Saruman
Majortall wizard, white robes, long hair beard
Saruman, once the greatest of the Istari wizards and leader of the White Council, begins the saga as a tall, imposing figure in pristine white robes, but his ambition leads him to betray his allies, imprison Gandalf, and industrialize Isengard into a war machine. In The Two Towers, his physical and moral decay becomes evident as stress lines his face and rage kindles his eyes, culminating in the Ents' destruction of his fortress, reducing him to a defeated crawler. By The Return of the King, a vengeful, shrunken husk clad in rags meets his end at Wormtongue's hand, his body dissolving into a grey mist that reveals the ancient evil within, marking his complete fall from grace.
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 Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
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.
- Accompanies Wormtongue to the Shire, disguised as 'Sharkey', to exact petty revenge.
- Confronts the hobbits at Bag End, drawing himself up menacingly.
- Murdered by Gríma Wormtongue after continued abuse.
- Body shrinks to reveal skeletal horror, with a grey mist rising and dissolving.
Relationships
Saruman dominates his treacherous servant Gríma throughout, abusing him verbally; culminates in Book 3 when Wormtongue snaps and murders him in the Shire.
Key Events
Book Appearances
The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
First appears Ch 18