he loses the Ring. We see Bilbo occasionally give into the Ring's temptation, and know in those moments he is not overwhelmed with joy. While Frodo doesn't have the Ring long enough to impact his lifespan, it does suck the joy out of his life. He experiences very little on his journey - and even after it is gone.
Whether ghosts exist or not is beyond my scope. Certainly dying with unfinished business is unfair, because now someone else must finish it - or deal with the consequences. Being bound to the material world too much has obvious ethical problems, too. If ethics is doing the harder thing, giving up physical things is usually the more ethical choice.
Our text is teaching us to be wary of people and ideas that promise for immortality. The Elves, we know, pay a price for theirs. Death is inevitable, and attempts to circumvent it would have consequences beyond which we can prepare for. Death is inevitable, so plan for it. Include others in your business as much as possible, so when you do go the unfinished business at least isn't suddenly hoisted on others. You don't have to carry it all, and you shouldn't anyway. People are more willing to help than maybe you realize - they perhaps want to help. When you die, they're going to have to help. You ought to let them help while you're around, so that you can see their skills for yourself, offer assistance as appropriate, and then, when you go, you'll be more confident the work will continue to be done - and you'll have made some human connections along the way.
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