April 26, 2002

Gandalf the White
Gothamock

MAJOR LOTR SPOILERS!

In answer to "Gandalf, the Grey Area" by
Curious George when he asks "Someone please tell me, does Gandalf actually die and then come back to physical form?"

To give a simple answer, yes he dies. In the books, Gandalf "passes" after defeating the Balrog. To give the complicated answer, since Gandalf is an immortal Maia (angel) he doesn't die in the sense that we mortals would die, although he “passes”. Gandalf clearly has a body, and it is not at all clear what exactly happens to that on the mountain top during a two week period. We can be sure that he is not like us mortals. He is more akin to a powerful being, an angel and in fact, as physically powerful as a Balrog, spirit (maia) of demonic fire, servant or ally of Morgoth (Satan).

To give another simple answer, yes, he returns to a physical form. The long answer: when he reappears, he is not Gandalf the Grey, he is “the White”, and seems more than a bit detached from his former self (all of this is apparent in the Two Towers book). In fact, he seems only to remember Gandalf the Grey, and then says of himself, “I am Saruman, or at least what Saruman was supposed to be”. No, this is not a misprint; Gandalf the White says this himself. He has become the head of the order of Istari (wizards), replacing Saruman. He is then "sent back for a time" to complete his quest. This means that he, or his spirit at least returns from Valimar (heaven) to complete his purpose, namely helping what forces of the world that are willing, against Sauron. Istari look like elves or humans but they are very different.

It may help to understand Roman Catholic theology (Tolkien was a strict, orthodox Roman Catholic) and its view of angels, as well as the use of the term “order”. Istari are angels sent for the particular purpose of quietly defeating Sauron. And most, or all other Istari fail. Saruman falls to evil and is dissipated into nothingness by a wind from the west (heaven) (see the “Scouring of the Shire”, said not to be included in the PJ movies).

After his fall, Gandalf now becomes an Archangel (still one of the lower ranks, but a captain over the lowest rank). With the new “office”, comes a new version of himself, an upgrade, so to speak, replacing Saruman as head of the angelic order. (Please, no e-flames Tolkien directly referred to angels. “Gandalf … being plainly one of the 'immortals', and angelic emissary of the angelic governors (Valar) of the Earth.” -From the Letters, number 268)

In the movie, to convey the idea of Gandalf replacing Saruman, Peter Jackson makes Gandalf (Ian McKellen) look quite a bit like Saruman (Christopher Lee) and, unfortunately, also somehow like a transvestite to my eyes (unlike Christopher Lee’s Saruman). Maybe it’s just the dark eyebrows and straight light hair, maybe it’s more …

>Or does he simply become endowed with more
>power from Galadriel after his ascent from the
>depths?

Tolkien’s Galadriel was a high, ancient Eldar elf of the house of Feanor. She was strong physically and mentally. She was beautiful, wise and powerful. She had what we would term great magic, although both Tolkien and she declined to use that word for her skills. Despite this, I really don’t think she could raise anyone from the dead, nor infuse them with inherent magical or spiritual powers.

Perhaps, against the hopes of book fans, Peter Jackson will use Galadriel the way you describe, but Tolkien surely didn’t. The Gandalf Tolkien wrote about left his form on Middle-Earth, and “wandered” in spirit. After a short time, he returned to Middle Earth, with a renewed vigour, rising anew (at or about the spot he “passed”, most likely reinvigorating his old body), becoming transformed into a being of greater power. To speculate, the Vala (the most powerful angels) in charge of Gandalf’s order, Manwe would have ordered Gandalf’s return to the body, although Saruman’s Vala, Aule probably had a voice in it. After all, Gandalf replaces Saruman. I would think that Tolkien would faithfully follow medieval and ancient angelology (and thus bureaucracy) again.

As well, Tolkien refers to Gandalf as an “Odinic Wanderer” a clear reference to the father/head of many of the Norse gods, Odin. Odin often wandered about in the guide of an old man in a tattered cloak. As well, Odin killed or nearly killed himself several times to get more power or wisdom. Once he hung himself for days on the “tree of the world”, and another time, he gouged out one of his eyes. Middle-Earth (Mid-gart) was translated directly from the Norse mythological name for our world! There is no reason to doubt the shadowing with Gandalf here.

>He seems to have some sort of power over
>gravity (as does Sauruman) so then why didn't
>he use that power to get back onto the ledge
>before he fell into shadow?

Well, whether or not Peter Jackson intended to show Gandalf as having anti-gravity powers, that is not relevant to the reason he fell. The reason he fell is that the Balrog’s whip of flame was wrapped around his knees (somewhat faithful to the books). The two fall together, and fight during the fall to the bottom. -- Please no endless debates about the damn Balrog wings-- As an added effect, Tolkien puts the Balrog’s fire all about Gandalf and it burns him. The demon’s fire was extinguished at the bottom of the abyss, when they fell into in a deep pool of icy water. Cool.

>Perhaps his power
>exists only with staff in hand as hinted in the
>books?

Once again, maybe Peter Jackson took this interpretation, maybe not. Tolkien’s version of Gandalf’s staff was first: as a symbol of office, and second: MAYBE a channel or focus of power, but certainly not the source of power or a “wizard gun”.

Probably, the particular staff in hand is irrelevant, since Saruman uses Gandalf’s staff against him in the movie’s wizard flipping scene. As well, Gandalf has a new staff after he escapes from Orthanc, and it seems to work as well as the first. Later, Gandalf takes Saruman’s staff (breaks it) in the final showdown at Orthanc (during the book version of the Two Towers) but it seems that Saruman is already without power, since he can only attempt to “con” the protagonists using his enchanting rhetoric. Since Saruman had a staff, if it were powerful in itself, (as Sauron’s ring), he could have done some serious damage to the fellows as they mulled around at the base of the tower. He didn’t, and thus we can conclude the Istari’s staffs are not “wizard guns”, like they are in Disney’s Fantasia.

Tolkien himself goes into great detail in his writings about how focusing your power into a material object was a BAD thing. Middle Earth itself is called Morgoth’s Ring because Morgoth (Satan, Sauron’s master) invested himself in it, built at least one full scale fortress of Hell out of it, and fought with the Valar (the holy host of heaven) over it, and in the end was cast out, leaving only his lieutenant, Sauron behind. In the course of the war, half the world was destroyed. Morgoth’s roots went deep.

Feanor, the brightest star of the elves, “forged” and got totally obsessed with the Silmarils, putting some kind of elven power in them, that eventually caused the near end of the world (read the Silmarillion).

The elves learned to their sorrow and eventual undoing that the great rings were a doomed attempt to use an object of power to fight against the course of nature (avoiding change).

Tolkien also talks at length about the concept of the actual Ring of Ruling being a container of power (namely Sauron’s) by itself granting power according to the stature of its bearer as well as a particular channel for the Dark Lord’s remaining energy and will.

Given Tolkien’s and Middle Earth’s metaphysics, the Valar (powers of good) would avoid doing exactly the same evil thing that Morgoth, Feanor, and Sauron did, namely placing great “sorcery” in an object.

>Or, does the ring he wears give him
>immortality as does the One ring to its wearer?

The one ring in all probably does NOT give immortality to its user, rather, it stretches one’s life “thin” -- prolonging the years, and eventually turning the enslaved one into a “shadow” under the great shadow. This implies bodily death, followed by a sort of soul or spiritual enslavement, rather than real immortality. Something like possession, hell and purgatory mixed in the right amounts.

For Tolkien, the Roman Catholic, ALL human (and humanish) souls and spirits are immortal one way or another. Elves go to Valimar, into the Halls of Mandos. They may get a new body and might return to Middle Earth one day. Humans (and Hobbits) pass beyond even Valimar and go straight to Illuvitar himself. The Elves find this a good thing, and call the death of men a gift, and wonder why one would want to be either immortal, or “reincarnated” like the Elves. (Elves seem silly from our perspective, don’t they)? Dwarves, in all likelihood are reincarnated (eg Durin), although this is somewhat vague. Sauron, the great Necromancer, was expert in trapping “loose” souls and spirits inside bodies, or other physical things, and making the tortured creature his slave.

For more on Gandalf and Saruman, et al.:
http://www.tolkienonline.com/docs/5802.html

Cordially,
Gothamock