Book Boromir vs. Movie Boromir
by Lindorie
Book vs Movie
Boromir...this subject always seems to create a schism here. It is true
that Peter Jackson has romanticised and perhaps gentled Boromir from
the one depicted in the books, but not completely. Last night, I
skimmed through all of the Boromir parts of the three books and was
surprised to find out just how little of Boromir is written. Of the
nine walkers, he is the least developed character. Gimli and Legolas
may have less in the first book, but they come to more fullness of
character in TTT and ROTK.
In FOTR, we see Boromir as proud, skeptical,
and pragmatic. He is willing for the Sword that was broken to come to
the aid of his people, if the bearer has inherited more of Isildur's
strength and character and not just his heirlooms. I think that at the
Council of Elrond, Boromir truly feels that the Ring could be used by
the enemies of Sauron to defeat him. He is skeptical of Gandalf and the
Elves, virtually all of his people are, as the Elves are skeptical of
men, Dwarves of Elves, etc. Middle-earth is full of mistrust, so this
trait of Boromir is not unusual.
He is bold and arrogant, blowing the Horn of
Gondor as they leave Rivendell, he is chastised but states that he will
not go as a thief in the night. Even today we are taught that if you
project confidence and self assurance when we walk alone through a
parking lot at night, you will reduce risk of attack. If you act
suspicious, you will be watched and followed. This is another thing he
has been trained for, as a warrior and leader.
In Hollin, it is Boromir who suggests that
each take a piece of firewood and that they load Bill with as much as
possible. He demonstrates attributes of a good leader, thinking of the
future and of those in his care and of the survival of the group. He is
very vocal about his dislike of this rounte and of that through Moria,
but I think that he is only the most outspoken of the lot on this. I
dont think that many of them would have chosen either path without
Gandalf gently pressuring them towards them.
In Moria, it is Boromir who covers the party
as they escape from the various chambers. He is the one who closes and
holds the doors being them, the one who stands to fight until Gandalf
tells them that swords are of no more use. Subtly, we are shown that he
already has recognized that Aragorn must lead the group, he has
accepted the role of final line of defense, as has been the Role of
Gondor in the last years.
He is fearful of Lorien, as are most if not
all humans of ME at this time, save perhaps Aragorn. Eomer and Faramir
both express fears of Lorien and the sorceress who lives there. Faramir
says that those men who go their on occasion do not return. No wonder
he was frightened. We do not know the extent of Galadriel's testing of
Boromir's mind, but we can and do surmise. The test served to confirm
his fears in many ways. The long stay there also served as time for the
Ring to increase its hold on him. If they had kept moving and not spent
the month in Lorien, would he have been able to resist it long enough
to get past Henneth Annun? Another something to consider. Instead he
had a month in a place he feared to think about how his homeland was
faring and how much he wanted to return. He understood more now about
how dangerous things were in the world and that war would come soon.
The people of Gondor and his father needed him and he needed to be
there. He wanted to take the shortest route.
In the end, he tells Aragorn what he has done
and asks forgiveness, stating that he did not understand, but now does,
and he reports what he has seen to his commander, as a good soldier,
and he asks Aragorn to save his people because he cannot. His final
words are of his home and the people of his homeland. He is dutiful to
the last.
The most telling lines in the books regarding
Boromir, in my mind, come in TTT. Eomer says this of him: "All spoke
his praise." and "he was more like to the swift sons of Eorl than to
the Grave men of Gondor." and "He was likely to prove a great Captain
of his people when his time came."
This is high praise. That Eomer would
consider Boromir more like his own people is probably about the highest
complement that he could give him. Think of how nationalistic people
are now. To consider a person as more like to one's own people is a
very high compliment. Eomer's lines indicate respect, and one does not
get respect by bullying or being selfish and getting one's way all the
time. "All spoke his praise." Boromir was well liked, again, not
something that comes from bullying. He would have become a great leader
of his people. Again, Bullies do not become great leaders, they become
dictators.
Yes, Gandalf says that Boromir was used to
getting what he wanted, and that he was masterful. Do these lines say
that he was a bully...no, not really. He was born to wealth and
privilege, he would, just from this, be used to getting what he wanted,
but that does not make him a bully. I daresay that Princes William and
Harry of Britain are used to getting their way and what they want, too,
but if they were bullies, the press would have a field day with the
info, as they did back when William first started school as a toddler
and they called him Billy the Basher. The phase was blown out of
proportion and seems to be the farthest thing from the truth from what
I have seen of the young man. He seems to be gracious, dutiful, and
compassionate. He can assert himself if needs require it, telling off
the press if he thinks they deserve it or to protect someone or
something he feels needs protection. Hardly a bully. Perhaps I am
stretching things by comparing William to Boromir. They are not alike
in many ways, but there are similarities of background in that both are
born to rank, wealth, and privilege and therefore both used to getting
what they want. William is masterful, as well, but his mastery is not
that of sword or of command, as yet, anyway. He is masterful in polo
and in his studies and the way that he deals with people and the press.
Masterful, does not necessarily mean dominering, though it can,
admittedly.
Faramir admits that he is concerned that
Boromir and Aragorn might have become rivals, that Boromir always
thought that his father should have been King. Actually I am surprised
that Gondor had not made the Stewards kings long before. They had ruled
and watched over Gondor for over 900 years waiting for a king that no
one believed would ever come. Boromir had a point. His father did all
the duties that a King would do, devoted his life to the Kingdom and
it's people, why wouldnt he be king. His arguement is actually quite
logical. Kingship by heredity is actually a newer concept than many
think. In early medieval Europe, Kings were chosen by battle, or by the
other knights and warriors. In Arthurian legend, Arthur is not
guaranteed the Kingship even when Uther names him his heir. Arthur has
to prove himself to the lesser kings. Because of their respect for
Uther, the backing and support of Merlin, and of Arthur's own earning
of their respect, he remains the High King. Granted, this is legend,
but in Northern Europe, this is basically the way it worked for a long
time. It would have made perfect sense for Gondor to make the stewards
kings or to have changed their form of government completely.
Tolkien left a lot of room for interpretation
in his Boromir character, and a lot of room for the imagination to
create a character that would mean different things to different
people. I think that he, too, was afraid of having Boromir look too
much the bully sometimes, but he did not want to make him look 'soft'
either. If he softened him, Boromir would have become a sympathetic
favorite and killing him off would have angered the readers. He did see
a possible future where Aragorn and Boromir would become rivals, as
Faramir feared. Personally, I think that he changed his mind about
this, not only because it would take the story in directions that would
change the focus of the tale, but because he didn't want to turn
Boromir into a villain. I dont think that there is a wrong way or a
right way to visualize Boromir. I do think that Peter Jackson has made
him into a more sympathetic character, but Tolkien left lots of area
for that to be done. There are a lot of hours and miles not documented
in detail in the books, and I can remember an inkling about a certain
fencing lesson that showed a gentler, kinder, Boromir. All of us have
visions of the characters that have, over the years, evolved. Not a one
of us thinks the same way about them exactly as we did when we first
met them. Some of them have softened in our minds, others have
developed more of an edge. Those of us who write about them have
created a vision of them that suits our needs. I dont think that any of
us writes the characters in a more Tolkien way than any of the others
because we can see from the history of lord of the rings books that
Tollers changed his own views of them continuously and continued to do
so even after the books were completed, if I understand what I have
read of his letters.
I see none of the characters of the books as
saints though it seems to me that lots of people see Frodo as one. If
any of the book characters is saintly, I think that Tolkien came very
close to making Faramir too good to be true.
Boromir's
role in the Quest was vital. Without him and his fall, the Quest would
have doubtless failed. Eru's plan was fulfilled by his submission to
the Power of the Ring. Frodo would not have been able to make up his
mind to go on alone when he did without Boromir's attack. A large party
would not have been able to cross Mordor undetected. Without the
breaking of the fellowship, the Rohirrim would not have won at Helm's
deep, the Huorns and Ents would not have come to help and the Rohirrim
would not have gone to Gondor's aid.
I made a simple observation when I replied to
Varda's Young Boromir. I was too tired to go further, intelligibly. I
still do not see Boromir as a bully, as a young person or in his later
life. Strong-willed, dutiful, proud, arrogant, masterful, loyal, a good
leader, a good soldier, I see him as all of these and more. A man with
serious flaws but a good heart, not a saint, never a saint. He was a
man of his time and place who had doubts, fears, and the weakness of
them.
