First appearing in The Lord of the Rings (1954) and perfectly portrayed by the late actor Christopher Lee in Peter Jackson’s motion picture trilogy of the same name, Saruman the White is one of the most infamous villains from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.
Starting out as the “chief and greatest of the Istari” and the leader of the White Council that opposed the steady re-emergence of evil, Saruman long researched the lore of Middle-earth, especially the works of the “One Enemy” such as the Rings of Power, at first in the hope of finding therein the means to defeat Sauron. Saruman also began to resent fellow Istar Gandalf for the praise and reverence the latter enjoyed among Free Folk and “this rivalry turned at last to a hatred”. In the end, the White Wizard “fell from his high errand”: having grown enamored of Sauron’s arts, Saruman fancied that, if he could perhaps wield the power of the One Ring, he could become Sauron’s successor and rule Middle-earth. Now seeking, by terrible means, to become the equal of the Dark Lord himself, the White Wizard was soon ensnared:
Having betrayed Free Folk and become one of the chief servants of Sauron, Saruman drew his allies and minions from “all who hated Gondor and Rohan”(from wicked Men to Orcs and other foul creatures) and built an army in Isengard. During the War of the Ring, the corrupted Wizard served his “dark master” by helping to both weaken Rohan and “to form a second pincer with which to crush Gondor”. Yet Saruman betrayed Sauron as well by trying to seize the Ring first and claim it for himself. All the same, his efforts ended up in naught: Saruman’s army was vanquished, his desperate gamble for the Ring failed and neither did he hand over Rohan to his master in Mordor on a silver plate:
In The Lord of the Rings we see the Tower of Orthanc as the “stronghold of the Wizard Saruman”, but it was not always so. Isengard was built as a fortress of Gondor and as a means to guard the northern province of Calenardhon, while Orthanc was the bastion at the center of Isengard and the place where one of the Palantíri, the seven seeing-stones, was stored.
“Isengard”, by Adam J. Middleton
But “the people of Calenardhon dwindled” after the Great Plague, leaving behind only a small garrison at Isengard led “by an hereditary Gondorian chieftain”. While Calenardhon was eventually granted to the Horse-lords and became Rohan, nominal control of Isengard rested with the Stewards of Gondor and the keys of Orthanc were kept at Minas Tirith. But the line of Gondorian chieftains ultimately failed and the deserted ring of Isengard was occupied by the “Wild Men of the Hill Tribes” – the most bitter foes of the Men of Rohan. These Dunlendings used Isengard as a staging ground for incursions into the lands of Rohan, leading to theWar of the Rohirrim. That bloody conflict ended with the defeat of Dunland, after which the Wild Men still camped in Isengard, already “reduced by the great famine” of the Long Winter, “capitulated to Fréaláf”, nephew of the late King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim screenshot: Saruman the White at the coronation of Fréaláf Hildeson
For a long time, the Wizard Saruman continued to be reckoned as a friend and ally of the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan. But as Saruman’s pride and greed grew over time, he ignored the fact that his duty was that of mere “warden of the tower” and he instead started to “behave as a lord of Men”. He also found the Palantír of Orthanc within and, unbeknownst to the White Council, began to make use of it, until he “fell under the domination of Sauron and desired his victory”.
Eventually, he renounced guardianship of Isengard on behalf of Gondor and claimed the stronghold as his own “impenetrable seat of power”, from where he secretly acted on behalf of both “Mordor and his private schemes”. Saruman’s Orcs despoiled Isengard, turning the tree gardens within the ringed walls of the fortress to timber to fuel the forges, furnaces and smithies hidden in the caverns beneath Orthanc.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers deleted scene screenshot: Saruman the White and Gríma Wormtongue
The character’s presence in The Lord of the Rings dates back to 1939-1940, when J.R.R. Tolkien was rewriting the story of Gandalf’s delay. At this point Saruman went by Saramond or Saramund, while Treebeard was envisioned as an evil giant “in league with the Enemy” rather than the benevolent Ent from the published version:
As he began writing “The Council of Elrond” chapter, however, Tolkien decided to expand Saruman’s role and assigned the part of “Jailor of Mordor” to the corrupted Wizard himself. Orthanc began to take shape as the place of Gandalf’s imprisonment as well as Saruman’s stronghold and war camp:
“Sauron’s Army (Lord of the Rings)”, by mati-figueroa97
It was only when he began writing “The Departure of Boromir” that Tolkien actually began to sketch Saruman as a faithless servant of Sauron and hint at his secret plot to obtain the Ring and usurp the Dark Lord’s place. Following the skirmish at Amon Hen and the capture of the Hobbits Merry and Pippin by Saruman’s Uruk-hai, Aragorn questions the evil Wizard’s involvement in the hunt for the Ring-bearer:
“Character study : Saruman the White”, by Valerio ‘Dreelrayk’ Buonfantino
It is worth mentioning that the earliest outline of Saruman, that is an evil sorcerer that has been swayed to Sauron’s side, split into two different characters: the Wizard Saruman the White and the Witch-king of Angmar. Just like Saruman, the Morgul Lord (at this stage known as the “Wizard King”) was similarly sketched in the beginning as a turncoat Istar in a draft for “The Siege of Gondor” chapter, where Gandalf describes him as “a renegade of his own order”.
And also in the early drafts – which envisioned the Siege of Minas Tirith as the sole large-scale engagement of the War of the Ring; the Battle of Helm’s Deep being noticeably absent – Saruman would have been the captain of Sauron’s forces, joining the assault upon the White City from the “rear” . Saruman would also have recruited a treacherous Boromir – who had grown jealous of Aragorn – to Sauron’s side as a mole (“a faint adumbration of Wormtongue”), with Saruman promising to aid Boromir in gaining lordship of Gondor. Tolkien even pondered Gandalf breaking the Siege of Minas Tirith through “a contest with Saruman”. The evil Wizard would have been defeated and fled, before “shut[ting]himself in Isengard”. Ultimately, Saruman’s role at the head of the armies of Mordor was assumed by the Witch-king in the published version of The Lord of the Rings.
“Saruman”, by Concept-Art-House
However, Tolkien continued to develop the idea of “a trial of strength” between Gandalf and Saruman further. The iconic magic duel between the two Istari from Peter Jackson’s motion picture franchise likely took of from this direction. In notes related to the early drafts of the Moria storyline, it seems that Tolkien considered that the Balrog faced by Gandalf on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm was actually a guise assumed by Saruman.
Of course, Saruman’s “proposed identification with the Balrog of Moria” was abandoned in subsequent revisions. The closest the two Istari come to a confrontation in the published works is in the chapter “The Voice of Saruman” from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, where Gandalf shatters Saruman’s staff – effectively banishing the “Dark Lord’s puppet” from the Wizards’ ranks.
An all too familiar speech
“Saruman the White” by 1oshuart
One of the things that makes J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium, specifically The Lord of the Rings, so good is that, in spite of the fantasy setting, most of the characters are as veridical as possible. They embody archetypes that have much applicability in the real-world – not only in the age of the two World Wars, but also now. And according to Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey:
This line of thought had been clear in Tolkien’s mind since the early drafts of “The Council of Elrond” chapter from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, where “Saruman reveals himself as a servant of Sauron” and where his speech to Gandalf first took shape :
“The Dark Side” wallpaper for The Lord of the Rings the motion picture trilogy
The corrupted Wizard begins by insisting that the ascension of the Dark Lord as “the self-styled Ruler of Middle-earth” is inevitable, and that resistance against the growing Power of Mordor is utterly futile. Saruman genuinely believes that Sauron’s dominion draws near: in Tolkien’s novels he refers to his new master as “the Lord” and as “the Ruler”, and in Peter Jackson’s film series he once addresses him as “Lord of the Earth” (which is how Sauron “named himself” at the height of his power during the Black Years of the Second Age). After this, Saruman’s speech takes on a hypocritical and almost tearful tone: he condemns opposition to Sauron and dismisses it as ‘a conspiracy’ against the lawful order that he claims Sauron is striving for. Saruman goes as far as to suggest that Sauron’s goals are precisely the same as those of the Five Istari. In defending the atrocities committed by Sauron, Saruman reinforces the machiavellian belief that “the end justifies the means”, which in turn justifies his “defection to the service of the Dark Lord” as some sort of an ideological epiphany. At the end, however, Saruman blurts out his actual reasons, which are much less noble and far more base in nature: “he offers himself to Sauron as a willing vassal, hoping to share in his power”. And in the published version, Tolkien further emphasized Saruman’s delusions of grandeur, with Saruman believing that as the right-hand of Sauron he can play the part of “éminence grise” (Anglicized: “grey eminence”) behind the Dark Throne of his master: Saruman thinks that Sauron’s stewards (himself included) shall be the ones to actually govern Middle-earth:
Left: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain shakes hands with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler to seal the Munich pact. Right: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill shakes hand with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin during the Yalta conference.
There is no shortage of people from Great Britain before and after the outbreak of World War II that could have influenced the creation of Saruman: from prominent politicians like Neville Chamberlain to some of Tolkien’s own colleagues at Oxford. They all advocated the same argument as the fallen White Wizard: that Great Britain should position itself on the winning side by appeasing or even allying itself with Nazi Germany and/or the Soviet Union. And if Saruman’s attempt at claiming “lordship over” Rohan as a vassal of Sauron would have been successful, he would have been a puppet comparable to a Nazi-aligned “Quisling” from Norway or Vichy France, or to the Soviet affiliates put in power in Eastern Europe after World War II.
Yet the spirit and context in which Saruman’s speech is delivered is unfortunately still very much alive today: there are still many modern politicians in the world, especially of late, that are in league with autocratic powers (the legacy of the Nazis and Soviets). These figures, traitors and opportunists one and all, propound submission to their masters as the rightful course – or rather submission to themselves (since all these lackeys aspire to one day become the masters, or delude themselves that they will, at least hold a prominent seat at the table of the great world powers).
Saruman and Gandalf sketch card by Leah Mangue
Saruman’s speech also proves that the servants of Sauron are little more than mouthpieces for the Dark Lord, reiterating the words and thoughts that have been ingrained in their petty minds by their master. The repetitive nature of such speeches is made evident by Gandalf’s unimpressed comment:
Through Gandalf’s final answer, Tolkien expressed that he was wholeheartedly rejecting submission to a tyrant, regardless if that tyrant was Sauron or his servant Saruman:
It is the example of Tolkien and the character of Gandalf that we must always follow in such hard times: to cling to our freedom, our beliefs, our ideals, moral values and virtues in the face of despotism.
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest wallpaper
An everlasting performance from one of the best actors
Christopher Lee and Peter Jackson behind the scenes
Of course, no exploration of the character of Saruman would be complete without an acknowledgement of the man who breathed life into the character in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings the motion picture franchise: the late Christopher Lee, one of the best actors to have ever lived, as well as one of the greatest fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium – he even had a habit of reading The Lord of the Rings each year and his devotion to the role and to ensuring that Tolkien’s description of the evil wizard was spot on shines through during each viewing. Christopher Lee was also the only actor cast in Peter Jackson’s film series to have met the author himself:
Christopher Lee’s love for the role of Saruman and The Lord of the Rings the motion picture trilogy was so great that he did not hesitate to rejoin Peter Jackson when the latter was adapting The Hobbit. And after the actor passed away, his wife “gave her blessing to include old recordings” of her late husband to Philippa Boyens for Saruman’s cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – a fitting last homage for the great actor and a final acknowledgement of Lee’s irreplaceable performance:
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings the motion picture trilogy
Christopher Lee’s portrayal of Saruman was by far his best performance – he was born to play the part. He may no longer be among us, but his legacy will endure for decades to come among Tolkien and Jackson fans alike. From his towering height, the way he moved and his facial gestures to the way he delivered each of his memorable lines, Christopher Lee absolutely nailed the character. Peter Jackson himself observed that he did not have any need to explain to Lee during filming how he should play Saruman, because Lee understood and knew the character by heart. Lee felt that “the old famous quote ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'” applied to Saruman’s descent into evil and transformation into an agent of the Dark Lord, which he summarized perfectly in several interviews, with which I shall conclude this deep-dive into the character:
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