Silmarillion - Chapter 16 - Of Maeglin

[Aiwendil]

Please don't apologize for double-posting - it's good to see interest in these discussions!

But one question I was pondering - did Tolkien originally intend Eol to be of the Moriquendi, rather than of the "high kin of the Teleri"? And if so, would that have worked better?

That's an interesting issue, actually - if I recall correctly, most accounts make him one of the Sindar and a kinsman of Thingol. In "Quendi and Eldar", however, it is said that Eol was one of the Avari - specifically, the "Tatyarin Avari", the kinsfolk of the Noldor who chose to remain in Middle-earth. But in the late work on "Of Maeglin" there is an apparent reversion to the earlier story. Of course, it's hard to judge what Tolkien's original intention was, since the story is only mentioned and not told in the Lost Tales.

And I don't much like the sound of "wholly unwilling" and "nor...that her life was hateful..." damning with faint praise, really

I agree. Certainly, Aredhel seems to be a prisoner; but there is a hint of something stranger than mere captivity. Perhaps something like "Stockholm syndrome" was at work. It's too bad Tolkien never elaborated. On the other hand, the ambiguity does leave a wide scope for the reader's imagination.

So what did daddy call him before that? Did he talk to him at all? That's a cheery household for a little elf-boy to grow up in, to be sure...and then to see his father kill his mother before his eyes, albeit inadvertently. Or perhaps not so inadvertent really...after all, he kept quiet about the dart being poisoned, until it was too late...

Indeed - and one wonders what may have been in Maeglin's thoughts as he watched his father cast over the Caragdur and ignored his plea to intercede on his behalf.