Silmarillion - Valaquenta

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Alchisiel

Aldarion brought up some very good points. Could it be that the marriages of the Valar are spiritual and not a physical marriage as most people think of when thinking about marriage?

I agree:

Originally Posted by Commentary on the first section, Annals of Aman, HoME X

Note that 'spouse' meant only an 'association'. The Valar had no bodies, but could assume shapes. After the coming of the Eldar they most often used shapes of 'human' form, though taller (not gigantic) and more magnificent.

In the Later Quenta Silmarillion, HoME X, it is noted that at that time the previous refferences to the existence of the Children of the Valar were removed - thus Fionwe becomes the herald, not son, of Manwe.

Originally Posted by Note 10b, Commentary on chapter I, Of the Valar

This is an aspect of an important development in the conception of the Powers of Arda, the abandonment of the old and long-rooted idea of 'the Children of the Valar, the Sons of the Valar'. It was still present in the Aannals of Aman, where the Valarindi, 'the offspring of the Valar', were 'numbered with' the Maiar (but they are distinguished from the Maiar). On the typescript text, the conception of the Children of the Valar was struck out.

[Aiwendil]

Interesting comments, Aldarion - and thanks for sparking some discussion of the actual content of the Valaquenta!

First, I wonder how Tolkien chose what his various gods would be the "god of". That is, most of them are elemental gods - the god of the air, the god of water, the god of the underworld. With the exception of Nienna, I don't think that any of the emotions are represented. Where's Tolkien's version of Venus?

A very interesting point. Tolkien does not give us a god of love as the Greeks did. Interesting that the only emotion governed by a specific Vala is sorrow. It's true that many of the Valar - and many of the most important Valar - are "elemental gods". But it's interesting to note how their elemental associations are often extended - for instance, Ulmo is the Vala of water, but because of the nature of water in the Legendarium, he also functions to some extent as a Vala of music. Let me attempt to pair the Valar up with their "spheres of governance" if you will:

Manwe - Air, birds
Varda - Stars (perhaps more broadly, light?), Elves generally
Ulmo - Water, music
Aule - Earth, craft/skill, Dwarves, (to some extent) the Noldor
Yavanna - Vegetation (perhaps, more broadly, life?), the Ents
Namo (Mandos) - Death, doom
Vaire - Stories, weaving
Irmo (Lorien) - Visions, dreams
Este - Healing
Nienna - Grief
Tulkas - Strength
Nessa - Deer? Speed? Dancing? (Not quite sure)
Orome - Beasts, hunting
Vana - Youth
Melkor - Part of the power of each of the Valar

So the greatest of the Valar are associated with elements, except Melkor (though I recall someone in a long ago discussion putting forward the idea that he might originally have been associated with fire). And though Tolkien only gives us one emotion-related Vala, he also gives us Valar associated with such attributes as strength and youth. It's worth noting that Tolkien's earth-god is male. In the western world, we are probably more used to thinking of the earth as feminine, following the Greco-Roman tradition - with Gaea as the primordial (and female) earth-god. But Tolkien is by no means alone in making the earth-god male - Geb of Egyptian mythology comes to mind as a precedent. Also, Tolkien draws a distinction between earth itself (i.e. the rocks and soil) and things that grow on it.

He also eliminated the gods of war and battle from the earlier versions in UT. I wonder why he did this - to keep the pantehon from growing unmanageably large?

This may have had something to do with it, but it seems to me that it was also part of a general 'cleaning' of the mythology (for lack of a better term) that took place over the course of its development. Tolkien's cosmos becomes more orderly as he develops it, and the Valar more wholly good. It seems to me that he eliminated the war gods because they were too morally ambiguous - too evil without actually being, well, evil. This may also have something to do with his elimination of the children of the Valar. Though the Valar remain different from Christian angels in that they marry, the Valar of the Valaquenta bear a much stronger resemblence to angels than do the Valar of the Lost Tales.

[Bêthberry]

I was PMing last week with Nogrod about the connotations of flame and we discussed the various meanings of the word. One of the meanings might bear on this absence of a specific god or goddess of love.

Nogrod pointed out that 'flame' can mean 'lover', as in old flame (or current flame).

The upshot was that we wondered if the Flame Imperishable could be love eternal. Love would then be with Eru/Illuvatar and it would be this primal creator who was (is?) the god of love. The Void and any creatures therein would thus be devoid of love as Melkor failed to find the Flame there. (I think this would pertain to Ungoliant.)

Perhaps Nogrod would be able to expand upon this more fully. Would there be any other indications that Eru is the god of love? Clearly, not quite the amorous divinity of other mythologies.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Bb,

That idea of Eru as the "God of Love" is certainly different and intriguing, and I certainly never thought of that before.

Another possibility, and these are random thoughts thrown out. Perhaps there's not a single "god of love" because different Valar share various attributes which, when taken together, help to define"love". In that scenario, perhaps Eru is the distant father who allows his children to make mistakes and learn. There is undoubtedly love there, yet it seems so removed.

I've also thought of Manwe and Varda as being the perfect model of a couple, sharing intimacies and respecting each other's abilities. Strangely enough, the other name that comes to my mind when I think of "love" is Nienna. It almost seems as if Tolkien often equates "love" with "tears" -- that pure grieving is one of the truest forms of love we can experience in a world that is so flawed. (Ok....I can't help thinking of his own childhood here.)

This is one of my favorite lines in the Silm:

But she [i.e. Nienna] does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity and endurance in hope

It's so interesting to me that two of the most important themes of LotR--pity and hope--make their appearance here in the form of Nienna, long before Frodo and Sam (perhaps each the flawed but very human embodiment of one of these?) are even a glint on the horizon.

I also love this intriguing phrase: "The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world." Presumably that hints at the fact that, ultimately, there must be some form of help (perhaps some form of love itself??) that comes from beyond the world. Or is there another possible meaning for this?

What is missing, however, is erotic love....unless you assume that this element lies hidden within Varda and Manwe but is decently concealed from outside eyes.

Does anyone have any favorites among the Valar and Maiar? My own are Nienna and Olórin. I love it that these two were connected by Tolkien right from the start. Well, perhaps not right from the start, since this passage was added later. But I'm still glad it was put here. Indeed the passage on Olorin and even the last sentence on Sauron requires a knowledge of some of what happened in the later Second and Third Ages. Can we assume then, in a fictional sense, Bilbo did not translate and edit this portion until after Frodo's return?

[Aldarion Elf-Friend]

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Strangely enough, the other name that comes to my mind when I think of "love" is Nienna. It almost seems as if Tolkien often equates "love" with "tears" -- that pure grieving is one of the truest forms of love we can experience in a world that is so flawed.

Note that Tolkien also never fails to mention that in Nienna's grief is something good, whether it be the learning of pity and endurance, or the wisdom that is mentioned when she visits Mandos. That's something else that jumped out at me that I forgot to mention in my original post.

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

What is missing, however, is erotic love....unless you assume that this element lies hidden within Varda and Manwe but is decently concealed from outside eyes.

But isn't erotic love and eroticism missing from the entire body of Tolkien's writing? It is a subject that he implies, or mentions the results of, without ever entering someone else's bedroom. Which strikes me as singularly British.

There's a thread over on the main Books board right now about CT preparing to publish a completed version of the Children of Hurin, which is said to contain much r-rated material, such as incest. However, if JRR's original style is to be preserved, the incest will be understood, but never directly seen.

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Does anyone have any favorites among the Valar and Maiar? My own are Nienna and Olórin. I love it that these two were connected by Tolkien right from the start.

Have to think abou that - I don't think I have a favorite, there is no god of woodworking (see my Avatar)... Yavanna's sort of the god of anti-woodworking...

[Child of the 7th Age]

About eroticism....for the most part you are very correct. Still, when I read some of the early scenes between Beren and Luthien, I certainly have the impression of something going on, with just a thin translucent veil hanging down so that we only get the vaguest hint.

Still, that comes later so won't dwell on it here.

[Saurreg]

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Does anyone have any favorites among the Valar and Maiar?

Ulmo for being unexpectingly compassionate and proactive, and Aule for being most like the Children of Illuvatar in heart and spirit.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Strangely enough, the other name that comes to my mind when I think of "love" is Nienna. It almost seems as if Tolkien often equates "love" with "tears" -- that pure grieving is one of the truest forms of love we can experience in a world that is so flawed. (Ok....I can't help thinking of his own childhood here.)
. . .

It's so interesting to me that two of the most important themes of LotR--pity and hope--make their appearance here in the form of Nienna, long before Frodo and Sam (perhaps each the flawed but very human embodiment of one of these?) are even a glint on the horizon.

I also love this intriguing phrase: "The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world." Presumably that hints at the fact that, ultimately, there must be some form of help (perhaps some form of love itself??) that comes from beyond the world. Or is there another possible meaning for this?

What is missing, however, is erotic love....unless you assume that this element lies hidden within Varda and Manwe but is decently concealed from outside eyes.

Tolkien's pantheon of gods is so very different from the Greek and Roman ones--all the scrabbling, self indulgence, vanity, competition, fighting, and philandering is removed. Nor do his gods take on animal shape and forms, only human forms. I remember my childhood response to reading classical mythology, thinking how very like the worst aspects of human behaviour were those gods. Tolkien's seem an idealisation by comparison.

I think Nienna is his most interesting and original contribution to mythic divinity, although it is possible I am forgetting some of the divine characters from other mythologies. Certainly in LotR nothing gets accomplished without cooperation or sharing: success on Mount Doom needs both Sam and Frodo, the killing of the Witch-King employs both Merry and Eowyn.

Raynor has provided some interesting extensions to the idea of love.

Originally Posted by Raynor

I think that Varda is quite close to what one could call a goddess of love, which would fit your above connection. On one hand, she is described as the most beautiful vala, most likely the most beautiful of all Eru's "offsprings"

. . .

In most legendariums, the goddess of love is usually the one most endowed with beauty.

Once beauty is brought into the equation, do we need to consider Tolkien's comments on beauty and evil in OFS?

Originally Posted by OFS

The fear of the beautiful fay that ran through the elder ages almost eludes our grasp. Even more alarming, goodness is itself bereft of its proper beauty.

Originally Posted by Raynor

It is also worth mentioning that the elves were freed from most of the desires of the flesh, being masters of their bodies and urges - therefore enjoying love in its highest form

Given Child's observation about the absence of eroticism, I suppose we ought to ask a question about this hierarchy. Do the ancient mythologies have this value system of higher and lower forms of love? Is this valuation something in Tolkien's text or is it an assumption that Raynor is bringing to the text?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Beth

Nor do his gods take on animal shape and forms, only human forms.

At least Yavanna takes a non-human form, that of gigantic tree.

I think Nienna is his most interesting and original contribution to mythic divinity, although it is possible I am forgetting some of the divine characters from other mythologies.

The buddhists also have Tara, the divine aspect of compassion, with her male companion, Avalokiteshvara. In Christianity, in think that Mary, the mother of Christ, would also be a fit figure for this, seeing her imagery and prayers dedicated to her.

Once beauty is brought into the equation, do we need to consider Tolkien's comments on beauty and evil in OFS?

Hm, I don't remember even a single elven woman using her beauty in an evil way; [interestingly enough, I have to think hard to remember a single evil elven woman.]

Do the ancient mythologies have this value system of higher and lower forms of love?

In most Indian-related religions (hinduism and buddhism in particular), vairagya, detachement in all aspects of life, is highly estimeed; even in kaula and mishra, the non-superior branches of Tantra, spiritual development in a couple is not possible without detachment.

Is this valuation something in Tolkien's text or is it an assumption that Raynor is bringing to the text?

There is this interesting refference in Aelfwine's preamble:

Originally Posted by Of the marriage laws and customs of the Eldar, their children, and other matters touching thereon, Later Quenta Silmarillion, HoME X

The Eldar wedded once only in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either part. Even when in after days, as the histories reveal, many of the Eldar in Middle-earth became corrupted, and their hearts darkened by the shadow that lies upon Arda, seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.
...
They are not easily deceived by their own kind; and their spirits being masters of their bodies, they are seldom swayed by the desires of the body only, but are by nature continent and steadfast.

They seem to embody the kind of pure, untainted love, that Tolkien believed would happen between humans only in cases of saints, or later in life when the "sex cools down", and only in the rarest of cases between "ordinary folk" [- cf. letter #43 to Michael Tolkien on the subject of marriage and the relations betwen the sexes].

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Beth

One of the meanings might bear on this absence of a specific god or goddess of love.
...
The upshot was that we wondered if the Flame Imperishable could be love eternal.

I think that Varda is quite close to what one could call a goddess of love, which would fit your above connection. On one hand, she is described as the most beautiful vala, most likely the most beautiful of all Eru's "offsprings"

Originally Posted by Of the Valar, Valaquenta, Silmarillion

Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Iluvatar lives still in her face. In light is her power and her joy.

In most legendariums, the goddess of love is usually the one most endowed with beauty.

On the other hand, she is the lady of the stars, but, more specifically of the sun too. True, in the earlier mythology, the sun and moon were made from the last offshoots of Telperion and Laurelin, but in Myths Transformed a new version is given:

Originally Posted by Myths Transformed, II, HoME X

Now the Sun was designed to be the heart of Arda, and the Valar purposed that it should give light to all that Realm, unceasingly and without wearying or diminution, and that from its light the world should receive health and life and growth. Therefore Varda set there the most ardent and beautiful of all those spirits that had entered with her into Ea, and she was named Ar(i), and Varda gave to her keeping a portion of the gift of Iluvatar so that the Sun should endure and be blessed and give blessing.

According to the LotR Reader's Companion, by Hammond and Scull, The bridge of Khazad-dum chapter, this note is dated around 1946-8 (Chris couldn't date it at the time of editing HoME X). This would give a whole new meaning to Gandalf wielding the flame of Anor - in his case, the flame appears as pure, almost dirrectly linked to Eru, through Varda.

It is also worth mentioning that the elves were freed from most of the desires of the flesh, being masters of their bodies and urges - therefore enjoying love in its highest form - and their valie was Varda, again. So, in the end, we have the most beautiful goddess who is also the source of light and fire too (the sun being the ultimate expression of it) - in the light of your connection, I would call her the goddess of love too.

[Saurreg]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I was PMing last week with Nogrod about the connotations of flame and we discussed the various meanings of the word. One of the meanings might bear on this absence of a specific god or goddess of love.

Nogrod pointed out that 'flame' can mean 'lover', as in old flame (or current flame).

The upshot was that we wondered if the Flame Imperishable could be love eternal. Love would then be with Eru/Illuvatar and it would be this primal creator who was (is?) the god of love. The Void and any creatures therein would thus be devoid of love as Melkor failed to find the Flame there. (I think this would pertain to Ungoliant.)

Perhaps Nogrod would be able to expand upon this more fully. Would there be any other indications that Eru is the god of love? Clearly, not quite the amorous divinity of other mythologies.

How about thinking the Flame Imperishable as the symbolic combination of many things?

Of Passion

Not just sexual but of all forms of excitement that raises the body temperature, heighten the senses, alerts the brain and ultimately gives one the feeling of "being alive" And the experience of life would lead to more intimate interactions with the environment and give rise to self-awareness and sentience. Both which lacking, would never have resulted in higher intelligent lifeforms such as the elves, men, ents, orcs and other non celestial denizens of Arda.

Of Wisdom

This is a no-brainer. Light, especially flaming torches have always been the symbol of education and enlightenment. It would seem that we equate our primeval fear and lack of understanding of darkness (can this refer to the void???) to universal ignorance and since light "banishes" the dark, it would symbolize the gift of enlightenment succeeding ignorance. The old clinche "The light shows the way," applies most aptly here which leads us to the next representation of the Flame,

Of Guidance and Hope

We use light to illuminate our path so that we can see our way when it is dark or hazy. Indeed this is how we navigate from point A to point B. The path is always there to be walked/crawled/climbed/swam but it isn't always clear, therefore light from fire shows the way and hence it is a guide.

And when you know there is a path in life to take, that you can see the path clearly with light, then you have hope as opposed to being confusingly lost and utterly dispairing

Of Care and Nuture

Heat is an essential source of life. In the cold of night and during the harshest of winters, the warmth of a fire keeps us alive, cooks food and prevents wild animals from straying to close. It is a source of comfort and protection. And what of Sun? It also keeps us warm, ripen our crops and allows livestock to multiple and thrive. It is also another source of comfort and an assurance of life. Indeed we are like infants dependent upon the sun that is like a mother who nutures. In fact I just found out that in Germany during the olden days, people referred to the sun as a "she" due to these reasons!

and speaking of suns,

Of Fame and Glory

The sun is warm and nurturing, but on the flip side it can also be scorching and punishing - it has both classical feminine and masculine attributes. We are always in awe of the prowess of the sun and in many cultures that awe has translated into the desire to be viewed by society as being so powerful and reknown that people regard the egoistic one with the same awe, fear and respect as the sun itself. Once more many cultures associate the sun and its striking rays as the ultimate expression of martial and political prowess. In days of antiquity, soldiers wearing attires embossed reliefs of the sun were elite and great kings and lords used the fiery star as the symbol of their majesty and power on banners and heraldry.

Not too long ago, a powerful absolute monarch by the name of Louis XIV held Europe in awe, contempt, fear and undeniably respect. And he was called the Sun King.

Of Destruction

Fire burns and our fears of a hideously painful death and the lost of our possessions by flames are profound. And in the past without the advent of fire fighting equipment and methods, raging fires were near unstoppable and caused extended damage and death before they were extinguished. As such flames also came to be regarded as a symbol of utter destruction and the realization of fear.

Of Renewal

For thousands of years, farmers have realized that burned land was fertile (temporarily) and that some crops grew better on such ground than when the land is simply cleared off wild vegetation and left virgin. As such the slash and burn cycle of shifting cultivation started and the onset of fire heralded the arrival of new crops, harvest, food and life itself, before returning to flames again. As such fire came to represent the cycle of renewal.

Indeed the process of life and the universe itself seems to be a process of a cycle of renewal. People die and new people appear and replace them in the world. The sun sets but rises again. The tides rise and fall in pattern. And so what was, would come again.

Renewal. Just like the legendary phoenix of Asian myths that undergo an endless cycle of death and rebirth through flames and ashes.

[Aiwendil]

Re-reading the discussion here, I've had some further thoughts about Varda.

What is Varda the "god of", as it were? Obviously, she's the "Lady of the Stars" and the star-kindler, and hence a sort of patron god of the Elves, the Star-folk. But I've been thinking about the passage that Raynor quoted:

Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Iluvatar lives still in her face. In light is her power and her joy.

Perhaps, then, it would be more accurate to say that Varda is the god of light - not just star-light, but light in all its forms, both literal and "figurative". I put "figurative" in quotes because I like to read Tolkien with his admiration for Owen Barfield's theory of ancient semantic unity in mind. I summarized my understanding of this theory in one of the Hobbit discussions:

To put it briefly, Barfield's idea is that over the course of history and linguistic evolution, there has been a fragmentation of concepts in human thought. He claims that, for example, the word spiritus in Latin was not a single word with various meanings (breath, air, spirit), but rather that the various meanings that we now distinguish were not then distinguished - so to the Romans "breath" and "spirit" were the same concept. So certain uses of words that we now see as metaphorical were not originally so; language, he claims had a pre-metaphorical stage.

So I think that when Tolkien says that Varda's power and joy is in light, we must take "light" to mean not just physical light but all the qualities that we metaphorically associate with light or "illumination" - we speak of "enlightenment", "casting light" on a subject, etc., and it is over this whole sphere that Varda is queen.

If we look at Varda as the Lady of Light, and not just of Stars, then she takes on a whole new importance in the Legendarium. For the concept of light is central to Tolkien's creation. In a sense, the Silmarillion can be seen as a story about light (please don't read the following if this is your first time reading the Silmarillion): Iluvatar entrusts his pure, unadulterated light to Varda; that light is put into the Lamps, which are destroyed; to replace them, the Valar make the Trees; Feanor captures some of that light in the Silmarils; the Trees are destroyed and the Silmarils, in which alone the pure light still lives, are stolen; the Valar make the Sun and Moon with impure remnants of the original light; the remainder of the story concerns the fate of the Silmarils; eventually one of these finds its way into the heavens so that a small fraction of the pure light shines again upon the world.

I will confess that much of my thinking along these lines is not original, but comes from Verlyn Flieger's book Splintered Light, which examines the central role of light in the Silmarillion and ties it very convincingly to Barfield's notion of semantic unity.

What made me think about this in connection with this thread is the role of Varda. If we see the Silmarillion as a story about light, and if Varda is the Vala chiefly concerned with light, then doesn't Varda become the central figure of the mythology? In a sense, doesn't she become even more important than Manwe? For that matter, doesn't Ungoliant (a being associated with darkness) become more important as well? In a sense, one might come to see Varda and Ungoliant as the major adversaries of the story, instead of Manwe and Melkor.

The problem is that the events of the story don't seem to support this. Ungoliant ceases to be an important character after Morgoth's return to Middle-earth. And while Varda is venerated by the Elves throughout LotR, it is Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, and Mandos among the Valar who are featured prominently in the subsequent chapters.

Interesting, though, that it is Varda and Ungoliant, two female characters, who are the queens of Light and Darkness.

Another point to consider is how, and if, the light that Varda governs is related to the Secret Fire. Are the two to be equated? Did Iluvatar give the Flame to Varda, over and above the other Valar? I think that Saurreg's analysis of the Flame Imperishable is very insightful - but I wonder how it relates to the theme of light that is so important throughout the work.

[Saurreg]

We know Tolkien had a fondnesss of casting his female characters as extremely powerful, despite putting it down in print that who and who was the greatest. How else would we all think that deep down, Galadriel was far more powerful than Feanor, greatest of the Noldorin?

Varda, Arien, Melian and Luthien - those ladies mopped the floor with anyone!

As for Varda and Manwe, me thinks their pairing is akin to that of Melian and Thingol, of Beren and Luthien, and of Celebron and Galadriel. The males were in their society deemed the greatest (not so sure about Celeborn), but by what we read of the deeds of their fairer halves, the seems to be a great disparity in the balance of innate power between the couples.

Aiwendil also touched on the seemingly disconnected nature if Varda throughout the books as compared to the pro-activeness of Aule and Ulmo. Perhaps she felt less compassion for life in middle earth as compared to the lesser Valar's? I had the feeling that Varda was contented with the condemnation of the murderous noldrin and infact all life in Beleriand, and was somewhat preoccupied with her time in Valinor. Ulmo on the other hand, perhaps due to his far-reaching elemental nature felt the pains and suffering of the children of Illuvatar more accutely and thus was moved to compassion sooner and acted.

And so we come back to the point of Greatness. What is greatness? Who was the greatest? Was greatness measured through innate powers and position or through actions that shaped destiny?

[Anguirel]

One fascinating thing about the Valar is the narrative superfluousness of most of them.

If we wanted the bare minimum number of Valar, for, say, a blockbuster film, how many are necessary for plot purposes?

Manwe
Varda (because of her significance as the one most revered by the Elves)
Ulmo
Aule (largely because of Dwarves)
Yavanna (marginally, because of the Two Trees)
Mandos
Nienna (because of her weeping over the Trees)
Orome (largely because of Huan)
Tulkas (whose part is major early on but quickly fades out)
(Melkor, obviously)

Even of these ten I've named, many, as I've hinted above, only occupy the stage briefly. Tulkas, for instance, is soon heard of no more, because the Valar, detached and inactive, no longer really seem to fit with his portrayal as a warrior unleashed. I always imagine the sad image of a domesticated Tulkas, bored and apathetic, maybe occasionally going out for a desultory run, by the time of the later Silmarillion.

As an introduction to the overall corpus of the Quenta Silmarillion - what we might call the Noldolante - the Valaquenta is, then, curiously ineffective.

Or is it?

Do we see the Valar, conspicuous by their absence though they might be, through the actions of the Elves and Men they've apparently abandoned? Is there something of Tulkas in the defiance of Hurin at the end of the Nirnaeth? Something of Nienna in her near-namesake Nienor? Ulmo in the songs of Daeron and Maglor?

Well, maybe. Or maybe, inactive though they are in person, the song of the Valar lingers in Beleriand.

***

Actually, one of my favourites among the Valar is one I did not list above. I was reminded when I reread this chapter of the beauty of the description of Este, spouse of Irmo, who is scarcely mentioned outside the Valaquenta. The peace and rest she offers is exactly what I'd seek if I were to go West. Not majestic Lights or mighty cities, just a quiet, soft grey garden of Lorien...