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above: Spiritual spectrum: the black of Sauron, the Nazgul, inside Orthanc, giving way to the grey of Gandalf, Amon Hen, leading onto the white of the waters of Bruinen and Galadriel.
Keynotes: the spiritual spectrum
Black: Signifies, domination, elimination of nature and natural tones, absorption into evil, the shadow, imperialism. In Fellowship there is a darkeness darker than black. Black signifies absortion into the evil of the Dark Lord. The black recalls the shadow, the shadow side of the mind and hence it disturbs us. Black also signifies discontent, an unwillingness to be contained in one place. The dark clouds from Mordor are imperialistic, they seek to dominate the lands around. Black stands for evil Grey: signifies spirit in love with life on earth. The grey of Gandalf shows his love of all in Middle Earth. Grey signifies earthbound spirit. Willingness to be part of earthly living. There is grey in the cloak of an elf. Often background tones turn grey at key moments. Amon Hen is full of grey statues. The statues form a backdrop for Frodo to decide to continue his quest alone, to recall the Grey of Gandalf and go on. So Grey prompts and interceded on behalf of the quest. White is the spirit behind nature. We see it in Galadriel. Other images recalling the white light occur at the Anduin when Frodo connects with Sam (the dancing white light on the surface of the water as Sam hangs in the depths). The arrival of white light shows the intervention of spirit in the quest. The white light forges new connections between characters ofr picks out qualities in others during times of trial.
Scene example: Arwen at the Bruinen:
The Nazgul cluster on the banks to form a solid black mass. They are trying to potentise their evil power by forming a black block. Between the Nazgul and Arwen stands the Bruinen. The waters of the river are carrying the white light. Black shrinks back from white and stands on the threshold. Arwen is the grey cloaked figure on the opposing bank. Black in confrontation with white through the medium of grey. Links to pages on AOR that explore this theme:
Aragorn in shadow and in light |
