Saruman and McMurphy

[Matthew Shute]

I feel an unsystematic literary rumination coming on…

Saruman, the villainous wizard in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga, is a puzzling case. There are several qualities to admire about him: he is willing to follow his own path and struggle for his own vision, heedless of orthodox wisdom and morality; he shows ambition and initiative; he has intellect and erudition; he prefers experiment and discovery over handed-down mysticism (“Saruman the White” becomes “Saruman of many colours”, and Gandalf accuses him of breaking a thing to understand what it is – a dig at Newton’s prism).

There is also a deeply pitiful side to Saruman. Worst, he compromises his own ideals, in the end resorting to an attempt at genocide; he becomes ensnared with Sauron and the dubious allures of totalitarianism and absolute power, stultifying hierarchy and regimentation; he fails to achieve anything he sets out to achieve, constantly acting out of fear and weakness, allowing circumstances to dictate his strategies, and making idiotic decisions.

Another ambiguous case is McMurphy, the well-known hero or anti-hero in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. McMurphy, too, struggles to live up to his own ideal, although he makes a better go of it than Saruman does, achieving a powerful yet short-lived victory over Nurse Ratched. However, he is not subtle or devious (Saruman-like) enough to achieve a more lasting triumph. He is driven to the edge, emotionally, by Ratched’s crass brutality coupled with her sense of righteous purity. Although he manages to get the better of her, for all to see, he does so thoughtlessly, resulting in his own destruction. With more intelligence, thought, and planning, he may have been able to “expose” the Big Nurse and bring down her regime while living to fight another day.

Somewhere, between these two flawed characters, is a heroic ideal.

[Elessarina]

Was Saruman's mind not corrupted though by use of the Palantir so that he was not actually choosing his own path?

[Matthew Shute]

I think that his "falling in line" more and more with Sauron can be explained, partly, by his use of the Palantir and the Dark Lord's influence. Still, I think (at least early on) he genuinely wants to use the ring for (as he sees it) good, giving him the means to re-order Middle-Earth according to his own designs, and getting rid of Sauron. His corruption by the Palantir isn't instantaneous - am I wrong?

[Elessarina]

I think that his "falling in line" more and more with Sauron can be explained, partly, by his use of the Palantir and the Dark Lord's influence. Still, I think (at least early on) he genuinely wants to use the ring for (as he sees it) good, giving him the means to re-order Middle-Earth according to his own designs, and getting rid of Sauron. His corruption by the Palantir isn't instantaneous - am I wrong?

I'm not sure myself I haven't read it for a few years but I know both he and Denethor were heavily influenced by it. I got the impression Sauron's influence was great, his charisa is what led the elves to teaching him how to forge rings .. was it not? And I can't recall if the film is correct in the fact that Saruman did not know of the rings whereabouts until Gandalf told him it had been found (?) by which time he was already corrupted by Sauron

[Matthew Shute]

I'm not sure myself I haven't read it for a few years but I know both he and Denethor were heavily influenced by it. I got the impression Sauron's influence was great, his charisa is what led the elves to teaching him how to forge rings .. was it not?

Yes: Sauron, one of the Maiar (a slightly lesser spirit than Melkor, a Valar), was chiefly a great smith (he was rivalled only by the likes of Aulë, his former Valar leader before he joined Melkor), but he could also take the form of a beautiful and charismatic figure when he wanted to employ persuasion. The elves eventually caught on to his plan, however. Later, in his incarnation as a new Dark Lord, Sauron cannot become beautiful, but he can still use fear and power to bend others to his will.

And I can't recall if the film is correct in the fact that Saruman did not know of the rings whereabouts until Gandalf told him it had been found (?) by which time he was already corrupted by Sauron

That's basically right.

[Matthew Shute]

Hmm. It has been a few years since I read The Silmarillion. I'd forgotten that the singular of "Valar" is "Vala". Don't think I'm oblivious to the mistakes I occasionally make.

[Elessarina]

Hmm. It has been a few years since I read The Silmarillion. I'd forgotten that the singular of "Valar" is "Vala". Don't think I'm oblivious to the mistakes I occasionally make.

It's a long time since I read it so my memory of it is pretty sparse I'm afraid

[Matthew Shute]

Here's a quote from The Silmarillion, regarding Saruman's motivation. The context, here, is Sauron's initial return in Dol Guldur (Mirkwood). Note that Curunír is the name the Elves use for Saruman:

Thus the Wise were troubled, but none as yet perceived that Curunír had turned to dark thoughts and was already a traitor in heart: for he desired that he and no other should find the Great Ring, so that he might wield it himself and order all the world to his will. Too long he had studied the ways of Sauron in hope to defeat him, and now he envied him as a rival rather than hated his works. And he deemed that the Ring, which was Sauron's, would seek for its master as he became manifest once more; but if he were driven out again, then it would lie hid. Therefore he was willing to play with peril and let Sauron be for a time, hoping by his craft to forestall both his friends and the Enemy, when the Ring should appear.

He set a watch upon the Gladden Fields; but soon he discovered that the servants of Dol Guldur were searching all the ways of the River in that region. Then he perceived that Sauron also had learned of the manner of Isildur's end, and he grew afraid and withdrew to Isengard and fortified it; and ever he probed deeper into the lore of the Rings of Power and the art of their forging. But he spoke of none of this to the Council, hoping still that he might be the first to hear news of the Ring. He gathered a great host of spies, and many of these were birds; for Radagast lent him his aid, divining naught of his treachery, and deeming that this was but part of the watch upon the Enemy.

The Silmarillion is free to read, here:

http://ae-lib.org.ua/texts-c/tolkien__t ... on__en.htm

[Elessarina]

The Silmarillion is free to read, here:

http://ae-lib.org.ua/texts-c/tolkien__t ... on__en.htm

It's on my bookshelf


The Hobbit starts shooting in July

[Matthew Shute]

The Silmarillion is free to read, here:

http://ae-lib.org.ua/texts-c/tolkien__t ... on__en.htm

It's on my bookshelf

Me, too.

The Hobbit starts shooting in July

We'll see what Guillermo del Toro can make of it. It could be interesting.