The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien (Harper Collins 1991, 2007) pp. 902-904
Why does Faramir set Frodo free? Why does he allow him to leave, carrying the Ring with him, to go into Mordor? It is almost certain that he is sending Frodo to his death and it is just as certain that the Ring will be taken from him and that the Dark Lord will regain it.
Later in the story Denethor, Faramir’s father and Steward of Gondor, will ask the same question. Why did his son allow this witless halfling to go free? For Denethor, this angry question is bound up with his grief over the loss of Boromir. Why did Boromir go to Rivendell and not Faramir? Why was it that Boromir fell and not Faramir? If Boromir had been in command at Henneth Annûn Frodo would not have gone free. Boromir would have brought his father “a mighty gift”.
Denethor has his own understanding of why Faramir acted as he did. Faramir is living in some private fantasy. He imagines himself reenacting the life of one of the ancient kings of Gondor, lordly in his condescension, being able to act in this manner because he has the power to do so. He suspects that Gandalf has something to do with this and accuses Faramir of being a wizard’s pupil. Boromir had not fallen under Gandalf’s spell.
Is Denethor’s accusation true? Is Faramir acting out some private fantasy in which he is the hero? Is he merely a Don Quixote who has spent too long immersed in chivalric tales to the point that he has come to imagine himself still living within them.
Actually, Faramir has immersed himself in the stories of the past. I do not know if he knows the tale of Beren and Lúthien and how they went together into the very heart of darkness in order to take a silmaril from the iron crown of Morgoth. Aragorn knows this story and told a part of it to Frodo and his companions just before they were attacked by Nazgûl below Weathertop. Indeed the story of Beren and Lúthien matters deeply to Aragorn because it is the story of the love of an elf-maiden and a man and he is living within the same story in his love for Arwen.
We do not know precisely what stories Faramir lives in but they are stories that have led him to regard Gondor as “full of light, high and fair, beautiful as a queen among other queens: not a mistress of slaves, nay, not even a kind mistress of willing slaves”.
And Denethor lives inside stories too. But his stories are of a kingdom in decline from its former glory, a kingdom that stands alone in the world against overwhelming and malignant power. It is this story that he has passed onto Boromir but not Faramir. At the Council of Elrond Boromir told this story to those gathered there with great pride. He identified himself completely with it. He was the hero in that story and this was the story that he told to Frodo just before he tried to take the Ring from him, imagining himself as the captain of mighty armies driving all his foes before him, wielding the Ring of Power.
Denethor’s stories lead him to despair. Boromir’s stories lead him to try and take the Ring by force from Frodo. And Faramir’s stories lead him to set Frodo free to go into Mordor on a hopeless mission.
We all live within stories and we all have to choose which ones we will live in. If we believe we live in a world of objective facts that we are able to stand apart from as a clear eyed observer then this is our story. In this regard we are closest in spirit to Denethor. He tried to gather facts, using the palantir, the seeing stone of Orthanc, in order to do so, not knowing that Sauron controlled what “facts” he was able to see. We might liken this to our own belief that our chosen media platform is able to give us the facts that we need in order to make our own clear eyed decisions. Faramir’s stories lead him to hope against hope, to do the impossible thing, to let Frodo go free to complete his mission and to free the world from a very great evil.
Wisdom from The Lord of the Rings 
Dear Author or Author’s correspondence assistants,
Faramir follows the wisdom of his heart, not the “World”, and does
what’s right no matter the consequences.
He’s given us a good example.
Thank you for the reminder!
Kate
I completely agree with you. Many thanks for your comment.
I love Tolkien’s Faramir , and Peter Jackson’s presentation of him is the biggest reason I can’t stand to watch the films.
As you say so well, Faramir and Frodo (and Sam, too of course) are beautiful examples of doing the thing that is morally right with or without hope that it will “work”. in order to make the decision to try to destroy the one ring, all the heroes have to recognize and accept the limits of their own power. Saruman and Denethor wanted power and fooled themselves into thinking that they would use the power “for good”, not realizing that wanting power for yourself, is itself the ultimate wrong. thanks for writing and sharing this!
Thank you for your very thoughtful comment. I think that you are right that both Denethor and Saruman come to believe that their personal power and the common good are one and the same thing and both make speeches to justify their belief. How much we need people who do the good just because it is good and for no other reason.
I reflected on this decision of Faramir’s some in my post last month about the purpose of Faramir’s character (https://thoughtsontolkien.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/the-vocation-of-faramir/). Ultimately I concluded that the stories Faramir lives in, as you enchantingly phrase it, include a desire to see the Return of the King. Thus, the reason Faramir is sent the dream “Seek for the Sword that was Broken” is to prepare him for this decision to reject the Ring, and to in turn prepare him to welcome the return of the King and the restoration of the Stewards to their proper role, power, and authority. Thank you for this post!
Maybe Faramir is so successful because the story he thinks he’s in is The Lord of the Rings. It would make sense if the key to success is acting correctly for the story you’re currently in.
Wise words, Jo. I just listened to Malcolm Guite on Tom Bombadil and Tom’s assertion that his songs are stronger than the songs of the Barrow Wight. I agree with Pascal that you have to place your bets on something in life and I keep on returning to The Lord of the Rings (and for me, Christian faith as well) because I believe that it is a good story. A story of the good.