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Compounding Denethor’s already fragile state was the death of his beloved wife, Finduilas, five years after Faramir’s birth. This tragedy rendered him more solitary and austere, as he grappled with presaging doom as Gondor’s regent. Though Denethor's grief may not directly have translated into hatred for Faramir, it certainly intensified his emotional detachment, leading him to favor Boromir, the more martial and conventionally "heroic" son.