Quote:
Originally Posted by Galin
This, and I think understandably (however noble a cause from Beren's perspective), makes Thingol all the more angry, and: 'But, as Doom would, a thought came into his heart, and he answered in mockery' -- and thus his response to Beren and the Quest of the Silmaril.
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Mmm, yes. "Doom" here having the meaning of "fate," which was used to describe Feanor earlier. Gorram @#%$% fate!
After rereading the chapter "Of Thingol and Melian," I know I have to agree about enchantment,
Inziladun... perhaps I should be laying the abandonment of the Teleri on the shoulders of the Valar, or perhaps even Melian herself. If Thingol were genuinely enchanted by Melian (which it appears that he was), then we can either assume (a) she deliberately enchanted him, or (b) she herself was also part of the enchantment, and it was the Valar or Iluvatar guiding the enchantment. So either way, it wasn't his fault that he forgot utterly his people.
It just grinds at me that of course it has to happen right in the midst of the Great Journey, when his people most need him! Given, he establishes the kingdom of Menegroth, and with the Girdle of Melian protecting Doriath, many of the Teleri are protected from Morgoth for a long time. But those first crucial years, when the Elves' faith in the Valar is just being built up, their great leader leaves them, splitting their host practically in two and keeping many of them from ever seeing the light of the trees.
And you're right,
Lindale (you've
got to be) about fate controlling a lot of what happens in Middlearth. But here's my thing about fate/doom: why does it make anyone less responsible for their actions? When a "high doom" goes before Turin, does it make him less culpable for his slaying of Brandir? I just don't know. I should shut up and let more informed/intelligent people talk.