An Early Draft of The Lord of the Rings Would Have Ruined 1 Member of the Fellowship

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Boromir, a character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, was known for his intricate and multifaceted nature. At the Council of Elrond, as portrayed in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” he resisted the idea of destroying the One Ring, favoring its use as a tool against Sauron. This stance was met with opposition by Gandalf and the Elves, who foresaw the ring’s corruptive power and inevitable betrayal. However, Boromir, being blind to these warnings from history, believed he could control it.

As the journey progressed, the One Ring’s temptation only grew stronger for Boromir. He eventually gave in at Amon Hen, urging Frodo Baggins to hand over the ring and even attempting to take it by force when his offer was refused. Despite Frodo’s escape through invisibility, this incident made him realize that the allure of the One Ring was too strong for his companions, prompting him to continue the journey alone.

Peter Jackson’s film adaptation underscored Boromir’s self-destructive tendencies by highlighting his contentious relationship with Aragorn, the true King of Gondor. Boromir’s ancestors, the Stewards of Gondor, had ruled for centuries without a king, which led him to question the necessity of a monarchy for his kingdom.

In a slightly different phrasing: Although Boromir had numerous imperfections, he wasn’t inherently evil. Both Tolkien and Jackson portrayed him as a valiant, honorable, and patriotic figure whose deep love for his homeland made him vulnerable to the corrupting influence of the One Ring. Following his attack on Frodo, Boromir displayed remorse and desperately sought the hobbit. In a crucial moment, he defended Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck and Peregrin “Pippin” Took at great personal cost, ultimately sacrificing his life. On his deathbed, he apologized to Frodo for his actions and made amends with Aragorn. Contrary to the final version of ‘The Lord of the Rings’, Boromir’s fate in early drafts was drastically different. The son of Tolkien, Christopher, revealed these differences in a series titled ‘The History of Middle-earth’. In particular, the seventh volume, ‘The Treason of Isengard’, showed that Tolkien initially planned for Boromir to survive the events at Amon Hen but ultimately meet a much grimmer fate.

The Breaking of the Fellowship Was Almost Very Different

In an initial draft, the Uruk-hai didn’t attack at Amon Hen, but the Fellowship still fractured. Similar to the final tale, Frodo decided to carry on alone, with Samwise “Sam” Gamgee tagging along. Instead of being taken by Uruk-hai, Merry and Pippin merely became disoriented while searching for Frodo, although their destination was still the same: the Woodland Realm, referred to here as the Topless Forest, where they encountered Treebeard. Legolas and Gimli no longer felt tied to the Fellowship once Frodo departed, so they headed north to return home. During their journey, they reconnected with Gandalf, who had been resurrected as Gandalf the White, as in later adaptations of the story. Tolkien penned that Aragorn was deeply saddened by Frodo’s absence and felt he had let down Gandalf. Boromir didn’t inform Aragorn about his encounter with Frodo, instead claiming he climbed a tree and vanished. Although Aragorn found this account suspicious, he still trusted Boromir as his companion.

Boromir chose to head back to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, with Aragorn in tow to contribute to the war efforts there. Upon arrival, they found that the city was under attack by a joint force led by Sauron and Saruman. Since Rohan’s kingdom hadn’t been fully established yet, Saruman played a significant role in opposing Gondor in the story. As Minas Tirith was under siege, its ruler – who wasn’t named Denethor and not identified as Boromir’s father – perished. With the people of Gondor looking to Aragorn for leadership, this sparked feelings of jealousy and anger within Boromir.

His intense resentment led him to secretly desert from their group and align himself with Saruman, hoping that the Wizard could help him seize control of Minas Tirith through force. In Christopher’s assessment of his father’s storyline, he suggested that this portrayal of Boromir as a traitor might have influenced other works, as both characters betrayed their realms for personal gain.

Tolkien Did Not Always Intend For Boromir to Redeem Himself in The Lord of the Rings

Initially, the Siege of Minas Tirith, as originally conceived, shared elements with what would later become the Battle of Helm’s Deep. As all seemed lost, unexpected reinforcements – Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard – arrived, shifting the battle in favor of the good forces. Saruman withdrew to Isengard, where he encountered Gandalf and snapped his staff; this event occurred after the Battle of Helm’s Deep in the final adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. The heroes then proceeded to Mordor for their last stand against Sauron’s armies. This battle, initially planned outside Mordor, was later changed to the Battle of Gorgoroth, taking place within Mordor’s boundaries rather than at its entrance. Tolkien pondered over Boromir’s fate after his treachery, and eventually scribbled a resolution in the margins: “No – killed by Aragorn.

In Tolkien’s narrative, he did not specify when or how Aragorn was supposed to confront and possibly kill Boromir. However, it seems plausible that Aragorn would have discovered Boromir’s treachery during the Siege of Minas Tirith, leading to a bitter confrontation with his former ally. This potentially dramatic encounter could have occurred towards the end of the battle, replacing any other climactic event in the storyline. Tolkien appeared to favor the theme of a hero fighting a traitor amidst a larger conflict, as this was also depicted in one of his other Middle-earth novels, The Silmarillion. In that tale, Maeglin betrayed Gondolin and revealed its location to the Dark Lord Morgoth. It’s possible that Tolkien intended for Boromir to meet a similar fate, possibly being cast over the city walls in a tragic end. Regardless of the specific circumstances, Boromir’s betrayal and potential death at the hands of Aragorn would have made for a somber conclusion to his character arc.

Boromir’s Redemption and Death Were Key to the Story of The Lord of the Rings

The initial concepts for “The Lord of the Rings” might have severely damaged Boromir’s character depiction. As Christopher Tolkien expressed it, Boromir was envisioned to portray a disgraceful role. In these early plans, Boromir was not a misunderstood hero, but rather he progressively slid into villainy from his errors, fueled by his small-minded animosity towards Aragorn which eventually led him to betray his own kingdom. The final version of “The Lord of the Rings” made Boromir more appealing and effectively demonstrated the power of the One Ring. If Boromir was inherently evil, the temptation from the One Ring would not have been impactful.

The truth that even a noble character like Boromir could succumb to its power underscores the fact that no one was completely resistant to its sway. Boromir’s fate at Amon Hen significantly heightened the tension in “The Lord of the Rings,” as he was the sole member of the Fellowship who perished permanently, lending a sense of urgency and danger to Frodo’s journey that might have been absent otherwise. Moreover, Boromir’s demise provided fertile ground for intriguing plot developments, such as examining how individuals respond under pressure. Although Tolkien may have initially envisioned a different storyline for Boromir, his decision to alter it has proven beneficial for the narrative.

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2025-06-05 01:39