Why is the Hated Loved?

[Lotrelf]

Originally Posted by Imladris

I searched but didn't find what I was looking for. If I missed a topic, please forgive me...

I was reading the Silmarillion and I was surprised and perplexed at the similarites that Gollum, Melkor, and Ungoliant possess:



Melkor does not love light, yet he lusted after the Silmarils (made from the Light of the Two Trees). He would not give give them up, even though they burned his hand:



And then there is Gollum, who loved and hated the Ring.

What do you think that Tolkien was trying to say?

Did Melkor lust after Silmarils? I think not. I feel he stole them because they contained the light of the Two Trees; and he wanted them to keep from good side i.e. Valar. Light represents hope, and Melkor would certainly fear/hate them, but he'd hate the fact that the light is in possession of his enemies. After all he spent his entire lifetime in darkness and wanted to rule the world by that.
Ungoliant's case seems same to me. She lusted after the light and would eat(?) it. She was fulfilling the purpose of Melkor: spreading darkness. She and Melkor hated the light, but lusted after it so that it should not be in possession of the good, also light was their strength.
Gollum's case was different. He was not like Melkor or Ungoliant. He lacked morals but wasn't devoid of them like the other two were. Ring amplified his "evil qualities", and he let the evil consume him. His hatred for the Ring was basically because he still had a human part safe, in his soul; and he loved it because he was addicted to it, he got "energy" from the Ring to survive.