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Hope is a theme that runs throughout the story of The Lord of the Rings. You can no more remove Tolkien's themes and ideas about Hope than you could remove the Ring itself. It is always there, echoing silently at the edge of words, shimmering faintly in the darkness; and when it is absent a point is made to emphasize that very fact.
In the two "sections" of the book - one that focuses on Frodo and Sam and one that focuses on everybody else - we see the different ways that Hope is addressed. The story of Frodo and Sam shows what happens when Hope slowly ebbs away, leaving nothing but sheer, raw, heartbreaking determination behind - or in the case of Frodo, a person so broken that nothing can heal him.
But in the other section - the one that focuses on the rest of the Company and on Rohan and Gondor - Hope takes a slightly different form. Instead of being a story of the loss of Hope, it is the story of the restoration of Hope. Or more specifically, the Hope that certain characters can and do bring to the story, and to the people around them. And tragically, what will happen when certain characters cannot and will not Hope, and instead give way to Despair. And that's the Hope that I want to talk about.
In Sindarin there are two words for Hope: Estel, which is Hope based on Faith, and Amdir, which is Hope based on Proof. Aragorn, the heir of Kings, is undoubtedly the personification of Estel in the story. That is literally one of his many, many, many names. And I argue that Faramir, the heir of Stewards, is the personification of Amdir. Yes there are other characters that also embody Estel and Amdir - Gandalf and Imrahil spring to mind, but I mainly want to focus on Aragorn and Faramir. And I want to focus on how Estel vs Amdir has a profound impact on Despair.
Almost from the moment that Gandalf falls, Aragorn steps into his role as Estel. It is explicitly stated time and time again in the text that Aragorn brings hope with him wherever he goes. But the Hope of Aragorn is the one that you must have faith in, which means that it is a Hope that cannot always be physically there. To all appearances, Hope must abandon the people who need it most in order to shine out bright and triumphantly when most needed. And so Estel departs, and the people must have faith that Hope will return or give in to Despair.
Faramir, on the other hand, is a different kind of Hope. Gondor has been at war with Sauron for centuries. There is no single man, woman, or child in Gondor who has ever known peace without the threat of war and violence looming within sight of their very city. They are a people who can no longer afford to have faith in Hope. Their Hope must be based on Proof, and that is exactly what they have in Faramir, and is likely a role shared by Boromir before he departed and fell. So Faramir proves himself, day in and day out. He proves himself a man of wisdom, a man of courage, a man who all his people can depend on. He proves himself to be willing to ride against a flying Nazgul on the off chance he can help his men - and the Hope he inspires is so great that even his horse will not turn aside when that is his purpose. And yet, when the situation is at its most dire, Amdir falls. And now the People have nothing.
And Despair, as the antithesis of Hope, is an important element in a discussion about Hope. So first let's talk about the antithesis of Estel: Denethor.
Denethor, who in a sense is the personification of his people, has been leading a steadily weakening people for years, fighting a war that has been going on for centuries. He does not have the luxury to Hope, and he certainly doesn't have the luxury for a Hope that you have to have faith in. Faith died long ago, and all that is left is what meager Hope can be pulled from the daily grind, from the blood and sweat and tears of the men who fight in this war. All that is left is Amdir - and Denethor's relationship with Amdir is famously strained.
But Denethor struggles on. He continues on when Boromir falls, despair beginning to cloud his judgement as he is overwhelmed by grief. But it is only when Faramir falls in battle - when Amdir is seemingly lost, that he has no Hope left. And so in Despair he turns to the Palantir and is literally given a glimpse of Estel. But Faith died long ago, so he doesn't see the Hope that he must have Faith to see. And thus his Despair gives way to madness.
And in his madness, he nearly destroys what remains of Amdir.
But Estel has come, even if Denethor did not have the necessary Faith to see it. And what it is that can restore Hope when there is no longer any proof for it? What can restore Amdir? Who can restore Faramir? Estel can - the healing hands of the King.
Estel and Amdir, the King and his Steward - the two go hand in hand. The people of Gondor want to believe in their King, but they do believe in the Stewards that have ruled them for centuries. So is it a wonder that the people's ability to have faith in Hope is only restored when Estel restores Amdir?
But there is one other character, intrinsically linked with Faramir and Aragorn, to whom the themes Hope and Despair are poignantly evident: Eowyn.
Like Denethor, Estel is what pushes her over the edge and into a desire for death. When Estel cannot manage to give her any hope for a future and leaves her behind to a bleak present, she loses all hope. But unlike Denethor, Estel was the only hope she had. So when she lost her faith in Hope she had nothing to fall back on to. When she lost her faith in Hope, she did not have years and years of Hope based on proof to depend on. Instead she is pushed to the same level of desperation that led to Denethor's despair and madness.
Like Denethor, Eowyn sought to die - possibly with those she loved beside her, although that is not made explicit. Like Denethor, the intervention of Hobbits saved her life. Unlike Denethor, she did not get the chance to try again. And now, after failing even at her own death, with Estel saying that he cannot restore her from her Despair, (literally saying that he can recall her from the dark valley, but if she awakes to despair she will die unless some other healing comes that he cannot bring), Eowyn finally meets Amdir. She finally meets the kind of Hope that her bitter, depressed, desperate soul can depend on. And Faramir, with the Hope of Amdir, is able to heal her the way Estel could not.
And once Estel restores Amdir, Amdir can bring about the kind of healing that Estel cannot. After all, Hope that you must have faith in is only powerful when people have Faith. And sometimes that is not possible. Sometimes Hope needs to prove itself to a person before they can accept the nebulousness of Faith.
When Estel restores Amdir and Amdir, in turn, restores Faith - the people now have the faith needed for Estel's true return.
#lotr newsletter#lotr#aragorn#faramir#eowyn#denethor#farawyn#lord of the rings#my op#idk if i should actually be tagging the newsletter but this IS what all my newsletter commentary has been building up to#newsletter april 1#and i was waiting for today to actually write and post it#so... it shall be tagged
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HELLO?!?!?!?
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Got to hand it to Trafalgar Law for building an ominous "is he evil or isn't he?" rep as the super scary "Surgeon of Death" while leading the most adorable crew anyone has ever seen this side of the Straw Hats and cursing them with coveralls.
CLEARLY this crew proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Law is a BIG ASS NERD first and foremost who attracts other nerds and outcasts to his cause.
I mean
And also
IMO, this is why Law's alliance with Luffy and the Straw Hats has lasted way way longer than Law ever planned on: because the Straw Hats are also a crew held together by friendship and love and a sense of family, rather than being a crew of whoever is considered "the strongest". And Law is just a gdmn SUCKER for that kind of dynamic, and the kind of unconditional love it implies, no matter how much he tries to play at being a hardcore death-dealer.
And as far as storytelling devices go, there are few things that are as entertaining to watch as the odd-couple dynamic between a meticulous planner who needs to control everything (Law) and a wtf-just-punch-it-guy who wings it every time (Luffy).
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I watched Godzilla vs Megalon last night for the first time
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Got approved for a salpinectomy finally! Now I wait for the 30 day insurance approval and the scheduling call.
Knowing I will never have to worry about getting pregnant for any reason again is so relieving. It still feels dreamy that it's happening.
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I was looking up leggie refs for the boy and a stupid thought came to me.
Behold, a Draenei?
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My dash is being startlingly profound and extremely poignant today
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what i read today at work:
#i didn’t finish them though#i have ADHD#and this was not my hyper focus#lack of sleep makes it worse#my op#batman#daredevil
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I see my cockles/destiel op is making the rounds. I no longer ship that pairing (long story) but I wanna say Jensen is an absolute sweetheart. Very understanding. Chose the pose himself. He doesn’t deserve the shit he gets.
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I wanna put him in a blender soooo bad bro
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Yeah
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'Are you in pain, Frodo?' said Gandalf quietly as he rode by Frodo's side.
'Well, yes I am,' said Frodo. 'It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.'
'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,' said Gandalf.
'I fear it may be so with mine,' said Frodo. 'There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?'
Gandalf did not answer.
Gandalf's silence is one of the most painfully ominous moments in these books.
Frodo is beginning to understand that he can never go home, that he was too badly broken to be healed - something Gandalf undoubtedly knew already. And so Gandalf is silent, because what could he say in this moment?
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parallels!!! edit: oops
#in case anyone was doubting kaido would be defeated....#ill make a proper edit later when the official chapter is out :p i love parallels#one piece#op spoilers#one piece 1049#i stg if kaido ends up being undefeated and i look like a clown....#mine#my op
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How much did I love that scene in OPLA when Sanji cooks for Nojiko and gains her trust and also shows how kind and good (and even perceptive and smart) he is? So many times in One Piece, Sanji's goodness (even when he's a heart-eyed mess, and good to the point of hilarious stupidity like in Dressrosa) has served the Straw Hats beautifully.
(I might be in the minority, but I love Sanji in Dressrosa. If he hadn't been ridiculously smitten and also super-Sanji-obsessed with Viola, things would not have gone so great for the Straw Hats. (Same with Pudding in Whole Cake Island.) She changed her allegiance because she trusted him, and I love how Sanji gets to have an important impact without always fighting - though I do love to see him fight. )
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I can't stop thinking about this post
#my art#dungeon meshi#delicious in dungeon#dunmeshi#people commented on the op's laios icon but imo it was more something Marcille would say
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Every time someone around me says they were triggered by something a kid did: yeah but you're still an adult with the power and agency in the situation so let's not make the kid out to be the bad guy mmkay?
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