"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." ~ Faramir, The Lord of the Rings
Welp, here we are in December -- & ready to spend time with another of speculative fiction's great leaders. It's the last post of the year in this series, but by no means the least, because the character is Faramir, from JRR Tolkien's epic classic, The Lord of the Rings.
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| Faramir in The Two Towers |
Those who have read the books will almost certainly know why I want to shine the leadership spotlight on Faramir. I get, though, that those who have only seen the Lord of the Rings films may be a tad puzzled at this point. :-)
For those among you who fall into the latter category, I hope today's post illuminates not only why I think Faramir is a great leader, but why he's among my favorite characters in The Lord of the Rings books -- and why I was hugely disappointed by his treatment in the films. #JustSaying
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| The Lord of the Rings |
By way of background, in The Lord of the Rings the realm of Gondor and bastion city of Minas Tirith (the Tower of Guard), are largely standing alone against the growing might, and evil, of Sauron and Mordor. Faramir is the younger of the Steward (ruler) of Gondor's two sons, and he first appears in the latter half of the second book, The Two Towers.
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| Minas Tirith |
The ringbearer, Frodo, and his companion, Sam, encounter Faramir in a disputed borderland where they are waging guerilla warfare against the forces of Mordor. In the third book, The Return of the King, Faramir commands the final defense of Gondor's Osgiliath outpost, and fighting retreat to Minas Tirith.
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| Frodo & Sam on Mordor's border |
Faramir has many outstanding leadership qualities, but the defining one is his moral center. When the one ring comes into his power Faramir repudiates it without hesitation, because he knows that its power, while immense, is also hugely corrosive and corrupting. And although deeply committed to Gondor, his loyalty is not blind. So despite knowing that his father, the Steward, would want exactly that, Faramir will not take the ring's corruption into the heart of Minas Tirith.
Although a successful war-captain, who leads a series of successful forays against the enemy, Faramir is also merciful. So just as he will not take the ring from Frodo and Sam by force (as his brother Boromir attempted to do), he also refuses to slay them just because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite considerable misgiving, Faramir also spares Gollum at Frodo's request--which turns out to be a wise decision, and also a fortuitous one in the end, although his father and brother would both have dismissed such mercy as weakness.
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| Nazgul attack |
In the books, observers view Faramir as "stern and commanding", as well as "wise" and of "keen wit", so it's perhaps not surprising that his mercy demonstrates sound judgment. Yet however quiet his strength, Faramir shows considerable leadership chops--which is powerfully demonstrated when he holds Gondor's army to a fighting retreat from Osgiliath, rather than allowing his troops to give way to panic and rout. This is no small feat when not only facing vastly superior numbers but the supernatural evil and unrelenting attacks by the Nazgul ringwraiths, i.e. there is a very good reason they concentrate their attacks on Faramir.
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| Eowyn of Rohan |
All reasons that it makes complete sense for the brave and beautiful Eowyn of Rohan to fall in love with him -- not as a 'consolation prize' because she can't have Aragorn, but because Faramir is the real deal. As both a man and a soldier he lights up the pages of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Unquestionably, too, he deserves his place in the pantheon of speculative fiction's great leaders.
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| Eowyn & Faramir: movie poster |
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Prior Posts: Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction ~
Where To Find 'Em & Why They Rock
February: Mara of the Acoma in the "Empire" series by Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts
March: Kaladin and Dalinar in "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson
April: Pyanfar Chanur in "The Pride of Chanur" series by CH Cherryh
May: John Aversin in Dragonsbane, by Barbara Hambly
June: Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
July: Ulric of the Nadir in Legend by David Gemmell
August: Signe de Barbentain in A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay
September: Dr Mensah in the "Murderbot" Series by Martha Wells
October: Katsa & Bitterblue in "The Graceling Realms" by Kristin Cashore
November: Coltaine in "Deadhouse Gates" by Steven Erikson
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About Helen Lowe
Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.
