Surely by now everyone knows that I preview my posts several times before posting them.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by reference.com
pig·head·ed [pig-hed-id]
adjective
stupidly obstinate; stubborn: pigheaded resistance.
|
Although the most complete version of this story is the
Narn I Hîn Húrin, and obviously these days we have CoH, my favourite versions are still those in HME 3.
Quote:
O! Morwen my mother, why makest me go?
The hills are hateful, where hope is lost;
O! Morwen my mother, I am meshed in tears
for grim are the hills and my home is gone.'
And there came his cries, calling faintly
down the dark alleys of the dreary trees,
that one there weeping weary on the threshold
heard how the hills said 'my home is gone.'
|
Tolkien's vision of Morwen and Túrin at their parting in Hithlum remained consistent. In the Narn, she grips the door-post until her fingers bleed (a scene very reminiscent of the family sagas), yet throughout the revisions her pride prevents her from accepting Thingol's offer of refuge. In the alliterative Lay, she cannot face being "the alms-guest of others" and would rather suffer the indignities of occupation, and separation from Túrin. The suffering she inflicts, not least on herself, is unnecessary. It should also be remembered that pride - her chief motivation in this - is an attribute of the devil. As Tolkien was doubtless aware, one of the descriptions of Satan in the Old English Genesis is
se engel ofermodes ('the angel of pride'). He and the Anglo-Saxon poet were co-religionists, and would probably have agreed that no good can come of following Satan's example.
However, Morwen remains a sympathetic and tragic character. At least one reason for her remaining in Hithlum for so long is that she hopes against reason that Húrin will return, and her later headlong flight from Doriath in search of Túrin is motivated by love and concern for him. Her meeting with Húrin in the next chapter is one of the best things Tolkien ever wrote. Nonetheless, the refusal to take advice, the insistence on following one's own immediate will without thought, these are a source of tragedy time and again in the
Silmarillion. When we consider the tragedy of Húrin's family alongside the story of Tuor this theme becomes even clearer. Tolkien consistently militates against willful pride, against action without counsel, against unilateral decisions. There are obvious religious reasons for this, but I'm given to wonder if there may not be something deeper that motivates this strand of the legendarium.