Boromir's Golden Belt

Yesterday morning, the Dark Crystal was not the only thing I woke up with on my mind.  It was the most immediate, however.

But there was also this seemingly unrelated sense that Boromir was, in fact, Pharazon reincarnated.

I was sufficiently preoccupied with some of my Dark Crystal thoughts (and a few other things), though, that this remained somewhat in the background.  But as the day went on, I couldn't help but think it through a bit and see if even the possibility could make sense.

The thought itself was unexpected and surprising, and was initially crazy enough where I thought perhaps my mind was making some connections that weren't actually there.  I realized, though, that it wasn't really even connections that were generating this thought - it was just the thought itself:  Boromir is Pharazon.  It was like a little bell going off in my mind, with no other detail than that and leaving me to look into it a bit.

I was going to hold off on publishing anything about it to see where things would go, but I think it is one of those hypotheses that doesn't hurt to get out there and see where it goes.  Sometimes these types of thoughts have really taken off, grown, and made a lot of sense in developing my story.  And sometimes they don't go anywhere, or fizzle out a bit after a favorable initial try at it and end up in the penalty box (ahem... Tom Petty).

I had been willing to consider that Pharazon was on our world right now as a person, given a potential storyline that has us closer to the End than to the Beginning, but having him as Boromir had him coming back a little too soon for what made sense to me.  Wasn't he supposed to be buried in a cave somewhere with the other Numenoreans until the Last Battle, or at least close to it?  So, I already had a prejudice against the thought, and yet it still grew, and that is usually when I need to take notice and at least play it out.

OK, so what do we have here?

First, lets summarize what we had already in relation to Pharazon and Faramir, either stated explicitly on this blog by me, or strongly implied and hinted at.

Pharazon, as you may recall, anointed himself the Chosen One, and under Sauron's guiding hand, had his pride exploited into acting out this belief.  As mentioned, I do not believe that the notion of a Being that will lead God's people home is a false one.  On the contrary, as with my commentary regarding Orion-Menelmacar, I actually think it is likely true.  Like Moses, this future Being will restore the Family of Light, specifically Joseph's family (represented as the 144), as Lehi discusses with his son Joseph in 2 Nephi of the Book of Mormon.

Pharazon came to believe this was him, however, in some form.  He, in a very real way, usurped a role that belonged to someone else, declaring himself the chosen one, but he was in actuality the wrong man at the wrong time.  This is Faramir's role, at least with respect to leading Beings dressed up as Men home, and I believe the importance of that role is one of the reasons it continues to be a primary focus of this blog.

OK, so remember that detail, that Pharazon took on the role of the Chosen One, and brought about heartache and devastation as a result.

In Lord of the Rings, in understanding the fully backstory of events that led up to the Council of Elrond, I believe it is extremely likely, if not almost certain, that it was Faramir and not Boromir who was intended to go and join the Fellowship.  I mentioned this briefly in my earliest posts on Faramir called "The Jewel Hunter:  Faramir as the messenger/ servant that will gather Jesus' people".

For those not aware of the details, it is Faramir, and not Boromir, who repeatedly has the dream with the words that tell him to "Seek for the Sword that was broken" in Imladris.  As Boromir tells the Council:

For on the eve of the sudden assault a dream came to my brother in a troubled sleep; and afterwards a like dream came oft to him again, and once to me.

Boromir confirms the dream was originally Faramir's, and many times at that, and then says at the end he also had it once.  Why the one time for him, though?  I am not sure, perhaps as the brothers sought an answer to Faramir's dream, Boromir had thought so much on it that he had the dream himself the one time.  There are other potential explanation, also.  However, what is obvious from Boromir's telling, as well as Faramir's own remarks later to Frodo and Denethor, is that Faramir clearly believed the dream was intended for him, but Boromir wanted to go instead, to which Denethor agreed.  Faramir wished to go, but was overruled by both Boromir and Denethor.  As Boromir proceeded to tell the Council:

Therefore my brother, seeing how desperate was our need, was eager to heed the dream and seek for Imladris; but since the way was full of doubt and danger, I took the journey upon myself.

This decision would prove nearly catastrophic for the Fellowship, and almost personally damning to Boromir.  But this is a redemptive work, and at least some repentance was achieved by Boromir in understanding that he had sought for Power for his own purposes, fooled by the source of that Power (Sauron) and sought as best as he could at the end to make things right (i.e., in his protection of the Merry and Pippin to his own death).

But, in looking at this objectively, the conduct of Boromir was Pharazonic, both in his actions before encountering the Ring, as well as afterward.

In his conduct before, quite simply he usurped his brother's role.  It ought to have been Faramir that went, but Boromir took it upon himself instead.  He wished to be the chosen one.

And in his conduct after, Boromir, among and unlike all the Fellowship and those who aided the Fellowship, succumbed to the Ring and tried to take it by force.  Pharazon also took things by force when denied to him, and if Frodo hadn't used the Ring to disappear, that would have happened in this instance as well.   My guess is that if Boromir had come back into contact with Frodo - as in, his part in that story didn't end soon afterward - then the same sickness would have gotten hold of him.  Others in the Fellowship were able to manage not wishing to have the Ring, and even denied it when freely offered (as was the case with Aragorn, Gandalf, and others not in the Fellowship such as Galadriel).  But not Boromir.

Why was the trial too much for him?  Well, in the theory that he was Pharazon, it may simply be that he was not completely healed of the Shadow that had possessed him an age before.  Sauron's power had a disproportionate hold on him because of those earlier events on Numenor.  Watching the movie makes one thing that the Ring has this crazy affect on everybody.  But in reading the actual story, it is fairly clear that Boromir, above all, struggles with the Ring and the temptation of its Power.

But how curious to have Pharazon and Faramir as brothers, right?  You have the one who I think will eventually lead people to better lands born as the younger brother of the one who tried to take his place and do that by force on Numenor.

And they got along and loved each other, but again, I think as Faramir observed with Boromir's action in general, the pinch had not yet come.  Faramir did not pose a threat to Boromir in any way in their relationship.  Denethor favored him, he was the eldest and next in line as Steward - there was nothing that Faramir had, yet, that Boromir envied or desired.  And thus he could play the role of the protective, older brother, which again fit very nicely into Boromir's worldview of himself.

We learn from the story of Nephi, however, in the Book of Mormon what happens to younger brothers who end up becoming the Chosen Ones over their older brothers.  Not good things, sometimes.  And while we can't tell exactly what might have happened, we do have enough context clues to suggest that if Faramir ever did come into a position or situation that might yield a similar responsibility as Nephi, this might then change some things or introduce other interesting dynamics into their relationship.  It might have been hard for Boromir to accept and deal with constructively.  Clearly, since even when the dream and the invitation to seek the Sword (Narsil) came to Faramir, it was Boromir who took it upon himself to go.  

Indeed, I suggest it was ultimately pride that was the reason that Boromir went.  Pride was also the primary cause of Pharazon's downfall and catastrophe.  And fear of not being "the one".  If you notice in the earlier quote from Boromir's words to the Council, that it was because the was was 'full of doubt and danger' that he decided to go.  One might think that this was done out of love to protect his brother.  But you can also interpret it as that he believed it was his right to go, and that the glory of the deed should be his.  And maybe both reasons were in his mind at the time.

This thinking is all very fresh, obviously, but something interesting happened as I was thinking about all of this and the potential similarities between Boromir and Pharazon.  

I had a thought to look at the gift that Galadriel gave to Boromir in Lothlorien.

Galadriel gave each of the company a gift as they departed her realm.  To Boromir she gave a golden belt.

Now, it is one of those details that if I had read about the belt first and then started having some thoughts relating Boromir to Pharazon, I would have had serious doubts.  Lots of people have belts, and in fact Merry and Pippin also received silver belts from Galadriel.  It would have been a very tenuous connection.

But, the fact that I had these thoughts before I read this, and I had made such a big deal about Pharazon (and Humpty Dumpty) and their nice belts in previous posts, made me really take notice.

Pharazon's belt was actually mithril silver, apparently, at least according to Words of the Faithful, but as we read there, he really liked to dress up completely in Gold, so that he would shine so brightly during the day that no one could look at him.  He wanted to look like the Sun.

Thus, in Galadriel's gift, I began to see a mark.  Meaning, Galadriel knew who he was.  As we know, she had spent time earlier looking into each of their souls when they first met her in Lothlorien.  Based on this, I think she knew who she was dealing with and the belt was meant to signify or mark who Boromir had been. 

This is also symbolically represented in Faramir discussion with Frodo in describing Boromir as he appeared in death, floating down the Rauros.  Of all the markings that Boromir was adorned in, it was the belt that he didn't recognize:

One thing only I knew not:  a fair belt, as it were of linked golden leaves, about his waist.

The belt being made of golden leaves was interesting as well.  Over on William Tychonievich's blog, leaves of gold in many different meanings have come up, including from Galadriel's song.  I did a search and counted a couple such posts.

In any case, the belt was unrecognizable to Faramir, as would be Boromir's previous life that this belt represented.  Faramir wished to see the full restoration of all that Numenor was meant to be (as he described to Frodo), not realizing that his own brother was the same Being who had led not only Numenor, but the world, to a seemingly final ruin.

It gets even better, I think, in looking at this belt, and for this we turn back to Humpty Dumpty.

Recall that what started this whole Humpty theme was a dream I woke up from with the poem of Humpty Dumpty playing in my mind.  Since then, I have focused my aim on him in suggesting he is emblematic of Pharazon himself.  William, on his blog, even went so far as to write a whole new version of Humpty Dumpty that almost couldn't, in my opinion, be a more apt story representing Pharazon and his own fall.  I mean, it is fairly straightforward, in my opinion.

In Through the Looking Glass, which I have quoted before in my Humpty-related posts, Humpty Dumpty says something really interesting about how he got the nice belt-cravat that Alice notices:

'It's a cravat, child, and a beautiful one, as you say. It's a present from the White King and Queen. There now!'

OK, so recall that I have Humpty Dumpty as Pharazon, and Pharazon as Boromir.  Boromir received his belt from Galadriel, who is also known as the White Lady.  This is actually what Faramir specifically calls Galadriel in his discussion with Frodo ("Yet I envy you that have spoken with the White Lady."), as well as names Eowyn (The White Lady of Rohan who will become the White Lady of Ithilien).  In a previous post, I hinted that perhaps Humpty didn't really receive the belt as a gift, but took it.  In saying this, I was imagining Pharazon taking an honor that didn't belong to him.  However, now understanding that Humpty is also potentially Boromir, this makes sense in that light as well.  The White Queen (Galadriel) really did give Humpty his belt as a gift.

This is all fairly fresh thinking, so we will see how it ages.  It definitely throws up all over the idea of all of the Numenoreans being locked up until the Last Battle, but Tolkien started to get away from that whole concept later in life anyway, I believe, at least with respect to how and what that Battle would be (I don't think there will be any fighting necessary at all among the righteous - no battle necessary, in fact).

William Tychonievich wrote about a song he heard that had one lone Tin Soldier who returned from a battle, which he connected to both a short story he wrote about the Tinleys (valley people who attacked some mountain people), as well as to the vulture from his dream named Odessa Grigorievna.  The Tin Soldier and Odessa may represent the same Being - Pharazon.  Perhaps Pharazon avoided the same fate as the other Numenoreans and actually wasn't imprisoned like them (you know, like Darth Vader spinning out to space by himself while the Grand Moff and everybody on the Death Star is destroyed).  

He would then return as Boromir.  

I have linked Boromir with Captain Moroni, so I will have to think through that connection as well.  In any case, there is potentially a redemptive thread here, then, in his fate and he may have been spared to help take part in the restoration of a world (Numenor) that his actions caused to be encased in water and ice. 

A frozen egg sitting high on a wall.