Aragorn vs Denethor

In any number of books about LotR, Tom Shippey's 'Author of the Century' is the first to spring to mind, it is likely that the similarities and contrasts between Theoden and Denethor will be discussed. The main points usually being: they were both elderly rulers; they both lost their son and heir in battle; they both succumbed to despair. How they both dealt with that despair of course marks their differences. All this is perfectly reasonable except that the, to my mind, far more interesting and significant contrast, that between Aragorn and Denethor, I have never seen discussed in print anywhere.

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