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Jag tror inte att böckerna någonsin gick i mycket detalj, men från detta ...
Bok III, s.10:
‘Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am
Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour
now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council.’
He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a clear cold voice. ‘Saruman,
your staff is broken.’ There was a crack, and the staff split
asunder in Saruman’s hand, and the head of it fell down at
Gandalf’s feet. ‘Go!’ said Gandalf. With a cry Saruman fell back
and crawled away.
.. och detta ...
Bok 6, Ch.8:
A sudden light broke on Frodo. ‘Sharkey!’ he cried. Saruman laughed.
‘So you have heard the name, have you? All my people used to call me
that in Isengard, I believe. A sign of affection, possibly.
But evidently you did not expect to see me here.’
‘I did not,’ said
Frodo. ‘But I might have guessed. A little mischief in a mean way:
Gandalf warned me that you were still capable of it.’
‘Quite capable,’ said Saruman, ‘and more than a little...
... det verkar som att Gandalf tog bort Sarmans makt. Åtminstone Sarumans största kapital P Powers; Saruman har fortfarande vissa förmågor, men inget som ligger utanför räckvidden för någon "vanlig" (dvs icke-Maiar) som befinner sig i mitten av jorden. Kan Saruman ha inlöst sig själv? Kanske ...
Bok III, Ch.10:
‘He will have guessed, surely?[re. Treebeard]’ said Merry, ‘Were they
likely to end any other way?’
‘Not likely,’ answered Gandalf, ‘though they came to the balance of
a hair. But I had reasons for trying; some merciful and some less
so. First Saruman was shown that the power of his voice was
waning...Then I gave him a last choice and a fair one: to renounce
both Mordor and his private schemes, and make amends by helping us
in our need. He knows our need, none better. Great service he could
have rendered. But he has chosen to withhold it, and keep the power
of Orthanc...He lives now in terror of the shadow of Mordor, and
yet he still dreams of riding the storm. Unhappy fool! He will be
devoured, if the power of the East stretches out its arms to
Isengard.
... men Saruman fick ett sista val, och han valde fortfarande "den mörka sidan".
Ta Gandalf bort Sarumans makt själv, eller var det en högre kraft (Valar eller Ilúvatar själv)? Jag tror att det beror på hur du vill titta på det. En bödel verkar på monark / domare / vad som helst, med tronen / gänget / makten / rättssystemet bakom dem, men det är fortfarande bödeln som drar hävarmen / hakar huvudet / trycker på sprutan. Om Saruman hade visat några förlorande egenskaper kunde Gandalf ha valt att ge honom en ny chans. Men Saruman vägrade erbjudandet, så Gandalf valde att bryta honom. I slutet är det alltid valet av personen med fingret på avtryckaren. Vilket är en mycket romersk-katolsk synvinkel, men som Tolkien var katolik tror jag att det var meningen att det skulle läsas.