I suspect I'm more critical of Elrond than ... just about everyone

[anghraine]

I really love the scenario where Faramir goes to Rivendell because of all the possibilities it unlocks (and I don't buy that whoever favored him in the dream-sending thing was wrong or manipulative, whatever the mechanical difficulties). And that's not super unusual, though there's often at least some boring "but the plot requires it be Boromir" responses.

And one of the things that people who like the scenario tend to bring up is that Faramir would click a lot more with the Rivendell atmosphere in general. He loves lore and music, he's up to his ears in Númenórean mystique and even Elvish vibes to Pippin (Faramir's maternal uncle is instantly recognizable to an Elf as part Elvish, fwiw), Faramir is wary of Elves but I suspect less so than Boromir, and his mixture of stern resolve and gentle compassion seems a pretty natural fit for Team Elrond. Faramir and Elrond could have a really cool dynamic! And I agree with all this!

However, "cool dynamic" reads a bit differently to me than I think most others who like the scenario because—

Elrond:

“But in the wearing of the swift years of Middle-earth the line of Meneldil son of Anárion failed, and the Tree withered, and the blood of the Númenoreans became mingled with lesser men. Then the watch upon the walls of Mordor slept...” (FOTR)

Faramir:

“Kings made tombs more splendid than houses of the living, and counted old names in the rolls of their descent dearer than the names of sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry; in secret chambers withered men compounded strong elixirs, or in high cold towers asked questions of the stars. And the last king of the line of Anárion had no heir. But the stewards were wiser and more fortunate. Wiser, for they recruited the strength of our people from the sturdy folk of the sea-coast, and from the hardy mountaineers of Ered Nimrais.” (TTT)

Elrond associates the decline of Gondor directly with the failing of the (patrilineal) line of Anárion, which was directly succeeded by the rise of the Ruling Stewards. It was their watch which "slept" and under them that Númenóreans intermarried with "lesser men." Yet several of the events he talks about in that section happened rather differently than he suggests. Minas Anor and Minas Ithil were built long before the rise to Númenor-like imperial glory in Gondor that Elrond, well, glorifies, not as a result of their power at that point. The intermarriage between Númenóreans and non-Númenóreans accelerated after the Kinstrife (i.e. under the kings). Even Tolkien, who sometimes frames this in deeply racist ways, insists that intermarriage had far less of an effect on the dwindling of the Dúnedain than the loss of Númenor, and of course, the existence of people like Denethor, Imrahil, and Faramir demonstrates that Númenórean types can still show up in Gondor, regardless.

Faramir, meanwhile, is sharply critical of the obsession with ancestry under the kings, despite apparently also feeling some similar nostalgia for the days of the "Silver Crown" and, famously, his instant recognition and acceptance of Aragorn's kingliness. He talks about not wanting Minas Tirith to rule over other people's cities (which was very definitely the case during Gondor's days of glory!) but to be "a queen among other queens" even if Gondor should triumph in the war.

And it is absolutely true that the Dúnedain of Gondor would have been flattened like Arthedain without those considered "lesser men" (he also talks in this section about the Rohirrim, who were granted Calendardhon under the Stewards and who kept their vows to them multiple times; while he doesn't approve of their preoccupation with martial glory and its impact on Gondorian culture, he still considers them very lovable, as will of course be borne out by his later love for Éowyn). He sees the Stewards' recruitment of these other people as part of Gondor's watch, which certainly has not been sleeping in recent memory.

The army that Aragorn leads to the Pelennor, incidentally, would include a high number of the multiracial people of the non-Belfalas coast, and even with the Rohirrim, this was essential to the victory on the Pelennor. So the direct association between Gondor's dwindling of power with interracial marriage makes very little sense—it's because of the integration of non-Númenóreans that Gondor is still there at all.

So, yeah. Elrond = #problematicfave.

Okay, I think it's fair to point out that some of this is nitpicky. Sure, but it still makes him a less than perfect authority on Gondor and Gondorian history in my books. He's under no obligation to focus on Gondor, so it's not a big deal in itself that the order of events he's lived through but not personally witnessed are not perfectly organized in his recap. And it's also worth noting that he was not there for most of what he's talking about in his overview of Gondor, he has not encountered the high-octane Númenórean types currently in Gondor in a long time, etc. It's a long way off and he's working with what knowledge is available to him.

I mean, he could be less assured about stuff he's not correct about, but it isn't a grave error. Pretty rich for him of all people to blame a (partially misunderstood IMO) trend in geopolitics on Númenórean intermarriage with other mortal races, though. I mean, next to the marriages of his own grandparents and great-grandparents ...?

Anyway, the point of all this is that I think rapport between Faramir and Elrond would be cool, but it might not be quite as much smooth sailing as people tend to assume. The two of them do have some diametrically opposed ideas about Faramir's country and people, and Faramir is pretty much living proof that almost totally Númenórean people still crop up in Gondor, which could have an interesting effect on Elrond as well as Faramir being affected by coming face to face with Elrond of Rivendell, brother of Elros Tar-Minyatur (Faramir's own ancestor!), great among both kindreds, usually kind as summer, etc.

So, yeah, it's a really interesting scenario to me because of the ways in which it could challenge both and not just necessarily be Faramir as a grateful recipient of lore and wisdom and so forth.

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

Ah, I like this very much!

[anghraine]

Thanks :)

I sketch it out in my mind sometimes, but I do find Tolkien very difficult to write (despite inspiring my first fanfic I ever posted!), so I never manage more than that. I do think an Elrond POV Faramir comes to Rivendell longer one-shot might be an interesting approach, though.