Oh, Larner, this is heartbreaking - and so thought-provoking. It hadn't occurred to me before that in part Denethor might be deliberately removing himself from the terribly fragile political situation around Aragorn's arrival out of care for Gondor, as much as because his pride wouldn't endure it - but it makes total sense. (altariel's brilliant Withered Tree (http://archiveofourown.org/works/122336/chapters/171899) showed me, last year, that there really isn't any happy ending available to Denethor, not even an AU one...)