I was just re-reading the paragraph in ROTK about Saruman's death...



Saruman, like Gandalf, was a Maia but his spirit did not return to Valinor or the halls of Mandos - he just dissipated and *poof* gone. Is this correct? Gandalf, when he died in Moria, returned to Valinor and was sent back. Does this mean that Saruman was unredeemable? Was it a conscious decision by the Valar to deny his return to Valinor?

I agree with Amarie. I think that poof of wind was a clear message from Manwe (who controlled the winds). You ain't coming back here!

The Valar were quite unforgiving at times. Look how long it was before they let the Noldor return.

I think Saruman got the same ban as Sauron... Though I'm not sure if they were sent into Void or just left to wander, shadows of malice and nothing more!

I'm not sure about this, but I read somewhere that Tolkien had just begun on writing on another war, something like rise of another Dark Lord in the fourth age. But never really got going with it. Maybe he had used these two. I'm not sure. Just a guess.

Like Sauron, Saruman just became a powerless spirit, a shadow. He probably remained floating around Middle-Earth for ever. Saruman the grumpy Thundercloud.

An other possibility of course, is that he was thrown into the Void. But if that was the case, i believe it would have been mentioned somewhere by JRRT.

How funny. I read that same passage last night and came to the same conclusion. I was about to start a new topic about this, but then I saw this thread.
Just wanted to let you know I noticed it too.

I guess so. Unless there are more people coming in stating that they agree.

Okay Vee, here goes:

Little did the hobbits realize it at the time, but Saruman had made his preparations ahead of time, so that when his body shriveled up and his spirit was wafted away on the wind, it returned to that coffin he had secretly placed in the back of Gaffer Gamgee's root cellar, hidden behind that great mound of squash and po-taters.

So if you go down to the cellar tonight,
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the cellar tonight,
You'd better go in disguise.

For every fear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Tonight's the night the vampire has his kegger.

Or maybe it was to the buried phylactery to which the vaporized Saruman liche returned. What do you think?