#Corynthians 15:26

[straynoahide]

mhm yes he's saying the everyman is the moral backbone of driving the battle against evil, not kings. bc evil is primordially fought in every soul, not in the battlefield.

but the fellowship is a fellowship, and they are not protagonists nor could have succeeded on their own. respect for them is not disrespect for the others. aragorn was not "just a distraction", he represented not just monarchy, but a legacy reaching back to the very sources of light in the world, the honor of the Edain, etc.

in fact, the message is that they don't succeed even when all their might is brought together. the climax is the near-catastrophe when frodo becomes corrupt and morally fails. they don't blow it all to hell; evil still undoes itself. the eucatastrophe. and come the Eagles. the very message of the work is deeply christian and not simply secular humanist: human effort against evil is both meaningful and vain, divine intervention bridges us to victory. which is why i think it's great we have it.

You know, it's kinda funny how much of high fantasy centers around kings and nobility and courtly intrigue considering that the archetypal high fantasy, Lord of the Rings, had the rather explicit moral of "saving the world is up to this backwater hick and his gardener because no politician, least of all inherited nobility, would have the ability to see past their own ambition and throw away a weapon". Oh sure, Aragorn is a great king and all, but there's a reason he's over there running a distraction ring while the hobbits do the real work. Sauron loses because he gets distracted by kings and armies and great battles (i.e. typical high fantasy stuff) letting Frodo and Sam sneak through his back door and blow it all to hell.

Just saying, maybe old Jirt knew what he was saying when he said that the small folk doing their best and holding to each other was more powerful than a dozen alliances and superweapons and we should respect him for it.