Saruman
Majortall wizard, white robes, long hair beard
Contains info from Book 3+
Physical Description
tall wizard, white robes, long hair beard Saruman is an old man with pale skin that can shift to deathly white or livid tones with emotion, a long face with a high forehead that appears lined and shrunken under stress, and deep darkling eyes that flicker with inner light or kindle red with rage. His white hair and beard retain strands of black about the lips and ears, and he is swathed in a great cloak that changes color with movement while clutching a heavy black staff in a clawed hand. Tall and commanding as the fallen wizard of Isengard, he projects an aura of weary authority and hidden power even when defeated and crawling away. Saruman is a well-fed and well-pleased man with black eyes that gleam with malice and amusement, stare darkly, or show a strange look of mingled wonder, respect and hatred. He draws himself up to his full height when confronting others and wears a dirty cloak. After death a grey mist gathers about the body, which shrinks as long years of death are revealed, the face becoming rags of skin upon a hideous skull; a pale shrouded figure rises like smoke before dissolving.
Evolution
The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of the Lord of the Rings
Saruman is an old man with pale skin that can shift to deathly white or livid tones with emotion, a long face with a high forehead that appears lined and shrunken under stress, and deep darkling eyes that flicker with inner light or kindle red with rage. His white hair and beard retain strands of black about the lips and ears, and he is swathed in a great cloak that changes color with movement while clutching a heavy black staff in a clawed hand. Tall and commanding as the fallen wizard of Isengard, he projects an aura of weary authority and hidden power even when defeated and crawling away.
- Confronted by Gandalf, who escapes his captivity with help from Gwaihir.
- Commands his Uruk-hai army to attack Rohan, but they fail at Helm's Deep.
- Isengard is overrun and destroyed by Treebeard and the Ents.
- Reduced to a powerless figure crawling from the ruins, stripped of his voice's power by Gandalf.
Relationships
Evolves from fellow Istari and former allies in the White Council to bitter enemies; Saruman imprisons Gandalf in Book 1, faces his judgment and escape in Book 2, with no direct interaction in Book 3 as Saruman's power wanes.
Saruman becomes Treebeard's foe through deforestation of Fangorn, provoking the Ents' retaliatory destruction of Isengard in Book 2; no further evolution.
Key Events
Book Appearances
The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of the Lord of the Rings
First appears Ch 9