Saruman’s hatred

i was pondering two hatreds last night, both from The Lord of the Rings. Saruman the White - head of the White Council and later traitor - seems to have resented Gandalf the Grey from the start, and later comes to hate him with great bitterness. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, has two sons: Boromir (a kind of amiable oaf) and Faramir (a very Tolkienian warrior, sensitive & intelligent). Denethor cherishes Boromir but consistently treats Faramir with scorn and a strange resentment. And yet, as it is said, of the two sons Faramir is most like the father.

i think these hatreds are complex, as is usually the case in real life. My immediate impression is that both Saruman and Denethor hate what they cannot control, even though neither Gandalf nor Faramir oppose or even inconvenience them. Here is Saruman, having summoned Gandalf to Orthanc:

‘So you have come, Gandalf,’ he said to me gravely; but in his eyes there seemed to be a white light, as if a cold laughter was in his heart.

‘Yes, I have come,’ I said. ‘I have come for your aid, Saruman the White.’ And that title seemed to anger him.

‘Have you indeed, Gandalf the Grey!’ he scoffed. ‘For aid? It has seldom been heard of that Gandalf the Grey sought for aid, one so cunning and so wise, wandering about the lands, and concerning himself in every business, whether it belongs to him or not.’

And here is Denethor with his son, as Faramir relates his perils:

‘The rest of my company I sent south to strengthen the garrison at the fords of Osgiliath. I hope that I have not done ill?’ He looked at his father.

‘Ill?’ cried Denethor, and his eyes flashed suddenly. ‘Why do you ask? The men were under your command. Or do you ask for my judgement on all your deeds? Your bearing is lowly in my presence, yet it is long now since you turned from your own way at my counsel. See, you have spoken skilfully, as ever; but I, have I not seen your eye fixed on Mithrandir, seeking whether you said well or too much? He has long had your heart in his keeping.’

The tone, of resentment, and long, inexhaustible bitterness, is familiar to me from my own childhood, and more recently with those who have tried to control me. Both Denethor and Saruman have been corrupted by a palantir, a seeing stone. Sauron holds the master palantir and so is able to bend the will of anyone who touches the lesser stones. While he cannot simply command men like Saruman or Denethor, he is able to tempt, to lure, to subvert. With Denethor he simply shows him the full might of Mordor, and so Denethor falls into despair, believing defeat to be certain. Denethor’s mind stays clear, but his soul is eaten away.

i think that while Saruman and Denethor hate what they cannot control, there is a deeper explanation. Gandalf is Saruman ‘as he should have been’, and Faramir likewise is a younger, uncorrupted Denethor, with his father’s greatness of mind and will, but with undarkened nobility. Both Saruman and Denethor hate those who remind them of their own corruption. Hatred is often of this kind; people hate those they in part resemble, as if partial likeness contaminates as utter difference cannot. Hatred is a means of pushing the shadow self, the bad brother, the semblable, far off. And both Saruman and Denethor judge those they hate by their own mean standards. So when Gandalf offers Saruman his freedom, Saruman cannot credit Gandalf with the generosity of spirit that he himself lacks:

‘But when I say “free”, I mean “free”: free from bond, of chain or command: to go where you will, even, even to Mordor, Saruman, if you desire. But you will first surrender to me the Key of Orthanc, and your staff. They shall be pledges of your conduct, to be returned later, if you merit them.’

Saruman’s face grew livid, twisted with rage, and a red light was kindled in his eyes. He laughed wildly. ‘Later!’ he cried, and his voice rose to a scream. ‘Later! Yes, when you also have the Keys of Barad-dur itself, I suppose; and the crowns of seven kings, and the rods of the Five Wizards, and have purchased yourself a pair of boots many sizes larger than those that you wear now. A modest plan. Hardly one in which my help is needed!’

And Denethor, when he learns that Frodo came within Faramir’s reach, and Faramir allowed him, and thus the Ring, to go his way, rather than seizing it for Gondor; Denethor is by now so corrupt he cannot comprehend the nobility of spirit that moved Faramir to let the Ring pass from his reach:

‘If what I have done displeases you, my father,’ said Faramir quietly, ‘I wish I had known your counsel before the burden of so weighty a judgement was thrust on me.’

‘Would that have availed to change your judgement?’ said Denethor. ‘You would still have done just so, I deem. I know you well. Ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle. That may well befit one of high race, if he sits in power and peace. But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.’

‘So be it,’ said Faramir.

‘So be it!’ cried Denethor. ‘But not with your death only, Lord Faramir: with the death also of your father, and of all your people, whom it is your part to protect now that Boromir is gone.’

Ever behind hatred is this unease, the hater uncomfortable about himself, ferociously defining himself by his hatred. Thus it is often with families, that each defines him or herself as the negation of a brother or father, or mother or sister. While there is much to be said for negative role models, hatred is a foul and corrupting influence, as we see with Saruman and Denethor. It is not pleasant to meet grown adults who still seem largely moulded and driven by hatred for their parents. Behind this hatred is a deep unease; the hater is anxious to have no kinship with the hated, so anxious indeed that often he or she becomes as aggressive and sterile as the parent in question, and sometimes more so.

Thus it is that revolutionaries, those who are keen to overthrow a hated order or person, are often deeply unpleasant human beings, regardless of their mission. There must be other fuel than hatred.