Guess Who's Coming to the Disaster - Page 8
© Michael Martinez
And yet, if Aldarion had not become so engrossed in Gil-galad's policies, to the exclusion of his relationship with Numenor and his family, what would have become of Middle-earth? Would Numenor still have come to the aid of the Eldar when Sauron attacked? Would Numenor have been able to achieve anything were it to have tried? Aldarion's works in Middle-earth were not lasting, but he is attributed with laying the foundation of their later victories. And if he had not been so enamored of the sea, would Aldarion have paid attention to the forests? Would Numenor have been able to construct its great navy without the forestry of Tar-Aldarion, in both Middle-earth and Numenor itself?
Tolkien's two great tragic stories both had far-reaching implications. Because of Turin's excesses, Nargothrond was destroyed, leaving Doriath isolated and without allies. Beleriand's doom may have remained uncertain even after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, until Nargothrond was destroyed. Even more generations of Elves and Men would have been born to suffer through the long war. Or, worse, Glaurung might have been sent against a different Elven realm. If he had attacked Gondolin, would Tuor, Idril, and Earendil have escaped? Turin slew the mightiest dragon of his day. With that one deed he achieved a lot of good, even though the Eldar and Edain eventually lost the war and all their realms.
Because of Aldarion's distractions, Numenor was prepared for the great role it would one day play in Middle-earth's affairs. The choices of Aldarion's descendants might have been made by other individuals, but he ensured that Numenor would be closely tied to Middle-earth. If he had remained at home, Numenor would have continued to ignore Middle-earth. Gil-galad would have found himself without powerful allies. And without the alliance, the Numenoreans might not have colonized Middle-earth. Even if Elendil and his sons still escaped the ruin of Numenor, would there have been any Numenorean colonies for them to recruit into the kingdoms-in-exile?
When Boromir tried to take the Ring from Frodo, he asked, "Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing?" Is love such a small thing? Not to us, no. But when people go looking for love in Tolkien, they seem to be looking in all the wrong places. The Lord of the Rings is not a story about passionate, sexual love. It's a story about a higher, nobler love love of freedom, love of life, love of all that is good. Ultimately, it is the power of Frodo's love (for his friends, for his Shire, and for all Middle-earth) which sustains him enough to take him to the point where his actions become unnecessary. Had Sam not spurned Gollum's attempts at love and loyalty, Tolkien suggests, Gollum probably would have thrown himself into the Fire.
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