Two Towers... but which ones?

[Lurks-no-More]

Okay, everyone knows Two Towers.

But just which two towers is the name referring to?

There's four major towers in LotR (I'm ignoring the old elf towers west of Shire, the towers of the Fangs at the Black Gate, and other such):

Orthanc
Minas Tirith
Minas Morgul
Barad-Dûr

Since much of the TT happens in Rohan, and revolves around Saruman's treachery, I believe Orthanc is one of the two towers referred here. What about the other?

I think it's Barad-Dûr, since Saruman's evil is really just imitation of Sauron's evil, and his fortress at Orthanc is just an imitation of Barad-Dûr (Tolkien states this pretty clearly), and because of the palantir connecting the towers.

Minas Tirith doesn't really feature in the TT, unlike in the RotK, but Frodo & co. pass by the Minas Morgul and are almost noticed there. The watch-tower of Cirith Ungol is significant, too, but it really appears in the RotK.

What opinions others here have?

 

[The Forsaken One]

Out of story cliche and indeed totally loose from the real story content I'd say:

Minas Tirith
Barad-Dûr

 

[Umbran]

At the very end of The Fellowship of the Ring there's a passage:

"Here ends the first aprt of the history of the War of the Ring.
The second part is called The Two Towers, since the events recounted in it are dominated by Orthanc, the citadel of Saruman, and the Fortress of Minas Morgul that guards the secret entrance to Mordor;..."

The bold is not my own. I think that makes the author's intent fairly clear.

 

[S'mon]

I always thought it was Minas Tirith & Minas Morgul, playing up the contrast between them.

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

At the very end of The Fellowship of the Ring there's a passage:

"Here ends the first aprt of the history of the War of the Ring.
The second part is called The Two Towers, since the events recounted in it are dominated by Orthanc, the citadel of Saruman, and the Fortress of Minas Morgul that guards the secret entrance to Mordor;..."

The bold is not my own. I think that makes the author's intent fairly clear.

Interestingly, the movie disagrees with you. The trailers make it very clear that the two towers referred to are Orthanc and Barad-Dur.

-F

 

[Umbran]

Interestingly, the movie disagrees with you.

*shrug*. I haven't seen the trailers, so I cannot really speak to that. I'll note that sometimes trailers are intentionally misleading.

If it is the case, I don't think it's that the movie "disagrees" with me (or the text) on this point any more than it "disagrees" with the fact that Glorfindel saves Frodo et al at the ford.

In general, I'd find it a bit odd to say that the title referrs to a location to which none of the main characters ever actually go, but that's just me. The movie is not the book. They are slightly different stories, and so perhaps the movie can legitimately change the focus.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

At the very end of The Fellowship of the Ring there's a passage:

"Here ends the first aprt of the history of the War of the Ring.
The second part is called The Two Towers, since the events recounted in it are dominated by Orthanc, the citadel of Saruman, and the Fortress of Minas Morgul that guards the secret entrance to Mordor;..."

The bold is not my own. I think that makes the author's intent fairly clear.

Okay... that pretty much settles the question, then.
Thanks!

 

[tleilaxu]

In the books it is Orthanc and Minas Morgul.

In the movie they changed it to Orthanc and Barad-dur because they thought it would be confusing otherwise (and they are probably right)

 

[Storminator]

In general, I'd find it a bit odd to say that the title referrs to a location to which none of the main characters ever actually go, but that's just me. The movie is not the book. They are slightly different stories, and so perhaps the movie can legitimately change the focus.

Actually one of the main characters never leaves.

PS

 

[Umbran]

Actually one of the main characters never leaves.

Sauron? He's not a character. He's a force of nature. One usually doesn't consider a being who never actually appears in person to be a character in the book.