The Lord of the Rings: The Voice of Saruman (Part Five and Last)

 

The Tale

They leave the steps of Orthanc and the Riders hail Theoden and salute Gandalf for his actions. Saruman’s spell is broken; they have seen him humiliated and dismissed. Gandalf says he must now report to Treebeard how things went with the disgraced wizard. Merry asks were they likely to have gone any other way.

‘Not likely,’ answered Gandalf. ‘though they came to the balance of a hair.’ There were reasons to offer Saruman a chance to repent. He still could have done the West much good. But he tried to deal with his foes one at a time, and his treachery was exposed to all. But now he will not serve but only command. Whatever happens he is in trouble. They cannot breach Orthanc from without, but who knows what Sauron can do?

Pippin asks what Gandalf will do with him if Sauron does not conquer? Nothing, replies Gandalf. He himself does not desire mastery. He cannot guess what will become of Saruman. But ‘I grieve that so much that was good now festers in the tower.’

But perhaps things have not gone so completely badly. ‘Often does hatred hurt itself!’ Gandalf thinks that there are few treasures in the tower more precious than that which Wormtongue hurled down at them. There is a sudden high shriek from Orthanc. Apparently, Saruman thinks so too.

The company returns to the ruin of the gate. Treebeard and a dozen or so Ents come out from the shadows where they have been hiding. Gandalf introduces the old Ent to Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, who had missed the feast held for Theoden and his Riders. The three gaze at the Ents in wonder.

Treebeard is especially pleased to see the elf; it has been long since any Elves have been seen near Fangorn forest, and the Ents will always be grateful for the Elves ‘awakening’ them in the first place. The two exchange compliments about their homes. Mirkwood was a mighty great forest, says Treebeard, but not so big that they’re never glad to see new trees, answers Legolas. When all is over, he would love to return with a friend to explore the wonders of Fangorn. Treebeard says he and any Elf he chooses to bring will be most welcome.

But Legolas does not mean another Elf, but Gimli, son of Gloin. Gimli bows, but unfortunately his axe comes clattering down from his belt. Treebeard is taken aback and looks at the dwarf darkly. ‘This is a strange friendship!’ But Legolas hastens to assure him that the axe is not for trees but for Orc necks; Gimli slew forty-two in the recent battle.

‘That is a better story!’ But they will have to see what the future brings when it comes. Right now, the day is drawing to a close, and they say the King and his company have to ride back to Edoras. Gandalf says he must take his gatekeepers, Merry and Pippin, with him, but he thinks the old Ent will manage things well enough without them.

Maybe, but Treebeard will miss them. They have become friends in so short a time, and they are the first new thing he has seen for so long a time, he feels positively youthful, and almost ‘hasty’. He has put Hobbits in a place in the old Long List, right next to Ents; he will not forget them. He asks Merry and Pippin if they ever hear about any Entwives back in their homeland they will tell him, and come themselves if they can. The Hobbits say they will and turn away hastily; the parting is too emotional for them to prolong.

Treebeard gazes after them thoughtfully, then turns to Gandalf. So, Saruman wouldn’t leave, eh? He can kind of understand that. If all his forests were destroyed, he wouldn’t come out while he had one hole to hide in. But he hasn’t plotted to cover the world with trees and choke the life from all other things, Gandalf points out. The evil wizard must be kept locked up, to weave such plots as he can in his prison. Gandalf asks that they flood the bowl around the tower again, to prevent his escape from any tunnel he may have underground.

Treebeard agrees and assures Gandalf that the Ents will guard and make sure he does not get out. They will search every pebble in the valley until any secret way is discovered and blocked. Old, wild trees will be coming to make Isengard green again. They will call it the Watchwood. ‘Leave it to the Ents! Until seven times the years in which he tormented us have passed, we shall not tire of watching him!’

 

Bits and Bobs

Yavanna

According to Tolkien’s later ‘exploratory invention’, the tension between Dwarves and the Ents goes right back to the beginning. The Vala Yavanna, mistress of all trees and growing things, foresaw the depredations that her husband Aule’s creation, the Dwarves, would have on her trees, so she prayed that Eru create the Ents, to guard the forests. Matters weren’t helped when an army of Dwarves (not Durin’s Folk) ransacked the forest kingdom of Doriath, and, trying to escape through the woods, were destroyed by Ents. It is possible (though never stated) that, given his great age, Treebeard himself might have been there.

As it turns out later, Saruman’s imprisonment does not last quite as long as Treebeard promised. But at least he is removed from the chessboard and out of Gandalf’s hair for the rest of the action against Sauron. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Voice of Saruman (Part Four)

The Tale

Having failed with Theoden, Saruman makes one last desperate effort to win Gandalf to his side. He asks the wandering wizard why he rides with such foolish and violent people. Even now, won’t he listen to his old superior’s counsel?

Gandalf reminds him of the circumstances of their last meeting when Saruman imprisoned him to await turning over to Sauron. What more does he want to say? Or perhaps he has things to unsay?

Saruman pretends to be puzzled. Perhaps he lost his temper a bit because Gandalf refused to listen to his good advice, but then Gandalf was always proud of his own wisdom, which he admits is great. A bit of flattery to oil the way never hurts. He never held any ill-will towards Gandalf, and indeed doesn’t now. They are both ‘members of a high and ancient order, most excellent in Middle-earth’. Saruman understands him. Shouldn’t they be friends? Wouldn’t it be great if Gandalf would come on in and join him, so that together they can heal the disorders of the world. ‘Will you not come up?’

‘So great was the power that Saruman exerted in this last effort that none that stood within hearing were unmoved.’ One must assume that included even Aragorn and the other members of the Fellowship. Everyone feels that they will be dismissed as stupid servants by these two ‘of loftier mould … reverend and wise.’ Even Theoden, who has successfully resisted all of Saruman’s blandishments himself, fears that Gandalf will betray them, go up into Orthanc, and all will be lost.

‘Then Gandalf laughed. The fantasy vanished like a puff of smoke.’

Gandalf tells Saruman that he missed his job calling; he should have been a jester and earned his bread and beatings by mimicking court counsellors. All that he’s been saying is surely a joke. Saruman does not understand him at all, indeed Gandalf may be ‘beyond his comprehension.’ Gandalf remembers his last visit all too well. That time, Saruman was to be ‘the jailor of Mordor.’ But ‘the guest who has escaped by the roof, will think twice before he comes back in by the door.’ And now, rather, shouldn’t Saruman come down? Isengard has proved less strong than he fancied; maybe Mordor will be as well. Perhaps Saruman should try turning to different things, and come down to them?

For a moment Saruman’s face goes deathly white. His mask falls, and all can see the writhing of a mind in doubt, hating to stay but fearing to leave. Finally pride and hate conquer his spirit.

He mocks Gandalf; an unarmed man does not go out to meet robbers. He can hear what the other wizard has to say well enough where he stands. He does not trust Gandalf, and he knows where he has ‘the wild wood-demons’ lurking in wait.

‘The treacherous are ever distrustful’ Gandalf says wearily. But Saruman does not have to be scared. When he says Saruman can go free, he means really free. But he’s giving him a last chance; leave Orthanc, and Gandalf will protect him.

Very kind of you, Saruman sneers. Very condescending. No doubt Gandalf would find the tower accommodating for himself if he left. Why would Saruman want to go? And what would be the conditions if he should leave?

The reasons he can see all around him. Saruman’s forces are destroyed, his neighbors roused against him, and he has tried to cheat his new master, Sauron, who will not be best pleased. But Gandalf means he will really be free, even free to go to Sauron, if he wants to. But he must leave the Key of Orthanc and his staff as pledges of his conduct. He will get them back if his actions merit them.

This makes Saruman livid, his face twisted with rage and his eyes smoldering. A modest plan! And Gandalf won’t stop until he has ‘the Keys of Barad-dur crowns of seven kings, and the rods of the Five Wizards … and a pair of boots many sizes larger than you have now!’ Saruman turns to leave Gandalf with ‘these cut-throats and small rag-tag that dangle at your tail! Good day!’ (I say good day to you, sir!)

But Gandalf calls him back in a commanding voice, and to everyone’s surprise he does turn back, as if dragged against his will, breathing hard, face lined and shrunken. ‘His hand clutched his heavy black staff like a claw.’

Gandalf has not given him leave to go. Saruman has become a pitiable fool. He might have repented, but he seems fixed in his folly. Gandalf is no longer Gandalf the Grey, but Gandalf the White, who has passed through death. By his new authority he declares that Saruman has no ‘colour’ now, and that he is cast out both from the order of wizards and from the White Council. Gandalf raises his hand, and pronounces in a cold, clear voice, ‘Saruman, your staff is broken.’

With a crack, Saruman’s staff splits asunder, its head falling at Gandalf’s feet. Gandalf abruptly commands the fallen wizard to go, and Saruman falls back and crawls away. But at the same moment a shining object comes hurtling down from above, right where Saruman had been standing, and barely missing Gandalf’s head. It snaps the iron rail and splinters the stone step. But it is unharmed itself. It is a black ball of crystal, glowing with a fire at its heart. As it rolls toward a pool, Pippin runs over to stop it.

Eomer thinks it was thrown by Saruman, by Gandalf pronounces it to be more likely a parting shot from Wormtongue. Those two traitors will have little comfort of each other, and if Wormtongue gets out alive that will be more than he deserves. He suddenly sees Pippin coming up the stairs bearing the black ball and goes hastily down to meet him. He takes the globe and wraps it away in his cloak. It is not something Saruman would have wanted thrown away, he says.

But there might be other things to throw, says Gimli. If all this business is over, they should move out of range, at least.

‘It is the end,’ said Gandalf. ‘Let us go.’

 

Bits and Bobs

I must admit that the first time I read about Saruman ‘earning his stripes’ as a jester, I somehow connected this with a jester’s parti-colored outfit, or perhaps even in some attenuated fashion to earning military distinction. I realized later, of course, that stripes meant the weals or scars left from beatings with whips or rods.

It is interesting that Tolkien, the Master of Modern Fantasy, uses the term ‘fantasy’ here (and I don’t know if it occurs anywhere else in LOTR) only in its sense of an illusion or a false imagining or even a lie.  

In an interesting inversion, Saruman says, in effect, not that Gandalf is getting too big for his boots, but that he wants too big a pair of boots than he can fill. It is interesting to note that it is here that the concept of ‘The Five Wizards’ entered Tolkien’s writing, a detail that he went to some trouble to explore long after the books were published. Indeed it is fascinating that there are more intriguing hints about the nature of the wizards spoken between these two than any other of the peoples of Middle-earth care to say or speculate. Gandalf throws Saruman out of the order by breaking his staff, much as a soldier in disgrace was thrown out of the army by breaking his sword.

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Voice of Saruman (Part Three)

 

The Tale

Saruman appears above them suddenly, a tall old man in a cloak of shifting colors, looking grave and benevolent behind his long white beard. Gimli mutters that he does indeed look like, yet unlike, Gandalf himself. The wizard asks them what they want in a kind but gently grieved voice.

Saruman says he knows at least two of them, Gandalf and Theoden, but he throws shade on Gandalf, saying he knows him too well to hope anything from any talk with him. But he begins to butter up Theoden, complimenting his ancestry,  calling him ‘mightiest king of western lands’, and even goes so far as to ‘forgive’ him for winning the battle against his Orcs, which he simply calls ‘injuries’. He claims that he would still help Theoden, and indeed claims to be the only one able to do so.

Theoden hesitates, looking from Saruman to Gandalf at his side. It seems to many of the Riders that Gandalf never spoke to their king so attractively, looking rough and proud in comparison. Gandalf says nothing, but Gimli breaks in and growls ‘The words of this wizard stand on their heads ... In the language of Orthanc help means ruin and saving means slaying’.

Saruman’s veneer is cracked and his anger flashes out as he hisses ‘Peace!’. He does not like being interrupted during his spellbinding. But he goes on smoothly the next second, even complimenting the dwarf on his valiant though misplaced prowess, but telling him this is no business of his as he lives far away. This is between neighbors and one-time friends. Once more Saruman asks Theoden if they will have peace and an alliance that will benefit both their estates. He is wise and has much to offer the king.

‘Still Theoden did not answer.’ Now Eomer speaks up, and he is not happy. ‘Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue?’ What aid does Saruman have to offer? He only wants to negotiate his way out of a tight spot. Remember the murders of the king’s son Theodred and of his doorward Hama, slain by Saruman’s forces.

Saruman’s anger really comes out now, plain for all to see, but he quickly reigns it in. He flatters Eomer for his skill in battle, but these are matters of policy. Perhaps if the young lord ever becomes king, he will realize that he must choose his friends with care, and the power of Orthanc is not to be set aside thoughtlessly. They have won a battle, not a war, and with help from a force that they cannot count on again. The Ents might attack Rohan next. ‘The Shadow of the Wood … is wayward, and senseless, and has no love for Men.’

If I am to be called a murderer, Saruman says, then so are you; if men will go to war needlessly (he didn’t want a battle, he claims) men will get slain. By that standard the whole House of Eorl, Theoden’s line, is stained with murder, for they’ve fought many foes. But they have afterward made peace with them. Cannot they now have peace?

“We will have peace,” Theoden begins. Some of the Riders cheer, but he holds up a hand. He goes on in a clear voice. They will have peace when Saruman and all his works and his dark master Sauron have perished. For his unjust war on Rohan –‘for were you ten times as wise you would have no right to rule me and mine for your own profit as you desired’ – for the burning and the slain children in the Westfold and for the death of his warriors slain at the Hornburg, he will not rest until Saruman is hanged in front of his tower ‘for the sport of your own crows.’ Theoden may be the lesser son of greater fathers, but he has no need to lick Saruman’s fingers.

The Riders are startled by their King’s harsh words after the lulling music of Saruman. The wizard is beside himself with wrath. He leans forward and hisses his words at Theoden, and all are stunned by the transformation. His mask of benevolence and courtesy falls away.

He now calls Theoden a dotard (senile old man), and his royal house nothing but a stinking barn where robbers drink and brats and dogs play together on the floor. Speaking of gibbets, Theoden can hang himself if he will, if he refuses Saruman’s help. He offered it once before and he did it again, but if the king rejects this chance, he can take his ‘little band of gallopers’ and return to their ‘huts’ to await their fated end.

 

Bits and Bobs

Here we see Saruman trying to deflect unwelcome comments by using rhetorical tricks. When Gimli speaks up against him, Saruman asks him what is it to you? You are a stranger and have no dog in the fight. This is between ‘neighbors’, as if all people are not in a sense neighbors, and justice a concern of all people, everywhere. The modern equivalent of this argument is the oft-repeated “Why do you care so much?” implying a sinister, busybody motive.

Saruman discounts Eomer’s objections as well with an ad hominem reference to his youth and inexperience. Older, wiser heads know that compromises must be made in life. He speaks nothing to the justice or the plain reasons behind Eomer’s accusation, only that when he is older he will understand.

Saruman tries to weasel around Eomer’s accusation of murder by confounding the meanings of ‘murder’ and ‘kill’. To murder is to kill someone with malice, without any justifiable reason. To kill is a much more neutral term: a nation or a person that kills an invader to protect themselves is not murdering because protection is the intent and not  death. To call the House of Eorl ‘murderer’s’ is a misleading term.

Theoden appears to have been struggling against the wizard’s blandishments, but Eomer’s reminder of the cold facts of the deaths he has caused seem to have made up his mind. Among the other reasons for his decision I find intriguing this one: –‘for were you ten times as wise you would have no right to rule me and mine’. It reminds me of our modern conundrum: our tendency to think that people who have technical expertise are wise enough to produce moral judgements on the rest of us dummies. The one skill does not imply the other; knowledge does not necessarily equal wisdom, nor does it imply the right to ‘rule’ for and over others. Persuasion (Saruman's original skill and power) is the proper way to change people.

The Lord of the Rings: The Voice of Saruman (Part Two)

 

The Tale

‘Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it.’

Bits and Bobs

I wanted to set this paragraph alone here to examine for a moment the power and significance of ‘the voice of Saruman.’ I think it was Tom Shippey who pointed out just how modern the mode of Saruman’s speaking, as opposed to the archaic speech of say, Theoden, or even the old-fashioned Victorian/Edwardian voice of the Hobbits. It is very similar to the contemporary speech of politicians and journalists, who all too often seek to put a spin on what has happened, especially if it has been an embarrassing failure. George Orwell, in his 1949 novel 1984, called it  Newspeak, ‘ambiguous euphemistic language used chiefly in political propaganda.’  

But G. K. Chesterton had already noticed the tendency in the Thirties: “Most Eugenists are Euphemists. I mean merely that short words startle them, while long words soothe them. And they are utterly incapable of translating the one into the other, however obviously they mean the same thing. Say to them 'The persuasive and even coercive powers of the citizen should enable him to make sure that the burden of longevity in the previous generation does not become disproportionate and intolerable, especially to the females'; say this to them and they will sway slightly to and fro like babies sent to sleep in cradles. Say to them 'Murder your mother,' and they sit up quite suddenly. Yet the two sentences, in cold logic, are exactly the same.”

― G.K. Chesterton, Eugenics and Other Evils : An Argument Against the Scientifically Organized State

The Lord of the Rings: The Voice of Saruman (Part One)

The Tale

Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippen pass into the ring of Isengard. The waters have now subsided, but the valley is full of dark pools, broken rock and pillars, and it is coated with scum and slime. Coming from the north, Legolas can see Gandalf, Theoden, and the King’s company approaching the tower of Orthanc from the other side. It pauses and waits for the Fellowship members to join them in the shadow of the tower.

Once united, Gandalf tells them he and Treebeard have made a few plans and asks if they are rested. Merry says they have fared so pleasantly that they feel less indisposed toward Saruman. Gandalf says he doesn’t; still, he must pay Saruman a farewell visit. Probably both useless and dangerous, but it must be done. The Ents have hidden themselves so that the defeated wizard will be less shy. Who will go with him?

Pippin asks what’s the danger? Will he shoot fire at them or put a spell on them? Gandalf says the last is most likely. Saruman has powers that are not obvious, and he may use them deviously upon you if you are unwary. ‘Beware his voice!’

They come to the foot of the dark stone tower, which shows only a few small chips at the base as evidence of the fury of the Ents. Between two piers of the tower are stairs leading up to a great door, above which is a balcony hedged with iron bars. They decide that Gandalf, Theoden, Eomer, and Aragorn will ascend to the door, while the Riders will remain below. Gimli and Legolas declare they too will go, as representatives of their people. They climb up, but Merry and Pippin stop and sit on the bottom step, ‘feeling both unimportant and unsafe.’

Gandalf bangs on the door with his staff, demanding that Saruman come forth. At last the window above is unbarred, but no figure is seen. A voice asks who they are and what do they want. Theoden knows that voice: it is Wormtongue. Gandalf says that, since he’s fallen from counselor to footman, to fetch out Saruman pretty quick. The window closes and they wait.

‘Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment.’ Saruman has come to start gaslighting the situation.

Bits and Bobs

Here we start learning a few things about Saruman, to up the ante of the encounter. To Gimli’s declaration that he wants to see if Saruman really looks like Gandalf, Gandalf replies that the fallen wizard could appear to the dwarf as looking just like him. Whether this would be a pure transformation or a mere ‘glamour’ or bamboozlement is never demonstrated.

Saruman’s voice is mentioned, of which we will learn more soon. It seems his main wizardly power is persuasion, which he has since corrupted to his own ends. It originally could have been used to bring people into accord and convince them to right action. We can read its subtle perversion in his convincing the White Council that the Ring had been irrevocably lost, rolling down to the Sea. This left his search for it undisturbed. In contrast, Gandalf’s main power is to kindle the hearts of the despairing and inspiring them through hope into action. All the fireworks and spells are just tools, almost window dressing. Cirdan gives Gandalf Narya, the Ring of Fire, to enhance these powers of enflaming encouragement.

Both the words ‘spell’ and ‘enchantment’ have their roots in speaking and singing. They are worked by language, by the spoken word, and it is by his cunning spin on his words that Saruman tries to weave his webs around his victims. Tolkien has a deep dive on the proper use of this kind of magic in his essay ‘On Fairy Stories.’