LOTR question?

Question

yet another lotr question for you all haha i love it. I was thinking about in the Return of the King when Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas go to the door under the mountain (the Dim Mat?) and its like this place where a bunch of men from the second age fled so Isildur cursed them. Well anyways i noticed that Legolas read the inscription on the door and it says the way is shut it is made by those who are dead or something then when they head into this place the movies description shows off to the left a giant cathedral door and a bunch of other smaller doors then to the right is a large pit and the wall. What do you think that inscription means the way is shut if there is physical rooms and stuff you could traverse? Or is the book painting a different picture on this part that i noticed in the movie?

Answer 1

The sign above the entrance to the cave to Dimholt does not mean that a person could not physically travel from that door all the way through to the other end. It means if a person was to go into the cavern that they would be killed by the Army of the Dead. If Aragorn had not been who he was, they would have killed him as well as Gimli and Legolas. It was merely because he was the heir of Isildur and could release them from their undeath, that they allow him to live.

Answer 2

Basically, there is little resemblance between the book and the movie. In the book Aragon led not only Legolas and Gmili but a group of Rangers (his own people) through the doorway. There was no cathedral, just a tunnel with doors occasionally set into the walls. When he entered the tunnel they found the skeleton of a man a short distance along. At that point Aragon told the spirits that he summonded them to the Stone of Erech which was not in the mountian at all. It was there that the dead agreed to follow him and they overthrew the Corsairs of Umbar. Aragon then resleased the dead from thier curse and they vanished. Aragon then loaded the ships with men from the region and they set sail for Gondor. The dead never came to Gondor to save the city.

In the movie only the three of them go in and they find a city underground. Aragon fights the king who then submits to him. They then attacked the movie version of the Corsairs of Umbar and then Aragon, Legolas, Gimli, and the dead went to Gondor to save the city. After they saved the city Aragon released them and they vanished.

So, yes the book is painting a different picture than the movie which, in truth, bears little resemblance to the book in a number of areas.

The way being barred related to the dead preventing anyone from traversing the path until the proper time came. Although the door could be opened the very prescence of the dead in the tunnel would drive most men insane and they would be lost in the darkenss of the dead. In addition the tunnel could only lead you one way, all of the doors from the tunnel were sealed shut and could not be opened by mortal man. As we find in the book the time when the way would be opened was when the heir of Isildur came to call them to fight once again. Only he would know that they had to be summoned to the Stone of Eroch and only then would the dead allow the living passage through the tunnel.

Answer 3

the inscription says "the way is shut.it was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it".it means that the way to the door under the mountain is closed by the dead people and they can open it when they want,but once you enter you cannot go back(the dead king says "the dead don't suffer the living to pass.the way is shut").so,that means that you can enter their domain but you can not leave.

Answer 4

The inscription means that the way is shut because they wont make it back. The Dead are blocking their way from ever going anywhere else.