When Frodo is stabbed with the Morgul blade by the Nazgul king, he almost dies.
Some theorize that the stabbing also represents a spiritual wound to Frodo, who begins then to feel the awesome weight of his quest. In a way, it becomes his entrance into the world of the mythic tragic hero, and ironically, may have actually strengthened his resolve to save Middle Earth rather than weakened him.
Do regular people, such as us, who are not in such a mythic struggle between good and evil, ever suffer similar wounds -- either in the physical and psychological realm?
I'll give a short example of something that was like a morgul wound to me and forever changed my life:
When Iwas 11, I'd spent a summer afternoon watching some tremendously black clouds filled with lightning growing ominously on the horizon south of our farm. I remember they were some of the most spectacular clouds I'd ever seen, and some of the scariest.
About 5 o'clock I went in to watch the news, and suddenly a "bulletin" came on. A sheriff south of Denver reported that a "supercell" thunderstorm had stalled over Castle Rock during the afternoon, dropping 15 inches of rain in just three hours. Further, he said, a huge wall of water was roaring down the South Platte River, ripping out railroad tracks, houses, forests and bridges on its way toward Denver.
The Platte River ran right through the middle of our farm!
I finally convinced my parents that a giant flood was coming at us, and we had to evacuate. We grabbed what we could - mostly our car, pickup, tractor and a few clothes and got to a safe hillside just as a 20-foot-high wall of water nearly a mile wide roared through the valley, demolishing woods, barns, livestock and our house as we all watched in complete horror.
Our family became impoverished, and spent many years trying to rebuild a life after this hellacious flood. Before, I'd been a happy-go-lucky kid always out exploring the woods and river banks, but after that I was forced to grow up fast and try to help my family recover from this disaster. And never again was I able to read or watch the news without empathizing completely with the victims of hurricanes, fires, wars and all the other unspeakable disasters that afflict human beings on this planet. I discovered, through a tragic event, a sense of compassion for others who suffer through similar times.
In a way, I think that apocolyptic flood was my personal morgul wound, and it forever changed me.
Have other people here suffered similar wounds that they feel changed their lives? Something that may have felt a bit like Frodo's terrible wound at the hand of the Nazgul?
And if so, do you feel like it ultimately made you wiser, or more compassionate in your approach to life?
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MatrixMaster
(Sat Jun 21 23:37:52)
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 UPDATED Sat Jun 21 23:38:47 |
That was an interesting story ptero.
Have other people here suffered similar wounds that they feel changed their lives? Something that may have felt a bit like Frodo's terrible wound at the hand of the Nazgul?
I think quite a few, if not most have suffered something terrible in life. I myself have been through a few events
And if so, do you feel like it ultimately made you wiser, or more compassionate in your approach to life?
Ultimately it depends on the person. For me personally, whenever something really bad happens I use it as an excuse to make things better. I think I am much wiser for what's happened (too wise  ) I'm not sure about more compassionate, certain things tend to jade me, but I try
I'm unplugged - a new man, so to speak, like you, apparently free.
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"Ultimately it depends on the person ..."
I think this is true, MM, although I couldn't say exactly why. For Frodo I think it was his connection to the fellowship, and a sense that they were all in it together. Otherwise, if he had even survived the wound, I think he would have limped back to the Shire.
His decision to take the ring at the Council of Elrond seems to me to be part two of the morgul wounding. He had become committed to the quest, and somehow saw that he had been appointed to the task ...
It is an example of self-sacrifice and commitment to community, which to me is the heart of LotR.
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For me it was my father dying of cancer when I was sixteen. Everything changed within my family. Since I was the oldest child at home at the time, I had to become a second mother (more so than usual) as my mom went out and started to work for the first time since she had gotten married (hadn't worked in about twenty-six years). I think that was when I stopped being a teenager and being so concerned about petty inconsequential things and tried to focus on the more important things--becoming closer to members of my family, trying to be a better person, being more empathatic to those who have suffered a similar loss, etc.
First thing to do when being stalked by an angry mob with raspberries is to release a tiger
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The same thing happened to me, Birdtamer! When the flood hit, I was only 11, but was also the oldest of seven children. I immediately had to assume adult responsibilities to try to help get us through the crisis.
I feel like I basically skipped adolescence and went from 11-year-old to adult, at least in my view of the world.
Currently I'm 49, but seem to be slipping more and more into adolescent mindset the older I get. I get along well with the teenagers in town, but not so well with the old farts (oops, sorry!).
That's why I'm on this board. There is youth and energy here, as well as much intelligence and wisdom.
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Aule
(Sun Jun 22 12:08:38)
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I have indeed experienced my own Morgul wound. Perhaps more than one, but one stands out. It's too long a story to go into here, but it involved many millions of dollars, a love triangle, betrayal, the mafia, and threats to my life - all by the time I was 25 years old.
Yes, it did change my life, in more ways than I can say. It made me see things from a different perspective. I suppose it could have made me very negative in some ways, but it didn't. It just made me aware of things, not least of which is our own abilities to achieve and to overcome. We can do anything if we put our minds to it.
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We'll watch for your story as a future HBO movie special, Aule ...
I'm thinking there are different aspects to this question. One is the source of fortitude, or having the inner strength to overcome adversity.
The other is the knowledge, through a deep spiritual wounding, that sometimes one must sacrifice the self for the betterment of the whole. I'm thinking of Henry Fonda's Tom Joad in the "Grapes of Wrath" on this one.
Steinbeck and Tolkien seemed to have some very similar views of the world ...
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Aule
(Sun Jun 22 13:39:03)
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Actually, some of it was covered in an expose by CBC PrimeTime years ago, and more recently, some of it was in Forbes, when my ex-partner was sentenced to a 54 month jail sentence for defrauding MCI out of $180 million.
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Belethiel
(Sun Jun 22 12:56:39)
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Basically all my life I was always well protected so never had to deal with many problems, especially the problems of others. I was in my cosy life when my parents announced that they were going to get divorced. I felt like a part of me had been ripped out, that my entire life was over and that I wasn't going to survive it. I love both my parents very much and to see them fight day after day made me feel sick. I knew that they didn't get on very well, but never expected it to reach divorce. My life fell apart along with my family before my very eyes.
What did I learn from all this? I feel wiser, more mature and ready to deal with drastic changes. That it will never be the same, but with friends and family you can get through anything. I’ve learnt to value family more.
Fernie
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My parents never got divorced, Fernie, so I don't really know what it's like. But to have your parents suddenly split up must be more traumatic than I can even imagine.
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Interesting topic, Ptero!
I can't really pinpoint my "Morgul Blade" to any one thing; without a number of factors, I wouldn't be where I am today (as in peronal development). But I guess it really started when I was homeschooling for two years, in the fifth and sixth grades. I started thinking more than talking... and I guess things went good from there. I didn't say really dumb things anymore!
 You are a daughter of kings. A shieldmaiden of Rohan.
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Val, we can count on you to bring up a topic that really reaches the core of life. Yes, I think that there are situations in life that can be thought of as "Morgul Blades", and perhaps many more of them than we might realize. I've experienced a few Morgul Blades, and each one has given me greater insight not only into others, but into myself and how to fit myself into situations. The last Morgul Blade I went through was a combination of a discouraging work-related change, combined with the loss of several dearly loved ones, and a painful injury that took away my ability to walk normally, run and dance and all within about 6 months. There were moments when I thought the Morgul Blade had worked its way into my heart.
But- for some reason I just couldn't quite give up hope and perhaps it's good for me that FOTR was released when it was, to renew my interest in the story and refocus on some of that optimism. In reflecting on things, I learned a lot through the Morgul years- that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, you must let go because you are not the one appointed to help them through their own dark times; that just because death has taken someone you love, doesn't mean that your innate desire to love others won't surface again in time; that if you hold your head up, work hard and don't whine, you can impress new colleagues with your integrity and expertise and once again feel happily challenged in your work; and you won't always get back everything you've lost, but you may get back something just as good, if your heart is open.
I guess what I'm saying is that to me the Morgul Blade moments of our lives are not only doors into loss. They can also be the opening of new doors into life, new insight, new gains.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Yes, Athene, I agree that life is full of Morgul blades. 
Really, if you live life in a sensitive way, open with your heart to the world, you will likely be wounded many times.
I remember reading something that Tolkien said about LotR. His Catholism told him that the world, overall, is falling into chaos and apocalypse, but it is the small spiritual battles -- like the War of the Ring -- that are worth fighting for in this life. It is through these small battles that the spirit grows stronger.
I always will remember this quote, and it heartens me when I begin to feel like all that was good in this world is slipping into darkness. It gives me hope.
(P.S. I thought for sure this thread would end up being about unrequited love!)
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Yes, I, too have been there. That little chip almost got me.
It made me grow up fast. I grew harder. I grew more focused, and less compassionate. I lost my faith, my drive and my hope. I lost my relationship with my parents. I lost my ability to trust.
I survived.
What I am is in part my
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
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I've had several matters in my life -- or the life of my spouse -- that those around me have suggested should change my life in some way. Some have been quite common instances, such as my parents' divorce. Some have been quite uncommon. Some have happened to my loved ones.
Oddly enough I've always been able to take things in stride, which either means I've got a large amount of patience and internal calm, or else I've deluded myself into thinking things aren't as bad as they actually are. In any event each crisis has served to make me more confident in myself, oddly enough. Through the medium of my reactions to these occurances, I feel that life has validated and re-validated and re-re-validated whatever forces turned me into who I am.
That said, and not that I've got a "schedule" for such things, I don't expect to be forced to truly re-evaluate all of it until I hit mid-life crisis, whenever that will be.
Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.
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Like the famous psychologist Scott Peck said:
"If you haven't had four or five mid-life crises by the time you're 40, you're not really trying."
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