The Two Towers
Chapter 1: The Departure of Boromir
“Thus passes the heir of Denethor, Lord of the Tower of Guard.” Aragorn
Aragorn follows Frodo’s trail to the top of Amon Hen. Sitting in the high seat, all he sees is a great bird circling in the distance. He hears cries, the harsh voices of Orcs and then the horn of Boromir echoing in the hollows. Aragorn races down the hill as the sounds die away. He finds Boromir pierced by arrows and sitting against a tree. His horn lies at his side, cloven in two, and the bodies of many Orcs are piled all around.
Boromir confesses that he tried to take the Ring and tells Aragorn the Hobbits were captured by Orcs. He urges the Ranger to go to Minas Tirith but dies before telling him if Frodo was among those captured.
Aragorn is in despair, thinking all his choices have gone awry. He does not know what to do next. When Legolas and Gimli arrive on the scene, they think he has been mortally wounded. Aragorn brings them up-to-date, although he does not inform them about Boromir’s confession.
What to do next, he wonders. Tend the fallen, says the Elf. But be swift, says the Dwarf. After deciding to put Boromir in a boat, they search the bodies of the Orcs. Aragorn finds the knives and sheaths belonging to Merry and Pippin; Legolas replenishes his supply of arrows.
The Ranger realizes not all the dead Orcs are from Mordor. Some are from the Misty Mountains but four are unknown. They look different and their weapons are different. There is a white hand in the centre of a black field on their shields, and an S-rune made of a white metal on their helms.
Gimli thinks the “S” stands for Sauron, but Legolas points out the Dark Lord does not use Elf-runes. He does not use his right name, or permit others to use it, says Aragorn. No, these strange Orcs must be from Saruman.
Legolas and Gimli retrieve the boats and inform Aragorn one boat is missing. They lay Boromir’s body in one boat with his helm, horn and broken sword. The boat is towed out and set loose. The river takes it and it disappears over the falls of Rauros. Aragorn and Legolas sing a lament for Boromir.
The Ranger now examines the scene and realizes Frodo and Sam must have taken the missing boat and are on the other side of the River, headed for Mordor. The Orcs, with Merry and Pippin as their prisoners, are headed West. It seems the fate of the Ring-bearer is no longer in Aragorn’s hands, and so Man, Elf and Dwarf will chase the Orcs to rescue their captives.
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After the escape from Moria, Tolkien had written an outline of the projected plot. Boromir survives the attack at Parth Galen. Merry and Pippin wander off and are lost. (More about them in a later chapter) Idea 1: Legolas and Gimli are captured by Saruman. Idea 2: Legolas feels the Company is broken up and Gimli has lost heart. The Elf heads for Lothlórien, accompanied by the Dwarf, who plans to return home. As they journey, they sing laments. Suddenly they meet Gandalf. The wizard, now clad in white, tells them how he overcame the Balrog, donned Mithril-mail and fought his way out, slaying many Orcs. The three companions head south.
Meanwhile, Boromir and Aragorn go to Minas Tirith. It is besieged by the forces of Sauron and Saruman. The Lord of the city is slain and Aragorn is chosen to be the new chief. Boromir is jealous and deserts to join Saruman.
It was when Tolkien wrote the previous chapter (The Breaking of the Fellowship), that he decided Boromir would never return to Minas Tirith. Just think how different the story would have been had the author stayed with his initial storyline. There might have been little or nothing about Rohan.
The character we now know as Aragorn is still named Trotter in the drafts. When he stands in the seat of Amon Hen, he has a vision. “Down a long path came an old man, very bent, leaning on a staff. Grey and ragged he seemed, but when the wind tossed his cloak there came a gleam of white, as if beneath his rags he was clad in shining garments.” Tolkien decided the vision was “inartistic” and dropped it from this point of the story, although he used the passage later in the story.
In the fair copy of this chapter, Boromir says, “Farewell, Aragorn.” This was the first time Tolkien had used that name since abandoning it early on.
In the first draft, no lament is sung for Boromir. The earliest version is entitled “Lament of Denethor for Boromir” and includes the East Wind, which blows “past the Tower of the Moon”. Although this title implies that the lament occurs later, the surrounding text would indicate it is sung at this point in the story.
Trotter tells the Elf and the Dwarf that Boromir tried to take the Ring. When they react in horror, he responds, “Think not ill of him. He paid manfully and confessed.”
The three companions set out west after the Orcs. An Eagle descends and they meet an old man coming up to meet them. Trotter speculates they can get horses in Rohan.
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I wondered about the significance of the Winds in the lament, and why Tolkien omitted the East Wind. I asked my son what wind might symbolize and he suggested that a strong wind could represent force. In the lament, though, the winds serve as messengers. Why omit the East Wind? The weather moves primarily west to east around the globe. In southern California, winds blowing east from the desert toward the ocean are called “Santa Ana” and bring hot, dry weather to what is usually a mild, pleasant climate. “Nor’easters” are violent storms which batter the New England area. Wind from the East seems to bring bad news.
* What do the winds signify to you? Why would Tolkien omit the East Wind?
* Why did Frodo have a vision in the high seat of Amon Hen and Aragorn did not?
