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Originally Posted by Boromir88
While I was scrolling through Middle-earth memes, a pretty random question popped into my head.
It's fair to say Tolkien didn't believe in "Absolute Evil" as nothing is evil to begin with and everything is susceptible to the "Fall."
What is a more entertaining (and/or emotionally impactful) story to you, a villain's redemption or a hero's fall?
There may have been a brief time Sauron was capable of redemption and that could have been an interesting story.
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Did Sauron really consider being redeemed and beg forgiveness, or was it more a matter of being overawed by the Valar, and the utterly crushing defeat of Morgoth? I recall he was ordered to return to Valinor to face judgement, but he bided his time and basically hid himself away when the Valar took their eyes off the ball.
As far as "absolute evil" and Tolkien, it would seem that there were instances were redemption was not even offered or considered. Take the Orcs, for instance. Was there ever a moment in canon where Orcs were given the chance for atonement? I do not remember any such offer for their race; in fact, as an aside in
The Hobbit, Tolkien says of the "goblins"...
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“It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days and those wild parts they had not yet advanced (as it is called) so far.”
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The Hobbit may not be considered hardline canon, but it does offer a glimpse into Orkish behavior. Tolkien never mentions love among Orcs, or mercy, or family, save for a one off mention of Bolg being the son of Azog (mom, having perhaps been eaten, is not mentioned).