Denethor does not believe Sauron’s lies, but in the process allows himself to be swayed by Sauron’s “truths.” Two examples of this are when Denethor is allowed to see that Frodo (whom Denethor knows to have the Ring) has been captured and when he is shown the fleet of Corsairs sailing up the Great River (but under the command, it turns out, of Aragorn-thus bringing to pass Gandalf’s prediction to Pippin that Aragorn may make his “return” under a guise that no one, not even Denethor, expects). Suaron’s influence over Denethor, accordingly, is limited to the more indirect means of leaking misleading information. Thus, where there is a chain of corruption running from Sauron through Saruman to Wormtongue to Théoden, Denethor succeeds in resisting Sauron’s overt efforts to dominate him. Denethor, by contrast, is not able to be cowed even by Sauron himself-in this he proves himself even more resilient and in that sense even greater than Saruman the White Wizard. Saruman is able to subdue Théoden directly by means of Théoden’s counselor and confidant, Wormtongue. But before that, the way in which they fall is also very different. Théoden, of course, is retrieved and redeemed from his fall and Denethor is not. One similarity is that they are rulers who are both weighed down by the cares of ruling and who eventually “fall” and are corrupted. However, despite not being king, Denethor’s is “of far greater lineage and power.” Denethor’s ancestors have been stewards in Gondor for some 800 (?) years, longer than there has even been a Rohan. Gandalf describes Théoden to Pippen as “a kindly old man,” whereas “Denethor is of another sort, proud and subtle, a man of far greater lineage and power.” How are Théoden and Denethor similar and different? How does Denethor’s “far greater lineage and power” contribute to and characterize this difference?īoth are rulers of their people, but one is king, the other a mere steward.
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