1. Fulfilling an oath at the Pelennor Fields: A filmical blink to Normandy or a literary miscalculation?

1. Fulfilling an oath at the Pelennor Fields: A filmical blink to Normandy or a literary miscalculation?

From the ruins of Rammas Echor (the ancient wall defending Minas Tirith) the armies of the Lidless Eye and the White Hand wait for the arrival in Harlond of the corsairs of Umbar who will force the Gondorian troops to shelter behind the walls of Minas Tirith and will help in the siege of the White City. In 1948, german troops in the coast of Normandy didn't expect the Allies (almost not yet), but their sailing comrades to receive vital backup for the ultimate siege of Paris. And orcs as well as nazis stood deeply surprised when witnessing their plans going to hell and their enemies approaching by sea. And it's in the film, in a mixture between the Allied disembark in Normandy and a termite attack from Warner Bros. cartoon series, the army of spectres instantly gets rid of the enemies covering all with their ghostly-greenish mist, with an effect as lethal as a Napalm-bombing in Vietnam or even Hiroshima's A-bomb itself. They not only help Aragorn; in fact they accomplish their task with an unquestionable efficacy. No one seems to regret from the help of power beyond the human. In the film, the army of the Dead acts like a lethal and visually-powerful "deus ex-machina", a non-human help securing victory as it is unbeatable, be it demons, angels or living dead. A restless soul is a cursed spirit which is not allowed to enter Heaven, and wanders until it gets redemption eternal damnation. Someone has to honor its memory or mend any harm it caused when among the living to ensure its eternal rest. In the book are the spectres themselves who willingly manifest to repair their honour, acting on a physical plane. Tolkien says nothing about the spectres slaying the corsairs of Umbar for in them Gimli just talks about them running away in fear.

Pale swords were drawn; but I know not whether their blades would still bite, for the Dead needed no longer any weapons but fear. None would withstand them.

Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 858

In the film, the greenish mist of the damned leaves a path of corpses behind . In the book, the cursed are pardoned after getting Aragorn the corsairs' ships, and in the film they just fade after rumbling the Pelennor Fields. Proportionally, the dead from the book get their redemption in a much more justifiable way, unlike the 'explicit' bloody method applied in the film. Nevermind the losses as far as they do it for good purposes, and that is something Tolkien wouldn't have agreed with, because any life, whatever the creature it belonged to, was likely to be taken away under any circumstance and even less in such a senseless stupidity as it was war for Tolkien. And of course is against the principle of non-interventionism in matters of war Tolkien applied to his 'gods' and 'spirits'. In the book the interaction between the dead and the world of the living is merely a mention to, and it is basically about the tradings of the Dead with Gondor's heir. In the film they are pure and simple mercenaries who act as backup for Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas by the shores of Umbar, and later on they ruthlessly raze the battlefield. Unlimited physical power, though temporary, totally miscredits those who take advantage on it. Fear against fear. Sauron and Saruman having some of their own medicine. This is how Tolkien told his son Christopher on his letter how means were justified when the end was being victorious at war:

An ultimately evil job. For we are attempting to conquer Sauron with the Ring. And we shall (it seems) succeed. But the penalty is, as you will know, to breed new Saurons, and slowly turn Men and Elves into Orcs. [...]

Tolkien & Carpenter, Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 78

It can't be helped. You can't fight the Enemy with his own Ring without turning into an Enemy; but unfortunately, Gandalf's wisdom seems long ago to have passed with him into the True West...

Tolkien & Carpenter, Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 81

Is it then the Oath of the Dead a narrative 'failure'? Did Tolkien betray his own scale of values? It seems that in the book the unfulfillment of the oath which men had commited was more serious than the way they would fulfill it to be given redemption. En la película hay cierta desproporción because the dead become 'hitmen for hire', so they would be unforgiven again for taking human life in change of/for something. Their part on the oath was "helping" the men of Gondor against Sauron, and that was the chance. Be what may they are creatures from the afterlife solving earthly issues, and spectres have always been linked to evil forces, as vengeful and treacherous creatures, and all those dealing with them were authomatically adscribed to nigromancy, a perverted practice. To sum up, desde el punto de vista aleccionador de Tolkien, el juramento y su cumplimiento siguen siendo un descrédito completo a la guerra: qué gran desgracia es algo que obliga a hacer cosas tan inmorales como traicionar a los que se ha prometido ayuda o pactar con los muertos.

How stupid everything is!, and war multiplies the stupidity by 3 and its power by itself [...]

Tolkien & Carpenter, Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 73

This free depiction Jackson made arises at least two questions: was Jackson's fulfillment of the oath just an adaptation from narrative to the audiovisual means? Was there a portrait of the American military system and its theory of "victory neverminding the price" underlying the spectres' attitude? What Jackson shows up is nothing but the landing of an invincible force, an unexpected twist of fate, like the North-American intervention on Second World War, specially that D-day at Normandy.