Faramir
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- This article is about Faramir, son of Denethor. For information about the Hobbit, see Faramir Took.
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Faramir, Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien (T.A. 2983 – F.A. 82) is a wise man of nobility and the second of Denethor's two sons in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth.
As the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien (as well as the Captain of the White Tower after his brother's death) during the War of the Ring, he had the strength belonging of his Númenórean ancestors, whose blood ran true in him, to reject the Ring without temptation—where else his brother, Boromir, could not.
After his father's death, Faramir became the Steward of Gondor. Upon the arrival of the true king, King Elessar, he laid down his office as Ruling Steward, but Elessar renewed his hereditary appointment as Steward and advisor to the King. Faramir was also appointed Prince of Ithilien, also known as, Lord of Emyn Arnen.
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Biography
Faramir was born in the year 2983 of the Third Age to Denethor II and Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth. The following year, Ecthelion II died and his son, Denethor, succeeded him as the Ruling Steward of Gondor. Through his mother, Faramir was a nephew of Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth.
When Faramir was five-years-old, Finduilas died. Her death caused Denethor to become more somber, cold and detached from his family. The relationship between Faramir and Boromir, who was five years elder of the brothers, grew closer and greater in love. Despite the obvious way that Denethor favored Boromir over Faramir, there was no jealously or rivalry between them. Boromir protected and helped Faramir, and Faramir looked up to his older brother. Although the siblings were very similar in appearance with their dark hair and grey eyes, it was not so in personality. Boromir was defined to be the more daring one, as well as the more fearless and strong warrior. Faramir’s boldness was incorrectly judged to be less due to his gentle nature and love of lore and music.
It was this interest that formed a friendship between Faramir and Gandalf the Grey. The youngest son of Denethor learned of what he could from Gandalf’s wisdom and mentoring. Denethor did not approve of Faramir as the “wizard’s pupil”, for he neither trusted or liked the Istar.
Faramir’s leadership, skill-in-arms, and swift but hardy judgment proved to be handy on the battlefield. During the War of the Ring, he was the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, which consisted of the goodly Dúnedain of the South belonging to the line of the Lords of Westernesse. Faramir valiantly defended Gondor from the Enemy, but did not enjoy fighting for war’s sake.<ref name="war">"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Númenor, and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom. Not feared, save as men may fear the dignity of a man, old and wise" (Template:ME-ref)</ref>
The night before the assualt of Osgiliath on June, 3018 T.A., Faramir had a prophectic dream of a voice speaking the following riddle:
“Seek for the Sword that was broken:
In Imladris it dwells;
There shall be counsels taken
Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token
That Doom is near at hand,
For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand.”<ref name="riddle>Template:ME-ref</ref>
It came to Faramir twice more and once to his brother, and the brothers told of their dream to Denethor, who only told them that Imladris was an Elvish name for Rivendell, home of Elrond and the Halfelven. Although Faramir had wanted to go for Gondor’s sake, Boromir, with the support of his father, claimed the right to the errand, deeming it to be dangerous and doubtful, and traveled nearly four months to Rivendell, arriving just in time for the Council of Elrond, where he reported the dream and its verses.
On February 29, 3019, Faramir, who was on guard duty, waded down to a boat floating down the Anduin river. To his grief, it was the dead body of his brother, which was pierced with many wounds.
During the battle with Southrons, Faramir, who took over his brother's position as the Captain of the White Tower, encountered the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, recognizing them to be the Halflings his dream spoke of. Faramir questioned Frodo of his quest, and Frodo revealed that he, along with eight other companions, set out from Rivendell. During the interrogation, Faramir asked often about Boromir, especially concerning his fate, and of Isildur’s Bane, which Frodo was not too keen on talking about. Through intelligent questioning and intuition, Faramir determined that Frodo was carrying some great evil weapon of the Dark Lord of the Enemy. At this point, he showed the crucial difference between him and his proud brother:
"But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo." <ref name="ttt">Template:ME-ref</ref>
In the Rangers’ secret refuge behind the waterfall, Henneth Annûn, Sam accidentally spoke of Boromir’s desire for the Enemy’s Ring, thus revealing the item Frodo was carrying. Despite the hobbits’ fears, Faramir was wise enough to realize that such a weapon was not to be used and if desired, should be resisted. With this knowledge, he also realized what his brother had to face, and wished that he had gone in his brother’s stead—knowing that Boromir would have wanted this ring in which he could bring glory and victory to Minas Tirith and himself. Giving them provisions, he sent them on their way to continue their quest, but warned Frodo of Gollum being a treacherous creature and of the sleepless, dark, unknown terror in Cirith Ungol.
Noting that the sky was now covered in complete darkness the following evening in Cair Andros, Faramir sent his company south to reinforce the garrison at Osgiliath while he and three others of his men rode to Minas Tirith. Along the way, they were pursued by the Winged Nazgûl. Faramir, who was the only one horsed, rode back to aid the fallen. Immediately, Gandalf rode out to their aid, temporarily banishing the Nazgûl.
Arriving at Minas Tirith, Faramir reported to Denethor and Gandalf of his encounter with Frodo and Sam. Denethor became angry that Faramir had not brought the ring to Gondor, wishing that his and his brother’s places were reversed — since Denethor believed that Boromir would bring the Enemy’s weapon to him. Against the rest of the Council’s opinions, Denethor sent Faramir to hold Osgiliath against the hosts of the Enemy that outnumbered their own greatly. Although Faramir disagreed with his father’s strategy, he agreed to go, requesting that his father think better of him if he returned (to which Denethor coldly replied that it would depend on how he returned).
The Witch-king, who led a force from Minas Morgul ten times greater, overwhelmed the men of Gondor and won Osgiliath. Faramir, who decided to stay with the rearguard in order to make sure that the retreat over Pelennor would not turn into a rout, was gravely wounded by an arrow after the Ramnas Echor was breached. Fortunately, Gandalf and Faramir’s uncle, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, rode to the aid of Faramir and brought him back to Denethor.
Regretting that he had unthankfully sent his son off in needless peril without his blessing, Denethor, after seeing in the palantír that the Ring would be captured, ordered his servants to build a funeral pyre for him and his son, who was believed to be poisoned by the Witch-king’s dart. Despite the protests of Peregrin Took that Faramir was still alive, Denethor continued with this madness and released him from his service.
Horrified, Pippin went to alert Gandalf and Beregond, one of the Tower Guards. Beregond, who loved his captain enough to abandon his post and risk his life protecting him, and Gandalf, stopped the servants and Denethor from lighting the pyre with fire. Seeing that he could not win, Denethor jumped into the lit pyre, burning himself alive.
Two days later, Aragorn came and revived Faramir with athelas in the Houses of Healing. It was not a poisoned dart of the Witch-king that wounded him in a state near death, but the arrow of a Southron, along with Faramir’s weariness and grief concerning his constantly strained relationship with his father and the Black Breath of the Nazgûl, who, under Sauron's orders, hunted Faramir ever since he'd left Ithilien.
On March 20th, Faramir met the Lady Éowyn of Rohan in the house of healing, and as they walked together in the gardens nearly everyday, he slowly thawed her cold exterior, for he later learned from Merry Brandybuck, of Éowyn's tragedies and sorrows. Despite this, Éowyn still felt languished and unfulfilled. Five days since their meeting, Faramir admitted his love to her after explaining that he understood her deathwish. There, Éowyn’s grief and desire for glory and greatness vanished, and she realized that she had come to love Faramir in return. Upon hearing this, Faramir kissed her, uncaring of whether or not the people of Minas Tirith could see this in full view.
Faramir briefly served as a Ruling Steward, and began preparing the city for the King’s arrival. On the day of the King’s official coronation, Faramir surrendered his office. Aragorn, however, announced that as long as his line would last, Faramir and his descendants would be Stewards of Gondor.
King Elessar appointed Faramir as the Prince of Ithilien and Beregond to be the Captain of his guard, the White Company. As Prince of Ithilien, he and the Prince of Dol Amroth, Gondor’s two highest ranking nobles, became King Elessar's chief commanders. His duties also included acting as resident march-warden of Gondor's main eastward outpost, rehabilitating the lost territories, as well as clearing it of outlaws and orcs and cleansing Minas Morgul of evil-remnants.<ref name="letters">Template:ME-ref</ref> Faramir also fulfilled the traditional role as Steward, acting as the King’s chief counselor as well as ruling Gondor in the King’s absence.
With Éowyn, the two settled in Emyn Arnen, where the two had at least one son named Elboron, who succeeded him as Steward of Gondor, Prince of Ithilien, and Lord of Emyn Arnen, after Faramir’s death in 82 of the Fourth Age.
Portrayal in adaptations
In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, Faramir does not at first let Frodo, Sam, and Gollum go, but decides to bring them and the Ring to Gondor. He takes them west to Osgiliath and not until the Ringwraiths attack the city does he release them. Many fans of the book criticize this change, saying that it seriously damages the character; some have jokingly dubbed him "Filmamir" or "Farfromthebookamir", among other names.<ref name="film">Template:Cite web</ref>
Peter Jackson's explanation is that he needed another adventure to delay Frodo and Sam, because the episode at Cirith Ungol was moved to the third movie, and so a new climax was needed. Another explanation often cited is that it was felt that for dramatic reasons it was necessary to show (more) character development, which meant that Faramir had to go through some kind of struggle or difficult decision in the film. Jackson also argued that it was necessary for Faramir to be tempted by the Ring because in his film everyone else was tempted, and letting Faramir be immune would be inconsistent in the eyes of a film audience, and would weaken the films' portrayal of the Ring, which was that of a seduction of normal men. Image:Faramir ride.jpg Many fans, however, remain unimpressed and unconvinced by Jackson's justifications, and have complained that Faramir was changed into a near-carbon copy of Boromir and have commented that Tolkien himself, who once likened himself to Faramir, would not have liked the way the film characterized him. Jackson counters that the important difference between Boromir and Faramir is kept: Boromir was completely incapable of resisting the temptation of the Ring. Faramir, realizing what his brother went through, what Frodo and Gollum must endure, and his own morals and personality in check, realizes the danger, and freely decides to let Frodo go.
There was also criticism concerning the Rangers' treatment of Gollum, who beat him up. Fans bitterly complained that Faramir, whose gentle heart was easily moved by pity, would have never let his men or himself torture any prisoner, no matter how wicked or evil. In the book, Faramir calls the creature Sméagol instead of Gollum, and told his men to "treat him gently...but watch him."<ref name="ttt">Template:ME-ref</ref>
In the extended edition of The Two Towers, Jackson has included a new flashback scene showing that Denethor has been neglecting him and favoring Boromir, so that Faramir wanted to please his father by bringing him the Ring. (The relationship is similarly strained in the books, but there his father's favoritism does not seem to affect his decisions in Ithilien.) On the whole, however, new Extended Edition scenes with Faramir brought the character closer to the sympathetic treatment of the books.
Faramir is played by David Wenham in the films, who joked that he got the role because he and Sean Bean, who played Boromir, both had large noses. A minor change is that in the book, Faramir and his brother are dark-haired and lack beards, but in the movie, they have fair hair and are slightly bearded.
In the BBC Radio adaptation, Faramir is voiced by Andrew Seear.
Trivia
- Faramir's name in Elvish either means 'sufficient jewel' or 'jeweled hunter'. The -mir meaning "jewel, precious thing, treasure" and the -phar meaning "suffice" or the the element far (from faras) meaning "hunting." His father named his brother Boromir, on the other hand, which means "great jewel".
- Faramir was, in the words of Tolkien, "modest, fair-minded and scrupulously just, and very merciful."<ref name="letter2">Template:ME-ref</ref> His appearance toward the end of The Two Towers apparently was as much of a surprise to Tolkien as it is to his readers. "I am sure I did not invent him," he wrote. "I did not even want him, though I like him."<ref name="letter3">Template:ME-ref</ref>
- Faramir in many ways speaks for Tolkien, who was a soldier in World War I and saw action in the Somme, when he spoke that he only fought to defend Gondor, not for glory or triumph or valor. Much later, Tolkien would write, "As far as any character is 'like me', it is Faramir."<ref name="letter4">Template:ME-ref</ref> It is for this reason that Tolkien bestowed his dream of a great wave (that reoccurred in his family) to Faramir. "For when Faramir speaks of his private vision of the Great Wave, he speaks for me. That vision and dream has been ever with me—and has been inherited (as I only discovered recently) by one of my children, Michael."<ref name="letter4">Template:ME-ref</ref>
See also
References
<references />
External links
- Faramir at The Thain's Book
- There He Came - A Faramir tribute and fansite
There is another Faramir, Faramir, son of Ondoher, who died at the Battle of the Camp.
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