Thinking about how Denethor uses his grief as a cloak and Faramir cloaks his grief.
Both of them are able to keep enough emotional distance from Boromir’s death to find out the information they need.
Denethor uses the pretext of wanting to hear Pippin’s memories of Boromir to find out about Aragorn. This infuriates Gandalf: “You can use even your grief as a cloak. Do you think that I do not understand your purpose in questioning for an hour one who knows the least, while I sit by?”
Faramir, on the other hand, is willing to throw Boromir under the bus to get Frodo to talk: “….I can well believe that Boromir, the proud and fearless, often rash, ever anxious for the victory of Minas Tirith (and his own glory therein), might desire such a thing and be allured by it.”
They’ve known about Boromir’s death for less than TWO WEEKS, so it’s impressive (in a slightly disturbing way) that they can be so… tactical when they speak about him.
Can’t you see the family resemblance??? Faramir is not some hapless teary eyed softboi who needs Eowyn to protect him! Faramir is cunning and calculating because he learned from the best!
There’s a deeply funny and tragic parent-child dynamic to this exchange between Faramir and Denethor:
‘I hope that I have not done ill?’ He looked at his father.
‘Ill?’ cried Denethor, and his eyes flashed suddenly. ‘Why do you ask? The men were under your command. Or do you ask for my judgement on all your deeds? Your bearing is lowly in my presence, yet it is long since you turned from your own way at my counsel.
I imagine Denethor is thinking, “How dare you try to manipulate me, I’m the one who taught you how to do that!” Then he says, “My son, your father is old but not yet dotard,” which has the most tired, sarcastic, pissed-off dad energy. And of course he has only himself to blame for Faramir’s pigheadedness, because he’s exactly the same way!!! which is something he can never admit, naturally. Denethor’s attitude to Faramir is very much “I see myself in this picture and I don’t like it.”
