Sauron vs. Your Mama - A Discussion of Power in Middle-earth

[obloquy]

I'm reproducing this post from the Witch-King vs. Gandalf discussion in the Movies forum so that it can get some attention from serious Tolkien nerds.

Tolkien's definitions of power are complex, and reducing the question to who would win in one-on-one duels is misleading. One of the things that complicates things is that duels do happen, so we know that questions of "power" are not purely metaphysical, but even so the victory is generally determined on a metaphysical level, i.e. the more powerful "spirit" ought to be victorious.

I'll explain:

The example of Gandalf and the Balrog is a good one, since we don't generally consider Gandalf to be a mighty warrior in the same way that, say, Hurin was. He bested the Balrog, but doing so killed him. The spiritual stature of an eala (obviously some are greater than others, based presumably on the discarnate standard of pure will) can be manifested in physical effects, which we would probably call "magic" or "spells." The spirit within cannot be destroyed, but a fully incarnate spirit (such as Gandalf was, and such as we must also assume the Balrog was) is effectively "killed" when the body to which they are bound is slain. Gandalf's description of the struggle is very primal: clutching, strangling, hewing; also it is elemental: lightning, fire, ice. Gandalf knew that none could see the battle, so perhaps he was allowed here to unleash his latent potential. In any case, the duel is very much a metaphysical one in that each embodied eala inflicted his spiritual power on the other's physical body. Gandalf exerts his spiritual power in a physical way when he tries to bind the door in Moria; the Balrog uses a powerful counter-spell. Similarly, lightning, ice, fire, and pure physical strength--lifting, pushing, crushing power--are manifestations of spiritual prowess. This last must be the most basic translation of metaphysical power, in fact, since it is essentially an imposition of one's "will".

The idea of an incarnated eala being impervious to weapons fits with this explanation. A blade or arrow, in itself, has no will, so a creature with the power to exert its spiritual will in spontaneous physical manifestation ought to have no problem turning that blade or arrow. However, if the will (spiritual power) of the wielder of that blade is stronger than his enemy's, it will pierce despite the resistance. This overcoming power might also not be that of the wielder, but of the weapon itself, which may have been imbued with some amount of power by its maker: Merry, of smaller "spiritual stature" than the Witch-King, was able to pierce him with the Barrow Blade. The Witch-King's power comes from his ring, which presumably draws its power from The One Ring, and thus from Sauron. However, if the Barrow Blade overcame the Witch-King's spell of protection, we can deduce that the Witch-King must not have been protected by the full power of The One or of Sauron, but by some designated fraction of it. W-K may also have had some measure of his own spiritual power, supposedly being Numenorean in origin, but it seems unlikely since the Nazgul seem to have no will (which I equate to spiritual power) of their own, obeying Sauron's instead.

In addition to claiming invulnerability to his friends' weapons, Gandalf says this of the Ringwraith whose mount Legolas shot: "[it was a terror] that you cannot slay with arrows. You only slew his steed." -TTT, The White Rider. So the power of a Ringwraith drawn from its ring trumps ordinary weapons wielded by individuals with less spiritual potency than that Ringwraith's allotment. Additionally, I think that it is safe to speculate that a powerful being like Gandalf need not wield a powerfully enchanted weapon to harm a less-powerful being: his own power would be enough to overcome his foe.

Ealar also seem to have a peculiar "character" to their power. By that I mean that Balrogs were spirits of flame ("flame" must be a translation to physical terms of some spiritual aspect), Sauron was a student of craftsmanship (also a translation to physical terms) which enhanced his ability to deceive, and Gandalf was one who revealed dreams and spoke to hearts, motivating them. Obviously all manner of spiritual power can be translated to physical might, otherwise a spirit of fire would surely have crushed a spirit of flowers and bunnies; but this peculiar character does play a part in the more subtle manifestations of power. Saruman's voice must be an example of this, as well as Gandalf's ability to muster resistance to Sauron. Gandalf's spiritual character was probably also represented in his restraint. We know that he was required to carry out his mission in a discreet manner, but so were the other Istari, and Gandalf was the only one of them who succeeded. Saruman is the most important counterpoint to Gandalf since Saruman's failure indicated a repudiation of the Istarin rule of restraint: he openly flaunted his power and used it to dominate others and even build his own army in emulation of Sauron. It must be, therefore, part of Gandalf's spiritual makeup for him to conceal his true power at all but those most crucial moments when the strength of his friends was or would be overcome.

We might also extend this to the Nazgul. Tolkien said that their power was primarily in the fear that they projected, so if a character such as Eowyn has in her spirit the power to resist that fear, she may be able to overcome the power of the Nazgul and thus penetrate that barrier created by it.