[the phantom]

Maybe Feanor knew something that we didn't (more than the obvious, of course) and what is illogical to us made perfect sense to him.

That's what I've always thought. I've always thought that most of Feanor's actions are a result of him being so in tune with the big picture- the will of Eru. I'll explain.

When Feanor drew his sword on Fingolfin, that was actually a very good thing. Up until then, Melkor had been sowing his seeds of evil in the dark, but Feanor's breaking of the peace was directly responsible for the uncovering of Melkor's corrupt influence. Feanor was sort of a barometer that could be used to tell what wasn't right with things. If he did something that others considered wrong, it was usually a result of some other problem that had to be fixed (but if it wasn't getting fixed, then Feanor fixed it in his own way).

This is shown again when he rebels against the Valar. Remember, Ulmo never thought it was even a good idea to bring elves to Valinor. He thought they should stay in Middle Earth. Feanor's discontent can be seen as a result of the Valar unwisely bringing the elves over the sea.

Also, there's another thread where we came to the conclusion that the best way to defeat Melkor was to get him to spend himself over a long period of time so he would be weakened and less damage would be done to the earth when he was finally taken down. As we can see, that's exactly what happened. The Noldor went and started a war against him that kept him occupied for hundreds of years and then the Valar came and got him.

But if this was truly the best way to do things, then weren't the Noldor supposed to leave Valinor? At the same time, the Valar did not feel compelled to rush off to war. That's because it was Eru's will that they wait, but they incorrectly assumed that the "wait" command was for everyone, when in fact the Noldor's destiny was to go and begin the weakening of Melkor.

So they counseled against it, and assumed that their logic was infallible (when, in fact, the Valar are not perfect, and the Sil says that they were supposed to be elders among the elves as opposed to masters). Just because the Valar command something or want something doesn't make it right.

Here's a quote from another thread that states that it was the will of Eru that the Noldor go after Melkor.

The Vanyar found their contentment and satisfaction at the feet of the Valar, where as the Noldor found theirs in learning and delving into new things. This is a huge difference in character, and was not the choice of the Noldor and Vanyar, but the nature that was given to them by Eru.

Now, this difference is why the Noldor were corrupted. Melkor couldn't corrupt the Vanyar, because they were satisfied serving the Valar. He didn't have anything to tempt them with. But, the Noldor existed to create and pursue knowledge, two things that Melkor could help them with considerably.

They were created in such a way that the precise thing they loved would be the exact thing that Melkor could offer.

Why would this situation be allowed to happen? Because the rebellion of the Noldor was supposed to happen. It had to happen.

Not only were they "playing their part", but the nature in which they were created would have hardly allowed for anything else.

and then this in a later post-

The Teleri and the Valar shouldn't have hindered the Noldor. They (Valar and Teleri) weren't seeing clearly the will of Eru. They're not completely to blame, because it's very hard to see the big picture on such short notice, but the fact remains that the Noldor HAD to get to middle earth to contest Melkor's domination.

Yes, that's right. That last quote just said that the Noldor's rebellion was more in tune with Eru's plan than the resistance of the Valar and Teleri. The Teleri put complete and 100% trust and faith in the Valar, and Olwe in his words with Feanor believed staunchly that everything would be all hunky-dory again because the Valar would fix things. I think it's detestable that free peoples would completely subjugate themselves and put 100% trust in beings that are not perfect. Eru didn't create his children to obey every wish that other people made and never think or act themselves without getting approval.

Not only do the circumstances under which the Noldor were led to rebel point to it being the will of Eru, but their rebellion led to the enrichment of the world and better life for other elves and men of Middle-Earth. Feanor's heart knew what the big picture would be, and he was just following the will or Eru. I'll leave you with another quote from that other thread-

Where I (and possibly lord of dor-lomin) am coming from is what I like to call "the fate school". That essentially means that every person and/or group has a certain deed to do or goal to attain, and that things that are usually "wrong" are justifiable if they appear necessary to complete the task that Eru has put into their heart.

that other thread can be found here-> http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin...24&t=000038&p=

[ June 30, 2003: Message edited by: the phantom ]