Re-imagining the Ringwraiths

[Boromir88]

As I brought up in a different topic I've been doing a reading of the books after several years and I had an almost complete change in my views of the Ringwraiths.

The Nazgul might just be the characters where the movies messed with my head the most. They do have the element of terror (Fran Walsh voices the scream and it is how I hear the description of their lonely cry in my head), but Jackson didn't go far enough with portraying their terror. He tried to portray them as Sauron's most skilled warriors, when that's not their power. When I previously read the books, it was difficult to separate that portrayal of the Nazgul were swordsmen. Viewing them in that light, I never quite felt they were a significant threat in Book I. I felt they were just ineffective subordinates, who had one job to do and couldn't do it.

However, it's probably been longer or the same amount of time since I've seen the films, so I didn't have that imagination that the Nazgul were warriors in my head this time, and it's completely changed my reading of the text (I'm also very thankful for this! )

I read Huey's thread here and Brett Devereaux's analysis which brings up a good point of Tolkien understanding the 'morale battleground' better than maybe any other fantasy author. The Ringwraiths demoralizing opposition is what makes them efficient and deadly effective. They aren't warriors in the skilled sword-fighters way, but they are deadly weapons in war, because of their ability to demoralize. I always remembered how Jackson fumbled the Weathertop scene with Frodo, but forgot just how much he fumbled it:

Terror overcame Pippin and Merry and they threw themselves flat on the ground. Sam shrank to Frodo's side. Frodo was hardly less terrified than his companions; he was quaking as if he was bitter cold, but his terror was swallowed up in a sudden temptation to put on the Ring...~A Knife in the Dark

Whether you read Frodo's striking back as courageous, or to me it seems more like desperation by a cornered animal, the entire event paints a completely different picture than the movies. Merry, Pippin and Sam sort of stand in the way or strike back in the movies, Frodo drops his sword and falls to the ground. This not only embarrasses Frodo's character, but it also weakens the Nazgul as 3 of the hobbits courageously decide to fight back. Completely different from the books, which shows the Nazgul's effectiveness to demoralize their opponent. I mean 3 of their opponents just lose all will to resist, and it's highlights Frodo's will, even though it feels more like desperation.

Now with this entirely new picture of the Nazgul in my head, I read The Hunt for the Ring in the UT as a supplement to get a better idea of them and this stood out:

At length they returned; but the summer was now far waned, and the wrath and fear of Sauron was mounting. When they came back to the Wold September had come; and there they met messengers from Barad-dur conveying threats from their Master that filled even the Morgul-lord with dismay.

It has me wondering what was Sauron's relationship with the Nazgul (and vice versa) truly like? Sauron at this point obviously wasn't happy with their failure to find the Ring's location yet, and the threats even filled the 'Morgul-lord with dismay.' In kind of a similar point, Gandalf says that Gollum hates the ring, but will never be rid of his need for it.

Again, I don't really have any questions. I'm mostly just glad to shake the flawed image of the movie!Ringwraiths from my mind. From the UT there appears to be a dichotomy between them and Sauron, that I wasn't expecting. Any other comments and information about their effectiveness I would welcome!

[Morthoron]

Yes, not at all satisfied with the many Jacksonian stumbles and fumbles throughout the movies.

Actually, more egregious in the novel compared to the films, was Frodo, alone and wounded astride Asfaloth, facing off against the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen. His bravery was singular in that moment with the Nazgul taunting him ("'Come back! Come back!' they called. 'To Mordor we will take you!'"). It was a signature scene of the novel, incredibly frightening (at least to me when I first read it as an adolescent). And after Frodo invokes Elbereth and Luthien, he is struck dumb by the Witch-King as he begins to cross the ford.

But what does Jackson do? He eliminates Frodo's valor altogether and makes Princess Xenarwen powerful enough to defy the Nazgul (with the daft, "If you want him, come and claim him"), and then to whisper an incantation that calls the roaring water down on the Nazgul. She did not have such ability (that would be wholly a product of her father, the Ring-bearer Elrond, with an assist from another Ring-bearer Gandalf).

So Jackson, in one fell swoop, destroyed a perfectly frightful book scene, rendered Frodo impotent, takes Arwen completely out of the realm of Tolkien lore, and eliminates the element of surprise as the Nazgul cross the Ford and the flood comes unexpectedly to wash them away.

[Pitchwife]

Was there a single character in the book whom Jackson et. al. didn't distort and diminish? Maybe Bill the Pony, I dunno.

IMO JK Rowlings Dementors came closer to the essence of the Ringwraiths (and were probably, let's put it politely, inspired by them) than what we were shown in the movies, with regard to their main weapon being terror. Which makes it all the more remarkable how Maggot, a simple hobbit farmer, found the courage to stand up to a Black Rider and tell him to get off his land, and quickly, or else! It's interesting how the Nazgûl grew in stature during Book One - or, you might say, how more and more of their true nature was revealed both to and by the author - , from their first appearance, surrounded by an air of vague unease and creepiness, to the double climax in A Knife in the Dark and Flight to the Ford.

(Wholly d'accord with everything Morth said above about the Ford scene! The Witch-King striking Frodo dumb was perhaps the most scary bit, it's like you're trying to expel the Devil but he won't let you utter the holy names. (A Catholic education is hard to shake off.)

About the Nine and Sauron, I think you're spot-on with bringing up Gollum, Boro. They were probably like him, only far further gone in their addiction to their rings and without a chance of ever regaining them. Maybe their relationship to Sauron was something like between a junkie and their dealer - I mean, deep down they must have known that their rings would never be given back, but they just couldn't help themselves doing his bidding. Also maybe he could use the bond between them and their rings to do things to their spirits. It doesn't bear thinking about too closely.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Was there a single character in the book whom Jackson et. al. didn't distort and diminish? Maybe Bill the Pony, I dunno.

Oi! That animal can nearly talk - or would talk, if Tolkien let Frodo & co stay in Rivendell for just a bit longer.

Originally Posted by Pitch

Which makes it all the more remarkable how Maggot, a simple hobbit farmer, found the courage to stand up to a Black Rider and tell him to get off his land, and quickly, or else!

I think part of it really was that the Nazgul were deliberately "being gentle', as they wanted to get answers but not wreck too much havoc in that part of the world quite yet. Find Baggins quickly, without word reaching said Baggins that something is afoot. They seem to veil their true power, or true terror. It's like you say - their true nature is revealed more and more gradually throughout Book I.

The Gaffer also encounters the Nazgul, but we get that account second hand from Sam, and there is no sense of how the Gaffer fares courage-wise. He doesn't sound as gutsy as Maggot, but not much beyond that. He calls the Nazgul a "strange customer" who gave hi "quite a shudder" - but the extent of that shudder is left to be imagined. Still, seeing as the Gaffer seemed to be pretty calm about the whole affair.

That is in contrast to Fatty Bolger, who is so terrified that he sprints an entire mile and babbles about not having the Ring. However, Fatty was facing the Nazgul who were prepared to finally reveal their strength and attack, not the Nazgul who were on a secret mission. He feels their presence as a growing fear long before he actually sees their shapes, and no wonder he is terrified and flees when his anxiety is "confirmed".

Originally Posted by Pitch

About the Nine and Sauron, I think you're spot-on with bringing up Gollum, Boro. They were probably like him, only far further gone in their addiction to their rings and without a chance of ever regaining them. Maybe their relationship to Sauron was something like between a junkie and their dealer - I mean, deep down they must have known that their rings would never be given back, but they just couldn't help themselves doing his bidding. Also maybe he could use the bond between them and their rings to do things to their spirits. It doesn't bear thinking about too closely.

Speaking of the Devil... Once you sell your soul, he kinda owns it, whether you like it or not. I highly doubt that the Nazgul like serving Sauron, but they are trapped. But I sort of assumed that this "trap" was on such a deep existential level that disobedience would be unthinkable. The UT quote Boro brings up shows that not to be quite the case - though the threatened punishment is not for disobedience, but rather for incompetence. I am not imagining Sauron screaming "You had one job!" at the Nazgul. So perhaps despite a firm bond of loyalty they can still allow themselves to do a job lazily or half-heartedly, if Sauron thinks that threats would entice them to work better. Or maybe Sauron knows they are doing their best and is still punishing their failure because anger management issues, and because he never received training on positive team building or something.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

It helps if one stops envisioning the Ringwraiths as a death-metal album cover and more as black holes in reality. I agree that the movie Dementors get much closer than PJ ever did.

[Kuruharan]

Like Boro I recently started a fresh read through of Lord of the Rings for the first time in a long, long time.

While I can never really recapture what it was like to hear the stories for the first time (my first time was having them read aloud to me as a child), the length of time since the last reading has really given me a fresh perspective on things that I had not realized or had forgotten about.

One sign that it had been far too long since the last time I read them is that I have been favorably impressed with the richness and elegence of Tolkien's writing style compared to our contemporary writers.

Anyway, to the topic at hand...

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

It's interesting how the Nazgûl grew in stature during Book One - or, you might say, how more and more of their true nature was revealed both to and by the author - , from their first appearance, surrounded by an air of vague unease and creepiness, to the double climax in A Knife in the Dark and Flight to the Ford.

This stuck out to me because that is not the personal impression I gained in my recent readthrough.

To me the terror of the Nazgûl peaked in Bree. Their ability to simultaneously strike with potentially deadly force in Crickhollow and in the very building where the Ring was hiding and the unsettling tone for these episodes set me on edge. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is the first time we see the Nine strike and do damage in the story (property damage only, but damage nonetheless).

Beyond that point, and I know it is partially from knowledge, but the presence of Strider was a grounding influence in the story, even though in an absolute sense the danger increased.

Another thing that struck me in this readthrough was how woefully unprepared the hobbits were for a journey of this nature. I remember thinking as they were leaving Tom Bombadil that, "These guys would never have a chance in the Wild on their own."

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

It helps if one stops envisioning the Ringwraiths as a death-metal album cover and more as black holes in reality. I agree that the movie Dementors get much closer than PJ ever did.

Black Holes in Reality sounds like the name of a death metal band.