The way in which the omniscience of the characters in theLord of the Ringsis portrayed, is one of the most interestingaspects of Tolkien’s writings. In some ways, it seems as if several characters within the story know exactly what events will take place, how they will come to pass, and what outcomes they will have for the fate of the world. Take, for example, Galadriel, who can look into the mirror and glimpse Frodo’s fate. But in other ways, it appears as if there is no one specific destiny. In fact, there are millions of possible outcomes that all stem from the choices that the characters make. Those who can see these choices and their outcomes can do nothing but guide the fellowship on their journey and try to steer them into the right places. This is hinted by Galadriel in her famous line:
“The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and you will fall, to the ruin of all”.
Of all the characters in the story, Gandalf is probably the biggest representation of this uncertain future. His entire part in the quest, indeed his entire purpose on Middle Earth as an Istari, is to guide those who need him, helping them with his care, his knowledge and his sacrifice. But even he cannot control the future, and has no power over the other and their actions, he can only do what he feels is best for them, and encourage them to do what is best for each other. Samwise says “I don’t think Gandalf would’ve meant for us to come this way,”, to which Frodo replies “I don’t think Gandalf intended for a lot of things to happen.”
This is of course a reference to the breaking of the fellowship, the fact that Boromir gave his life, Merry and Pippin were captured by the Uruk-hai, and Frodo and Sam had to leave alone to try to find another way into Mordor. The question is, then ifGandalf had not died with the Balrogat Khazad-Dum, and had been with the fellowship when the Uruk-hai attacked, could he have changed the outcome? Could the wizard have changed Boromir’s fate, and changed the paths that lead the others into the dangerous parts of their stories, or was this out of his control?
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When in comes to Boromir in particular, it is difficult to know if things ever could have turned out any differently. Had Gandalf been there, it’s possible that he could have saved Boromir during the attack by the Uruk-hai that ultimately killed him. Of course, if Gandalf had been with the fellowship at the time, there is a high possibility that Boromir never would have followed Frodo into the woods,despite Denethor’s insistenceon bringing the ring back to Gondor. Boromir likely never would have risked trying to take the ring from the hobbit, because Gandalf would have been watching him. Gandalf knew that he was the weakest link as the only fully human member of the group, and Boromir would have feared the wizard’s wrath.
Even if he had risked trying to take the ring, there’s a strong possibility that Gandalf would have been able to fend off the army of orcs, and protect the others, meaning thatBoromir never would have had to give his lifeto protect Merry and Pippin in the first place. But unfortunately, this could have also unraveled several of the other crucial and essential events that had to take place in the rest of the journey, in order for the rings to have actually been destroyed.
For example, if Gandalf had still been with the fellowship,he never would have died and come backas the more powerful Gandalf the White, which would have all sorts of ramifications. And if Boromir hadn’t died to protect the others, Frodo may never have made the decision to go off alone. After all, he made this choice after seeing what the ring had done to Boromir, knowing that he had to protect the others from the same terrible fate. Similarly, when Aragorn finds Frodo on Amon Hen in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations,he may never have let the young hobbit go off alone. If didn’t realize what had happened to Boromir due to the ring’s temptation, he may not have realized that this could also be in his own future, and may have tried to detain Frodo. However good his intentions were, this could have had disastrous consequences.
So even though Gandalf could have saved Boromir, this would have altered all the outcomes that came after it. Perhaps Gandalf would have known this, in the same way he knew that “Gollum still has some part to play in all this.” In that case, he would have foreseen all the steps that led to this moment, and all the steps that would result after it. There is definitely a sense within the stories that things are meant to happen a certain way, and that everyone must play their part to make it so. Each character’s choices and decisions lead them to their fate. And ultimately, the world was saved, the ring destroyed, and an era of peace began. It turned out not to be such a bad fate after all.
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