The Heroic Qualities of Faramir

Faramir is, throughout The Lord of The Rings, a bit of an underdog. Tolkien makes the heirarchy of Denethor's offspring quite clear - Boromir, the eldest, is the most beloved by his father. Faramir is respected, but also dismissed for his "love of lore and music," and lives perpetually in the shadow of his mighty brother.

Nonetheless, I would argue that Faramir is the superior of Boromir, at least in terms of character. For Boromir, mighty though he was, was also headstrong and stubborn; he attempted to solve problems in terms of applying brute force, when a moment of reflection would have served him well. This is perhaps best exemplified by his lust for the One Ring in the conclusion of The Fellowship of The Ring - Boromir cared little for the Ring's dangers, seeing only its power. To put it in proverbial terms, because Boromir's only tool was the hammer, every problem began to look like a nail.

Faramir, on the other hand, is a far more sensible character. Most notably, in The Two Towers, he explicitly rejects the Ring, saying that if the One Ring is the only means to save Minas Tirith, he would rather see it fall. Faramir has all the strength and tactical ability of his older brother, but in this case, it comes with a healthy dose of good sense as well. As Beregond said of him - "Less reckless and eager than Boromir, but no less resolute."

Perhaps most striking, though, is Faramir's perspective on warfare. He takes no relish in it, and engages in it primarily out of a sense of duty; as he himself says in The Two Towers, "I do not slay man or beast needlessly, and not gladly even when it is needed." This reluctance is a sharp contrast with Boromir, whose hubris is his tragic flaw.

Faramir and Boromir might well be likened to Hamlet and Fortinbras, from Shakespeare's great tragedy Hamlet. Fortinbras is strong, proud, lordly, and decisive; he attains the throne of Denmark at the play's conclusion, and very nearly effortlessly at that. But Hamlet is the hero of the play, because he is a human being - he fears, he frets, but he ultimately finds his resolve. Fortinbras gives us empty, superhuman strength, but Hamlet gives us a story.

Tolkien portrays Faramir as a man who has faced Hamlet-style fears and fretting, but has ultimately found his resolve. He takes no joy in his duties, but his duties they remain, and he carries them out. Regardless of which one is truly stronger, it is Faramir who is the hero - a Gondorian Cincinnatus of sorts, struggling on to a heroism he never really asked for.