The Broken, Beautiful Masculinity of Boromir

I would have followed you... my brother, my captain, my king.

Boromir is one of the most relatable characters in all of Lord of the Rings, because he is just a man. A good man, yes, but one whose desire to do good is imperfect and who is vulnerable to the allure of power. And yet even in his failure, he provides us with a beautiful example of what it means to be a man: we must turn away from the evil we choose and make the right choice next time. Always, the next step.

Peter Jackson did an incredible job adapting this character, and the extra scene in Lothlorien is just plain wonderful. To hear Boromir's eagerness to return home with Aragorn, to be the saviors of Gondor... I wish everyone who ever saw the movie got to see that part of Boromir's character.

What a good man.

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