I heard a talk recently in which it was said that a Soul begins in light, is born into darkness, and travels through doubt into light again. If I had ever known this paradigm I had forgotten it, and it struck me as a fitting framework in which to explore Boromir’s journey with the Fellowship, which I have always regarded as one of discovery.

Having never before traveled beyond the world of Men, and then only as far as Rohan, in all probability he is meeting races and seeing cultures he never knew existed. In the leagues from Rivendell to Amon Hen, Boromir goes from being the second biggest fish in a very large pond, to being a lone ambassador, to at last become a member of the Fellowship accepting ways other than his.