The Parley with Saruman

The Parley with Saruman is the climactic confrontation at Orthanc following the destruction of Isengard, in which Gandalf the White formally deposes Saruman, breaks his staff, and casts him from the Wizard Order, while Saruman's voice—his last weapon—fails to sway the victors.

The Setting and the Summons

After the Ents had drowned Isengard and the Rohirrim had won the Battle of the Hornburg, Gandalf, King Théoden, Aragorn, and a small company rode to the ruined gates of Orthanc. The tower itself stood unbroken, its black rock gleaming as if wet, the only structure left intact amid the flooded ring. Gandalf beat on the door with his staff and commanded Saruman to come forth. At first only Gríma Wormtongue appeared at a high window, but Gandalf dismissed him curtly. Then a second voice spoke—low, melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily could seldom report the words they heard, remembering only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, and that all it said seemed wise and reasonable. The voice belonged to Saruman, who now stood at the rail above them, an old man swathed in a cloak of shifting colour, his face long and high-browed, his eyes deep and darkling, grave and benevolent, a little weary. Gimli muttered, "Like, and yet unlike."

Saruman's Plea and Théoden's Refusal

Saruman addressed Théoden directly, calling him "worthy son of Thengel the Thrice-renowned" and offering peace and friendship, claiming that he alone could save the King from the ruin that drew nigh. The Riders of Rohan murmured with approval, spell-bound; it seemed to them that Gandalf had never spoken so fairly to their lord. But Gimli broke the spell, growling that in the language of Orthanc "help means ruin, and saving means slaying." Saruman dismissed him and continued to press Théoden, but the King at last found his voice. He declared that he would have peace only when Saruman and all his works had perished, calling him a liar and a corrupter of men's hearts. "You hold out your hand to me," Théoden said, "and I perceive only a finger of the claw of Mordor." He recalled the torches in Westfold and the children lying dead there, and the hewing of Háma's body before the gates of the Hornburg. "When you hang from a gibbet at your window for the sport of your own crows, I will have peace with you and Orthanc." The Riders gazed at Théoden like men startled out of a dream; Saruman, beside himself with wrath, hissed and called the King a dotard, but slowly mastered himself and turned to Gandalf.

Gandalf's Rejection and the Breaking of the Staff

Saruman appealed to Gandalf as a fellow member of a high and ancient order, offering to consult with him and dismiss "these lesser folk." So great was the power Saruman exerted that even in Théoden's mind the thought took shape that Gandalf would betray them. Then Gandalf laughed, and the fantasy vanished. He refused to come up, and gave Saruman a last chance: to leave Orthanc free, surrendering the Key of Orthanc and his staff as pledges. Saruman's face went deathly white; for a second he hesitated, but pride and hate conquered him. He mocked Gandalf and turned to leave. Gandalf commanded him to come back, and Saruman returned as if dragged against his will. Then Gandalf's voice grew in power and authority. "Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council." He raised his hand. "Saruman, your staff is broken." There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, the head falling at Gandalf's feet. "Go!" said Gandalf. With a cry Saruman fell back and crawled away.

The Aftermath: Wormtongue's Casting and the Palantír

As Saruman left the balcony, a heavy shining thing came hurtling down from a window far above—a parting shot from Wormtongue. It glanced off the iron rail and smote the stair where Gandalf stood, cracking it and snapping the rail, but the ball itself was unharmed: a globe of crystal, dark but glowing with a heart of fire. Pippin ran after it and picked it up. Gandalf took it from him, wrapping it in his cloak. "It is not a thing, I guess, that Saruman would have chosen to cast away," he said. A shrill shriek, suddenly cut off, came from an open window high above. "It seems that Saruman thinks so too," said Gandalf. "Let us leave them!" As they passed out under the arch, Treebeard and a dozen other Ents came striding up. Gandalf told Treebeard that Saruman remained to nurse his hatred, but must not be allowed to escape. Treebeard promised that Ents would watch over him, and that he would pour in the waters again until all underground places were drowned, so that Saruman must stay upstairs and look out of the windows. "Leave it to Ents!" said Treebeard. "Until seven times the years in which he tormented us have passed, we shall not tire of watching him."