September 5, 2002

Re: Warg's Cowering Greyhame
Swynwr

In response to Warg's comments concerning Gandalf's behaviour around Saruman, I feel obliged to offer an alternative view. What must be remembered about Gandalf in FOTR is that, although he is clearly a powerful and wise wizard, he is also a being of limited abilities. He may indeed be proud, headstrong and dignified, but he is also gracious, content and seemingly unambitious when it comes to his status within the brotherhood of wizards. You must realise that at this point in the saga, Saruman is Gandalf's superior, and Gandalf accepts this without prejudice. He does, after all, respect Saruman, and even after he usurps him as chief of the Istari, he does so with grief in his heart, remembering the great being that Saruman once was. However, he is fully prepared to voice his opposition to Saruman's unsavoury intentions at Orthanc, simply because he knows that Saruman is wrong. When it means that the greater good is at stake, Gandalf will stand his ground admirably. Gandalf's power in FOTR is a hidden one, and only after he is martyrized and reborn as Gandalf The White does he achieve his full potential as a Maia. This is what makes Gandalf's story so triumphant, and this is where I think you've missed the point. As someone so aptly wrote in words to this effect; Gandalf The Grey is "a man on a journey to find his purpose in life". As Gandalf The White, he has slain his demon and knows exactly what his purpose is. Furthermore to your comments regarding the confrontation between the two wizards in the film, I think the fight was a necessary alteration for the sake of dramatic effect, and in my opinion it worked brilliantly. It also serves to display how ugly and rash Saruman has become since his turncoat activities. His reaction is indicative of his arrogance and rage at Gandalf's resistance to assisting him in achieving his dark goal, thus leading him to abandon reasonable debate in favour of physically bullying his colleague into seeing his point of view (and you may also note that Gandalf fights back, refusing to be pushed around, not even by his superior). I know this scene isn't original Tolkien, but do you really think that this point in the film would have been as dramatic and as exciting if Gandalf had simply vented his disagreement, only to be led away quietly to his imprisonment at the pinnacle of Orthanc, as in the book? Dare I criticize Tolkien? Well, films can sometimes improve upon aspects of their source material, and I personally think that the film's version of this event was more in keeping with Gandalf's feisty character. There, I said it!