First of all, I want to make very clear this is a post I saw in the Facebook discussion board for the Spanish Tolkien Society. If you wish to find the original, you can find it here. Since it is in Spanish and my blog focuses mainly on English speakers, I decided to post a translation made by myself so that I could share it.
I never really went back to ponder Boromir’s character, but after reading it, I feel like I understand him better and feel more sympathy for him.
“Yesterday, I was putting laundry out to dry (what a way to begin a post, huh?) and I realised that Boromir is the one character from LoTR that I never really understood. Or, in other words, the character about whom I have had a more changing opinion over the years (decades, really!) ever since I read LoTR for the first time, and every time I have read it again.
At first, obviously, while I was a teenager, I considered him a “traitor”, Judas, the weak character who nobody likes, the selfish and corruptible guy. That was the opinion I held for a very long time. Easy, simple, unconflicted.
Later on, I started feeling pity for him. Basically, I thought it must be quite annoying to make the long trip to Rivendell, explain there that your land is up to knees in a war against the Shadow, and that you need help, only to be told in response “Chill out mate, there’s this untidy shady guy who is actually your legitimate King. He’ll go with you and solve all those things you cannot solve on your own. Oh, and obey what he says, his sword has a lot more swag than yours”. That must have been really frustrating. From pity, I guess I moved onto understanding.
Boromir, just like Frodo and Aragorn, has a task to complete, and it’s almost impossible to do so: to keep at bay the Enemy who wants to conquer all of Middle Earth, but he can only count on support from Gondor. No elves, no dwarves, no one will help them.
The difference between Frodo and Aragorn, and Boromir is that he cannot just choose not to carry out that mission.
In the council of Elrond, no one expected Frodo to come forth as a volunteer to carry the Ring to Mount doom. He chooses to do so, it’s his decision. Aragorn, perhaps, is more “destined” to try and reclaim the throne of Gondor and Arnor, but he is still an anonymous person: if he fails, or if he chooses to not come forward, the situation in the war against Sauron will simply remain the same. He chooses to take responsibility, and that is an act of courage and, as such, it is praiseworthy and admirable.
However, for Boromir, taking up the task of reconquering Osgiliath, travel on his own to Rivendel, command Gondor’s troops as their Captain against neverending armies... all of that is expected of him. It’s a load he never chose. It was tossed onto him. He’s his father’s favourite, but that also means he has a greater responsibility towards him. As his son, he must not fail him. In contrast, when Faramir fails, he just materialises his father’s prophecy of failure for him. If Boromir fails, the world (or Gondor) will collapse.
For Boromir, the act of courage, his own decision, would be to run away and let some other person take care of the war (Imrahil, for example). To be a coward, and fall into the background, that would be his act of courage and a personal decision.
So, on top of having to protect the biggest kingdom in Middle Earth (at least amongst the Free Peoples), having to be responsible for all military decisions in a world at war, go to a far way place instead of your brother (perhaps Boromir seeked a temporary escape of his responsibilities as Captain and his ever-judging father, just like some people go on Erasmus scholarships?), you get there and you’re told “oh yeah, you guys have a lot of fighting down there, but it’s also quite tough for us, you know?”. Well, I think it’s normal that you would feel like sulking and frustrated, to tell the truth.
In the end, to be honest, I like Boromir more and more, and feel sadder and sadder for his death. Even his death proved he was a man who thought of the others first, and that is something that is difficult to appreciate in the little time we have to know him during LoTR. That side of his is masked by his situation: far from home, surrounded by people who don’t appreciate his sacrifice and determination.
And now, I think I should go get the laundry I set out to dry yesterday...”
That was the original post. Apart from it, there were some other comments that contributed more insight into what Boromir must have felt, but I will post those in separate entries.
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