I was hoping someone would come up with a good negative example, and Lothiriel Silmarien has done so. To blame Aradhel for "wanderlust" would be like blaming Feanor for his desire to make gems and jewels; or like blaming Gollum for liking a good swim.
I was thinking about doom and destiny as I read the original post, and behold Eol brings it right up. I agree in general with Eol, but Tolkien writes elsewhere that the Elves are more bound by destiny, fate, doom, whatever you want to call it, than Humans. The oaths they swear seem to follow them like a bad smell. Being long-lived doesn't help this, obviously. I'm sure oaths mean a lot to Humans in Middle Earth, too, but being short-lived, it's doubtful that they affected very many people for very long - I think. At any rate, I think the Elves were more bound by destiny and Humans less so; thus Aradhel, Maeglin, and all the rest, cannot entirely be blamed for the results of any of their actions. I know that sounds like they were all just marionettes, but if one presupposes anything like pre-destination, there are certain degrees to which someone's destiny controls her actions more than she does herself. Scary, huh?
|