The Surrender of Gandalf

As Richard Purtill says “Gandalf . . . is a free creature who freely answers the call to imitate Christ. He and Frodo, who walks his own Way of the Cross, are thus closest to Tolkien’s deepest moral ideas” (Tolkien: Myth 118). It may seem that the wizard’s life is unjustly taken from him in Moria, but in reality, the laying down of one’s own life for one’s friends is the highest form of love (Jn 15:13). As Michael Martinez notes,

And it’s not that Gandalf was weighed in the balance and found wanting, so much, as that he was being asked to make a hard choice. And Gandalf made the correct choice, but in doing so he had to abandon the Valar’s plan. It was the Valar’s plan which was flawed, not Gandalf, and Ilúvatar needed to make some changes. Gandalf therefore went willingly to the sacrifice, as he had been forewarned. (“Count” 439)

Have we that much courage, trust, love and faith, especially when we might not understand how what we are being asked to do could possibly be a good? It is not Gandalf who fears to enter the mines but Aragorn. The wizard knows that his friend’s premonition of danger for him is true, but he goes on because he knows the Quest’s survival and success is more essential than his own. We may fear danger or death for ourselves or someone we love, but to actually know without a doubt that death would come. . . even Jesus is temporarily undone by that, but then submits as Gandalf had. Their love for their Father allows them that freedom of total surrender. The hidden Maia freely surrenders his own will to the Will of the One who had created him, Who he had to trust had better plans. As Tolkien says,

For in his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defence of his companions, less perhaps than a mortal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to ‘the Rules’: for all he could know at that moment he was the only person who could direct the resistance to Sauron successfully, and all his mission was vain. He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up personal hope of success. (Letters 202)

God is not going to give us all the wisdom and reasons behind His requests, for how could we trust Him if we knew all the answers? That is what He wants - our trust and faith - when He says, “This is what I want you to do . . .” This is what He asks of Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf. It is what He asks of Abraham when He tells the man to sacrifice his son Isaac, the one from whom God has promised many, many descendants. Abraham does not understand, but he trusts and believes that somehow God will make good on His promise, even if Isaac is dead.

Gandalf surrenders his life out of that same faith. The fact that “he was being asked to make a hard choice” again brings out free will and surrender of oneself, even one’s very life, to the One. Gandalf could have chosen not to enter Moria, just as Frodo could have chosen not to accept the Ring, but the consequences of either or both refusing would have been catastrophic for all Middle-earth, sending out ripples far beyond one single person saying “no”, just like ours can spread out and affect many others throughout space and time. This is similar to what Galadriel says about events seen in her Mirror that may or may not occur depending on the choices we make as to whether to continue on our appointed path or not. Instead of refusing, Gandalf and Frodo and others engender eucatastrophic results from saying ‘yes’, no matter how hard it is. The wizard’s death allows him to be “sent back” (LotR V:5, 491) with greater powers to be able to better fight against the Shadow. Perhaps it even gives strength to Frodo to be able to complete the journey despite his lack of hope for much of it. “We must do without hope,” Aragorn says after the Company has suffered their grievous loss (II:6, 324). They weep, but they continue on. Their Quest and its goal have not changed. It would be an important lesson for the beleaguered Ring-bearer to learn and reflect upon, and for us when our own hope is at an end, but we can push on and demonstrate the same extraordinary faith, trust and surrender of self-will.

© 2011 Anne Marie Gazzolo