Take the Long Way Home

My absolute favorite scene in the whole trilogy is when Aragorn is standing before the Black Gate of Mordor.  He has just announced himself King and is asking to meet with Sauron.  Up until this point he has kept his identity secret from all but a few.  His most intimate companions know who he is, and Sauron has been allowed to guess that he is about, but now he makes the pronouncement public.  He stands before his enemies and uncloaks himself, so to speak.  Sauron, of course, won’t (and indeed can’t) come out to meet with him, but he sends another - a man who Sauron has twisted to his own will so completely that he can’t remember his own name- the Mouth of Sauron.  The Mouth of Sauron rides up and laughs at the gathered crowd.

          “Is there anyone in this rout with authority to treat with me?  Or indeed with wit to understand me?  Not thou at least!”, he mocked, turning to Aragorn with scorn.  “It needs more to make a king than a piece of elvish glass, or a rabble such as this.”
          Aragorn said naught in answer, but he took the other’s eye and held it, and for a moment they strove thus; but soon, though Aragorn did not stir nor move hand to weapon, the other quailed and gave back as if menanced with a blow.

Aragorn, the true king, does not argue or seek to defend himself, either with words or with his sword.  He knows who he is and insults from his enemies can’t change that reality.  He knows that nothing will be gained by violence at this point in the story (that will come soon, as Sauron unleashes his forces against them), but I love how when the Mouth of Sauron is forced to look into Aragorn’s eyes, into the true king’s eyes, he cannot stand.  Aragorn does not return evil for evil, his hope is to overcome evil with good.  When the Mouth of Sauron, the emissary of the false king, looks into the eyes of the true king, he is afraid, he sees his own defeat (no matter that the forces of evil greatly outnumber the forces of good, that does not seem to give him courage).  The true king does not need to conquer his enemies by force (Aragorn knows that it makes no difference who wins the physical battle at hand, the war will be decided by Frodo and the Ring), it is by being humble that Aragorn seeks his victory (after all this is merely a ploy to keep Sauron’s eye on the outskirts of Mordor and away from Frodo and Sam in the interior). 

But enter in Peter Jackson and his film adaptation of this book, and this scene in particular.  He has Aragorn react to the taunts of the Mouth of Sauron with violence!  He cuts off his head!  He ruins the picture of the true hero, the true king (and the True King he can be seen to imitate).  Instead of strength of character, he has only strength of arms. 

I can’t help but make this comparison…  Tolkein’s Aragorn is like Jesus - he doesn’t stoop to defend himself from the taunts of his enemies.  He is humble and patient, waiting for the right moment.  While Jackson’s Aragorn is like Peter - he acts without thought for the consequenses (specifically he reacts with violence when the soldiers come to arrest Jesus).