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Faramir/Aragorn manifesto
Another one that I can't remember if I posted or not, but don't want to lose.
But Elizabeth, I hear you saying (if you spend any time at my blog), you take potshots at Aragorn all the time! Faramir is your precious darling baby! Why would you ship them?
I don’t hate Aragorn! I just—okay, that’s a post for another day (eta: here). Reasons I ship them!
1) CHARACTER PARALLELS
I’m really into character parallels, okay.
Faramir leads the Rangers of the South as Aragorn leads the Rangers of the North, though they both have wider responsibilities that lead them to serve elsewhere.
They’re extremely popular with their men, who faithfully serve them; the Northern Dúnedain follow Aragorn into the Paths of the Dead and Faramir leads his to fight under the shadow of the Ringwraiths. Twice. Aragorn also fights Ringwraiths!
Aragorn’s cousin and close friend Halbarad dies fighting for him. Beregond kills his own comrades to fight for Faramir.
They’re well-educated, interested in lore and music. Aragorn explains history to the hobbits, and stops to sing about Beren and Lúthien. Faramir goes into a tangent about Gondorian history and philosophy to Frodo and Sam, and is explicitly described as “a lover of lore and music.”
COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR FATHERS. Aragorn is raised by his remote uncle, Elrond, at Rivendell—which is great, but lbr, plenty of people there are pretty damn condescending about Aragorn’s entire species.
Meanwhile, Faramir’s father, though he loves him, prefers his older brother and seems to project his own struggles onto Faramir—the son that most resembles him. Faramir and Denethor clash and it’s repeatedly stated that Faramir displeases him on a regular basis.
And, of course, Aragorn eventually falls in love with Elrond’s daughter, his equally-remote cousin, which Elrond is not especially thrilled about. Faramir's close relationship to Gandalf displeases his father.
They’re Númenórean throwbacks, greater than most of their recent ancestors. There’s a strong sense that Aragorn is blessed in some way that the other Isildurioni have not been. Faramir’s life is apparently being protected, and a Vala or Maia sending him dreams. It overlaps when Aragorn heals Faramir, pursuing him into his mind.
They also have magic peredhel powers! Númenórean powers, whatever, they’re basically a species of mortal half-elves. Anyway. Magic! Aragorn has healing, foresight, and supercharged will-power and charisma. Faramir has telepathy, true-dreaming, and awareness of things he has no reason to know (as in his exclamation over Boromir waking to some weakness in his heart , and supercharged will-power and charisma (over animals, too).
They even look alike. Faramir reminds Pippin of a more approachable Aragorn; Faramir’s father, of whom he’s apparently a mini-me, and Aragorn looked like brothers. Aragorn is the tallest of the Fellowship, and was stated by Tolkien to be at least 6'6"; Faramir is noticeably taller than the already-tall Rangers of Ithilien. They’re both pale, with dark hair and bright grey eyes, and (Aragorn after he’s cleaned up a bit) very attractive. They’re compared to ancient Númenóreans and Elves.
They’re both thoughtful and highly intelligent, but able to act decisively and boldly when it’s required, and extremely personable. They’re both amazing warriors.
I could honestly go on, but I’ll leave that there.
2) But they’re not the same!
Seriously, nobody’s going to confuse them. Aragorn is often harsh and severe; he’s proud, enough to trip him up now and then, as when he suggests that he should be exempt from Rohan’s laws as heir of Elendil; and he can be pretty ruthless. He travels everywhere and fits in wherever he goes and leaves when he feels like it. He shines as a military leader and warrior.
Faramir is repeatedly described as gentle in bearing; it’s probably his most distinctive quality, though he’s also stern (like Aragorn, and more so than Boromir, consistently described as ‘pleasant’). He’s generally compassionate and understanding, and said to be “scrupulously just and very merciful.” He’s willful and has a certain pride, but he also has a frank humility that allows him to refuse the Ring. He’s willing to maneuver to a certain extent but has strict principles about appropriate conduct, regardless of who is involved. He is a Gondorian Dúnadan to his fingertips, and fights for love of Gondor and Minas Tirith without much concerning himself with anywhere further than Rohan. He regards war as a regrettable necessity wrt Sauron, and is dismayed by the militarization of his culture.
3) Aragorn seems predisposed to like Faramir, who is all but stands between him and the throne (and by extension, Arwen). Without having ever met him, he says:
Weariness, grief for his father’s mood, a wound, and over all the Black Breath. He is a man of staunch will, for already he had come close under the Shadow before ever he rode to battle on the out-walls. Slowly the dark must have crept on him, even as he fought and strove to hold his outpost. Would that I could have been here sooner!
Hmmmmm.
4) AND THEN
Suddenly Faramir stirred, and he opened his eyes, and he looked on Aragorn who bent over him; and a light of knowledge and love was kindled in his eyes, and he spoke softly. 'My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?’
'Walk no more in the shadows, but awake!’ said Aragorn. 'You are weary. Rest awhile, and take food, and be ready when I return.’
!!!!!!
5) POLITICS
The other thing you know about me if you’ve spent much time at my blog! ;) I like exploring political contexts and characters as political actors. One of the things I find most interesting about the legendarium in general is the combination of the mystical with the political.
And this pairing involves the last heir of the previous ruling family stepping aside for a kind of questionable claimant who has, however, proven his practical ability to strengthen alliances, win favour of a ton of different people, and lead armies to victory. YEAH THIS IS THE SHIT I LOVE
Seriously, it’s like if Daenerys Targaryen rescued Stannis Baratheon and Dragonstone, and he promptly acknowledged her as the rightful Queen. LOL right as if, only it’s also if the Baratheons in this scenario had ruled Westeros for twenty-six generations instead of two.
And then Aragorn confirms Faramir in the position that his family held before the self-destruction of the kings. Tolkien’s own descriptions of the Stewardship makes it clear that Aragorn confirms him in the position as it existed under the late kings, not the weaker “an old guy to advise me” that it was earlier, before it got attached to Faramir’s house. It’s neither an empty title nor reduced to its original stature; Faramir is prime minister, head of the re-established Great Council of Gondor, and sometime regent (not Arwen, interestingly), apart from Ithilien.
Also! The end result is that Gondor(-Arnor) has an Arnorian King and a Gondorian Steward. The King, in theory, is an absolute monarch, but he has to wrangle with extremely powerful magnates, of which Faramir as Steward is almost certainly most powerful (and second most powerful as Prince of Ithilien, where he’s second only to his uncle—unsurprisingly given that the title has only just been slapped on him, while his family have been Stewards in some capacity for like 1300 years; by comparison, Alfred the Great was born 1164 years ago).
So. Romance between the absolute head of state and his right hand/regent/the most powerful of a number of extremely powerful nobles against the background of an immense restoration?
:D :D :D :D :D
But Elizabeth, I hear you saying (if you spend any time at my blog), you take potshots at Aragorn all the time! Faramir is your precious darling baby! Why would you ship them?
I don’t hate Aragorn! I just—okay, that’s a post for another day (eta: here). Reasons I ship them!
1) CHARACTER PARALLELS
I’m really into character parallels, okay.
Faramir leads the Rangers of the South as Aragorn leads the Rangers of the North, though they both have wider responsibilities that lead them to serve elsewhere.
They’re extremely popular with their men, who faithfully serve them; the Northern Dúnedain follow Aragorn into the Paths of the Dead and Faramir leads his to fight under the shadow of the Ringwraiths. Twice. Aragorn also fights Ringwraiths!
Aragorn’s cousin and close friend Halbarad dies fighting for him. Beregond kills his own comrades to fight for Faramir.
They’re well-educated, interested in lore and music. Aragorn explains history to the hobbits, and stops to sing about Beren and Lúthien. Faramir goes into a tangent about Gondorian history and philosophy to Frodo and Sam, and is explicitly described as “a lover of lore and music.”
COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR FATHERS. Aragorn is raised by his remote uncle, Elrond, at Rivendell—which is great, but lbr, plenty of people there are pretty damn condescending about Aragorn’s entire species.
Meanwhile, Faramir’s father, though he loves him, prefers his older brother and seems to project his own struggles onto Faramir—the son that most resembles him. Faramir and Denethor clash and it’s repeatedly stated that Faramir displeases him on a regular basis.
And, of course, Aragorn eventually falls in love with Elrond’s daughter, his equally-remote cousin, which Elrond is not especially thrilled about. Faramir's close relationship to Gandalf displeases his father.
They’re Númenórean throwbacks, greater than most of their recent ancestors. There’s a strong sense that Aragorn is blessed in some way that the other Isildurioni have not been. Faramir’s life is apparently being protected, and a Vala or Maia sending him dreams. It overlaps when Aragorn heals Faramir, pursuing him into his mind.
They also have magic peredhel powers! Númenórean powers, whatever, they’re basically a species of mortal half-elves. Anyway. Magic! Aragorn has healing, foresight, and supercharged will-power and charisma. Faramir has telepathy, true-dreaming, and awareness of things he has no reason to know (as in his exclamation over Boromir waking to some weakness in his heart , and supercharged will-power and charisma (over animals, too).
They even look alike. Faramir reminds Pippin of a more approachable Aragorn; Faramir’s father, of whom he’s apparently a mini-me, and Aragorn looked like brothers. Aragorn is the tallest of the Fellowship, and was stated by Tolkien to be at least 6'6"; Faramir is noticeably taller than the already-tall Rangers of Ithilien. They’re both pale, with dark hair and bright grey eyes, and (Aragorn after he’s cleaned up a bit) very attractive. They’re compared to ancient Númenóreans and Elves.
They’re both thoughtful and highly intelligent, but able to act decisively and boldly when it’s required, and extremely personable. They’re both amazing warriors.
I could honestly go on, but I’ll leave that there.
2) But they’re not the same!
Seriously, nobody’s going to confuse them. Aragorn is often harsh and severe; he’s proud, enough to trip him up now and then, as when he suggests that he should be exempt from Rohan’s laws as heir of Elendil; and he can be pretty ruthless. He travels everywhere and fits in wherever he goes and leaves when he feels like it. He shines as a military leader and warrior.
Faramir is repeatedly described as gentle in bearing; it’s probably his most distinctive quality, though he’s also stern (like Aragorn, and more so than Boromir, consistently described as ‘pleasant’). He’s generally compassionate and understanding, and said to be “scrupulously just and very merciful.” He’s willful and has a certain pride, but he also has a frank humility that allows him to refuse the Ring. He’s willing to maneuver to a certain extent but has strict principles about appropriate conduct, regardless of who is involved. He is a Gondorian Dúnadan to his fingertips, and fights for love of Gondor and Minas Tirith without much concerning himself with anywhere further than Rohan. He regards war as a regrettable necessity wrt Sauron, and is dismayed by the militarization of his culture.
3) Aragorn seems predisposed to like Faramir, who is all but stands between him and the throne (and by extension, Arwen). Without having ever met him, he says:
Weariness, grief for his father’s mood, a wound, and over all the Black Breath. He is a man of staunch will, for already he had come close under the Shadow before ever he rode to battle on the out-walls. Slowly the dark must have crept on him, even as he fought and strove to hold his outpost. Would that I could have been here sooner!
Hmmmmm.
4) AND THEN
Suddenly Faramir stirred, and he opened his eyes, and he looked on Aragorn who bent over him; and a light of knowledge and love was kindled in his eyes, and he spoke softly. 'My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?’
'Walk no more in the shadows, but awake!’ said Aragorn. 'You are weary. Rest awhile, and take food, and be ready when I return.’
!!!!!!
5) POLITICS
The other thing you know about me if you’ve spent much time at my blog! ;) I like exploring political contexts and characters as political actors. One of the things I find most interesting about the legendarium in general is the combination of the mystical with the political.
And this pairing involves the last heir of the previous ruling family stepping aside for a kind of questionable claimant who has, however, proven his practical ability to strengthen alliances, win favour of a ton of different people, and lead armies to victory. YEAH THIS IS THE SHIT I LOVE
Seriously, it’s like if Daenerys Targaryen rescued Stannis Baratheon and Dragonstone, and he promptly acknowledged her as the rightful Queen. LOL right as if, only it’s also if the Baratheons in this scenario had ruled Westeros for twenty-six generations instead of two.
And then Aragorn confirms Faramir in the position that his family held before the self-destruction of the kings. Tolkien’s own descriptions of the Stewardship makes it clear that Aragorn confirms him in the position as it existed under the late kings, not the weaker “an old guy to advise me” that it was earlier, before it got attached to Faramir’s house. It’s neither an empty title nor reduced to its original stature; Faramir is prime minister, head of the re-established Great Council of Gondor, and sometime regent (not Arwen, interestingly), apart from Ithilien.
Also! The end result is that Gondor(-Arnor) has an Arnorian King and a Gondorian Steward. The King, in theory, is an absolute monarch, but he has to wrangle with extremely powerful magnates, of which Faramir as Steward is almost certainly most powerful (and second most powerful as Prince of Ithilien, where he’s second only to his uncle—unsurprisingly given that the title has only just been slapped on him, while his family have been Stewards in some capacity for like 1300 years; by comparison, Alfred the Great was born 1164 years ago).
So. Romance between the absolute head of state and his right hand/regent/the most powerful of a number of extremely powerful nobles against the background of an immense restoration?
:D :D :D :D :D
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