April 16, 2003

Boromir's Role Pivotal
Danny

I don't wish to say that what Boromir did was correct, only to say that it was one of the most pivotal moments in the quest. I posted thoughts about this once a loooong time back, but don't remember what the post was called or when.

Had Boromir not pressed Frodo, it is entirely possible that Frodo would not have put on the ring and gone fled. He would have most likely been returning to the followship visible and I beleive would have very likely been swept off to Isengard with the Orcs. Even if that is not what would have happened, the timing of Frodo's departure would have changed. When it comes down to things, timing was literally everything in the story.

Had Boromir not made that mistake, events would have been changed so drastically that I beleive the quest would have failed. Boromir's maddness is what gave Frodo the resolve to leave the fellowship and pursue Mordor instead of Minas Tirith. I believe he would have chosen that path anyway, but in other circumstances, what would Aragorn had done. Had Frodo not left with Sam taking the choice away from Aragorn, Aragorn would have felt obligated to go with Frodo. Thus Aragorn would have never come to Rohan, or Minas Tirith at their times of need. Merry and Pippin may have ended up okay in the hands of Treabeard and then Gandalf, but Key players would have been in the wrong places at the wrong times.

It is actually quite interesting to think about what may have happened if Boromir had not tried to take the ring from Frodo.

I think Boromir in a lot of ways represents the idea that the powers of good know how to use even bad mistakes and mishappenings to move their purposes forward. I agree with those who say that Boromir did not handle the quest as well as Frodo (it seems brutally obvious to me.) I also agree hwoever that Boromir was good intentioned, but proud. It was his pride and refusal to accept the council of those who knew more than he did that opened him up to the corrupting power of the ring on his heart.