Was 🧙Saruman's invasion of the Shire actually 👁️Sauron's doing?

[BalrogRingDestroyer]

I know this sounds absurd at first glance, but not if you think about it. Saruman had already been seduced by Sauron through the Palantir. (As strange as it sounds, I think Denethor actually was able to hold out stronger than him, in part because Denethor only had concern for his people, not greed like Saruman, in his heart.)


Also, Frodo later says to Sam when they are looking at the damage of the Shire "Yes, this is Mordor. Just one of its works. Saruman was doing its will, even when he thought he was doing his own."

At first, I'd thought that Saruman tricked Treebeard and left for the Shire AFTER the main War of the Ring had been ended. However, Frodo's comment to the ruffians from Isengard wouldn't make much sense if Saruman had left AFTER the fall of the Dark Tower. However, it almost seems like Frodo passed Saruman in the wilderness earlier, so it appears that, even if Sauron had set Saruman up to doing it, that the plan was carried out AFTER Sauron's fall. Nonetheless, Frodo's remark about "You guys are behind the times. The Dark Tower has fallen." wouldn't seem like news to the Isengard thugs if Saruman had already told them, so it's possible that Saruman didn't know that Sauron had fallen.

It would be an ideal situation for Sauron, actually, and perfect revenge. You see, he'd almost defeated Minas Tirith and fully believed the Ring to be with Aragorn, whom he HAD to known was there at the Black Gate. Had Aragorn actually had the Ring, the Men of the West surely would have lost on their own and the Ring would be in Sauron's possession within a day or so. Sauron could have used his power of control to make Saruman go to the Shire and conquer it for him. Saurman may have liked the idea so much that he thought it was his OWN idea, and, in his corrupted state, never realized that Sauron had actually put it into his head. Sauron would love nothing less than to ensure that the land that had dared try and challenge him by keeping his Ring from him was the FIRST to fall.

Granted, Saruman didn't have the Palantir with him anymore, but Gandalf makes some remark about Sauron possibly having a hand in them being unable to cross the pass all the way back by the Misty Mountains, so his reach surely could STILL have gotten to Saruman all the same, as he wasn't that much further, and it was stated that Sauron's power, even without the Ring, was growing daily.


Also, the fact that Saruman was already sneakily making an alliance with Lotho-Sackville Baggins and sending thugs, paid for with Pipeweed money, to the Shire, possibly planning a coup there some way down the line doesn't diminish the idea that Sauron had a hand in it, as some of that had to be happening when Saruman DID have the Palantir.

Also, it would actually suit Mordor possibly for that danger to the Shire to be there, for it might make the Hobbits weary of going on their quest if they got news that their own land was under attack. Indeed, the vision of the bad things happening in the Shire quite nearly turned Sam aside and deciding to go back.

I think Gandalf's escape set back that plan, though. If Gandalf hadn't been free, Rohan would no doubt have fallen on its own, or been easily to take over, thanks to Wormtongue. I think after Gandalf's escape, the possibility that Gandalf might do something to change his control over Rohan would have reached Saruman's ears (I bet Wormtongue told him about Gandalf getting aide from Rohan.) Thus, I think Saruman at this point built the orc army as large as he could and got the Dunlandings to help as backup, fearing that Wormtongue might be exposed. What he DIDN'T count on was the Ents attacking him in the meantime nor turning the tide, somewhat, in the Battle of Helms Deep.

Heck, for that matter, Sauron may have been influencing Saruman to take over Rohan too as well, and let Saruman again think it was his own idea.

Also, by turning Saruman into a servant of Mordor, and taking Rohan and the Shire, Sauron would have effectively cut off the path to the Grey Havens for the Elves too.

 

[Starbrow]

You have a lot of good ideas about Sauron's influence over Saruman.

I will quibble over one comment though.

Also, it would actually suit Mordor possibly for that danger to the Shire to be there, for it might make the Hobbits weary of going on their quest if they got news that their own land was under attack./QUOTE]

I don't think Sauron had a clue about the Hobbits' quest. If he did, he would have just blockaded Mount Doom. As you said, Sauron believed Aragorn had the Ring. Therefore, ending the Hobbits' quest would not have been a reason to endanger the Shire.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

A few points:

Treebeard released Saruman from Orthanc August 15. Previous to this, he had treated him to "many a long tale", including news of what was going on in the world.

Gandalf and Party overtook Saruman August 28, at which time he turned toward the Shire, arriving there September 6. According to Farmer Cotton, the Hobbits first began hearing about him around end of the month.

There was no "invasion". Lotho had been selling goods to Isengard for some time, probably before Frodo left the Shire, and using the proceeds, plus his own wealth, to buy up properties, including most of the mills, in a plan to increase his power, and eventually become the Big Man of his world, a "little Hitler", if you will.

(This,BTW, is exactly what we would expect, as we descend from the Mythical mode of Morgoth, down through the Romance mode of Sauron and Saruman, to the Low Mimetic Shire).

As the Hobbits began to complain about this, Lotho brought in Men, no doubt beginning with those with whom he'd been trading, and more were recruited, probably from the "spies" sent from Isengard, but also probably from wanderers out of the Wild. At some point, he lost effective control over them, and became a figurehead. Then they began doing whatever they wanted, no doubt issuing orders in his name.

When Saruman arrived, he assumed control, which would be no problem for him; many of the ruffians had come from Isengard, after all. But I find no indication in the story that a takeover of the Shire was any part of his original plans; that came after his meeting with Gandalf and the hobbits, when the thought of a good "revenge" entered his mind. All these things can be found in the story, which repays careful reading.

As for this talk of "control", I don't really know where it comes from, unless it be the movies. Tolkien is far more subtle than the crudities on display there.