Rightfully a king but decides to forgo all the trappings of royalty to wander the world unrecognized in shabby clothes in search of baddies to protect the innocent. Doesn’t want the ring for himself, doesn’t even want to wield the sword of Isildor until it’s basically thrust upon him. His entire priorities are centered on saving the world and doing what he must in order to achieve that end.
The only problem is that it kind of starts from the fundamental premise that he’s the rightful king of Gondor to begin with. That kind of communicates that you need royal blood in order to exemplify positive, healthy masculinity.
After all, how could someone choose to forgo a life of privilege and authority if they never had that option to begin with? The average person needs to work for a living; how’s a commoner supposed to dedicate his life to a cause while asking nothing in return?
Even if he manages to somehow provide for his own meals and lodging while being perfectly selfless and altruistic, nobody will listen to him about the important things; and the more strongly he insists on doing what’s right the more likely people will dismiss him as egotistical.
The only reason Boromir deferred to Aragorn in Rivendell was because Legolas correctly identified him. If he wasn’t the king of Gondor or hadn’t been raised by elves, then he wouldn’t have had the luxury of humility or the authority needed to do what needed to be done.
Rightfully a king but decides to forgo all the trappings of royalty to wander the world unrecognized in shabby clothes in search of baddies to protect the innocent. Doesn’t want the ring for himself, doesn’t even want to wield the sword of Isildor until it’s basically thrust upon him. His entire priorities are centered on saving the world and doing what he must in order to achieve that end.
The only problem is that it kind of starts from the fundamental premise that he’s the rightful king of Gondor to begin with. That kind of communicates that you need royal blood in order to exemplify positive, healthy masculinity.
After all, how could someone choose to forgo a life of privilege and authority if they never had that option to begin with? The average person needs to work for a living; how’s a commoner supposed to dedicate his life to a cause while asking nothing in return?
Even if he manages to somehow provide for his own meals and lodging while being perfectly selfless and altruistic, nobody will listen to him about the important things; and the more strongly he insists on doing what’s right the more likely people will dismiss him as egotistical.
The only reason Boromir deferred to Aragorn in Rivendell was because Legolas correctly identified him. If he wasn’t the king of Gondor or hadn’t been raised by elves, then he wouldn’t have had the luxury of humility or the authority needed to do what needed to be done.