Would Gandalf Have Returned If Saruman Had Stayed Faithful?

Q: Would Gandalf Have Returned If Saruman Had Stayed Faithful?

ANSWER: I admit to not being sure how to address this question, which a reader submitted in April 2017. She asked: “Would Ilúvatar have returned Gandalf AND would Gandalf have been returned as Gandalf the(a) White, if Saruman had not been corrupted?”

My feeling is that the story would have proceeded very differently had Saruman not been corrupted. He would not have prevented Gandalf from reaching the Shire in time to accompany Frodo, for example. And Gandalf would not have avoided the Gap of Rohan when leading the Fellowship south from Rivendell, if Saruman were not corrupted.

Saruman’s fall drives several important points in the story:

• Gandalf is late rejoining Frodo, who thus wanders into peril
• The Fellowship is forced to cross the Misty Mountains
• Gandalf dies in Moria and returns later as the White Rider
• Sauron’s forces nearly capture the Ring several times
• Rohan is delayed in sending help to Gondor

What I find striking about these points is that Gandalf does not play a pivotal role in defeating Sauron once the decision is made to destroy the Ring. Everything Gandalf does from that point on (the Council of Elrond) advances secondary points in the story. Gandalf’s role becomes less significant because he is really only there to encourage and support Sauron’s enemies. Although he calls himself the Enemy of Sauron, it’s not Gandalf’s task to defeat Sauron.

Gandalf’s story hinges on his confrontation with the Balrog of Moria. Although it doesn’t have a role in the War of the Ring, the Balrog remains a terrible threat to all the nearby lands. It possesses the ancient Dwarven mansion of Khazad Dûm, thus denying Durin’s Folk their ancestral home. By slaying the Balrog Gandalf makes it possible for Thorin III Stonehelm to lead his people back to their ancient city early in the Fourth Age.

So I think Gandalf’s sacrifice deserves some attention in the greater scheme of things. We must conclude that Ilúvatar wanted to deal with the Balrog. That could only be done by someone of similar power. Hence, either Gandalf or the uncorrupted Saruman would have had to confront the Balrog eventually. But if one of them died, the other would have remained to assist in the War of the Ring.

For this reason I don’t think Ilúvatar would have sent Gandalf back, had he been the one to face off against the Balrog. Frodo would still go on to Mordor and Saruman would have supported Theoden’s decision to lead an army to Gondor.

In fact, if Saruman were not corrupted then he would not have raised his own army against Rohan. Nor would Saruman have corrupted Grima Wormtongue and used him to whittle away at Theoden’s resolve and self-confidence. Theodred would still be alive when Gondor called for help. Many details of the story would be different.

There would have been less drama. Or, simply looking at the story in a mechanical way, Tolkien would have had to introduce other challenges and drama. Perhaps someone else would have fallen to evil. As a story-teller J.R.R. Tolkien certainly understood that it’s better for a lot of things to go wrong before you set things right in the end.

Ilúvatar only restored Gandalf to life because the Valar’s plan had failed, and it had failed mostly because of Saruman. The strategy called for ensuring that Frodo would slip into Mordor. With an evil Saruman in the world Frodo had to get around Isengard’s flank. With a good Saruman in the world Isengard would have been a safe haven, a place where Frodo could stop and take counsel.

Another task that Gandalf the White had to attend to was casting Saruman out of the Order of the Istari. Had Saruman not been corrupted that would never happen. Hence, there was still no need for Gandalf to return. His loss would have been mourned by everyone, and Saruman no doubt would have said good things about his old friend and comrade. But there would really be no reason for Ilúvatar to restore Gandalf, given what we know about the state of Middle-earth in the published story.

Tolkien himself admitted that Gandalf’s return was a bit of a cheat, but there was a purpose for that return. Saruman’s defection had not simply deprived the West of a great ally and resource; he had intentionally weakened the Rohirrim and become a threat to Middle-earth himself. Had Sauron been defeated without destroying the One Ring the evil Saruman would have continued plotting to seize it for himself.

An uncorrupted Saruman would have overshadowed Gandalf. As head of the Istari Saruman would have played a more significant role in the final counsels of the West. How could he not? His credibility as a character would have been undermined if he were simply upstaged by Gandalf. Perhaps the only way for Tolkien to resolve that inevitable conflict would be to remove Saruman from the tale. And that might mean Saruman would have to sacrifice himself in some way, perhaps dying with the Balrog. But if we imagine that scenario then we have to ask if Gandalf the Grey could have gone on to help Gondor defeat Mordor.

Again, had Saruman not fallen he would not have weakened Rohan, so Gandalf the White would NOT be needed to restore Theoden. And Gandalf the White failed to save Denethor from his own madness and despair. Gandalf the Grey might have served as much purpose in Minas Tirith as Gandalf the White did. His confrontation with the Lord of the Nazgûl might have been more dramatic because Gandalf the Grey would not have been as strong as Gandalf the White, and as the White Gandalf was not sure he could defeat the Lord of the Nazgûl.

I think that, without some major additional challenges to thwart the heroes of the tale, J.R.R. Tolkien either would have left Gandalf for dead or he would not have killed him off in the first place.  There would have been no need to restore Gandalf if Saruman were still allied with the West.

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