The Best-Loved Son cycle

By:Isabeau
 February, 23 2006

Anything dealing with this cycle of stories can be discussed here: Andra and Boromir as a couple, the Denethor/Imrahil/Andrahar rivalry, the politics of Gondor in the last days of the Third Age.

Comment:
Rebecca:

I'd been thinking that maybe the palantíri were kind of videophones (very loose analogy) wherein one user could only see things shown to him/her by another user.

That's how I always understood it.

Regarding the difference of the effect of the palantír on Saruman and Denethor: there is a fair amount about that in the palantíri-essay in UT. One factor is that the palantír is Denethor's by right as Steward in the absence of a king. Another is quoted below (from that essay):

Saruman fell under the domination of Sauron and desired his victory, or no longer opposed it. Denethor remained steadfast in his rejection Sauron, but was made to believe that his victory was inevitable, and so fell into despair. The reasons for this difference were doubt that in the first place Denethor was a man of great strength of will, and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son.

Because we have been getting a lot of spam, we now have a security number which you have to enter in order to post a journal reply. In the field marked validation number, enter nine six five four as a four place number.