Why Does Good Suck So Much? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

tumhalad2 · 04-05-2011, 08:28 PM

Nikkolas - a fascinating and thought provoking response to The Silmarillion - perhaps my favourite of Tolkien's works.

I think there is a great deal of truth in what you say about the Valar. The question is, is there the interprative space within the text itself to allow for a reading of them that emphasises their negative qualities, as opposed to their positive ones. Given that the metafictional conceit of The Silmarillion is that it was written by Elves (or Numenoreans through Elvish traditions) we must be cautious when answering this question: naturally the Elves (or the High Elves, at any rate) are predisposed to think highly of the Valar. Nonetheless, I think it is certainly reasonable to assign some degree of blame to the Valar, say, for allowing Sauron to continue inhabiting Middle-earth, or to Melian for abandoning Doriath.

One aspect of The Silmarillion that has really grown on me is the sheer selfishness of the motivations of the characters who oppose Morgoth. Unlike Gandalf, characters like Feanor or even Hurin don't oppose him because he is "evil": they oppose him because he is either a threat to their status (Morwen and Hurin are very concerned for Turin partly because he is the "heir" destined to inheret wide lands) or because he commited a crime against property (stole the Silmarilli). Unlike the War of the Ring in the Third Age, the Wars of Beleriand, pitting the Noldor and the Sindar against Morgoth, are offensive in their design; their goal is not merely to overthrow Morgoth because he is an existential threat, like Sauron.

04-05-2011, 08:28 PM	#16
tumhalad2 Haunting Spirit Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 95	Nikkolas - a fascinating and thought provoking response to The Silmarillion - perhaps my favourite of Tolkien's works. I think there is a great deal of truth in what you say about the Valar. The question is, is there the interprative space within the text itself to allow for a reading of them that emphasises their negative qualities, as opposed to their positive ones. Given that the metafictional conceit of The Silmarillion is that it was written by Elves (or Numenoreans through Elvish traditions) we must be cautious when answering this question: naturally the Elves (or the High Elves, at any rate) are predisposed to think highly of the Valar. Nonetheless, I think it is certainly reasonable to assign some degree of blame to the Valar, say, for allowing Sauron to continue inhabiting Middle-earth, or to Melian for abandoning Doriath. One aspect of The Silmarillion that has really grown on me is the sheer selfishness of the motivations of the characters who oppose Morgoth. Unlike Gandalf, characters like Feanor or even Hurin don't oppose him because he is "evil": they oppose him because he is either a threat to their status (Morwen and Hurin are very concerned for Turin partly because he is the "heir" destined to inheret wide lands) or because he commited a crime against property (stole the Silmarilli). Unlike the War of the Ring in the Third Age, the Wars of Beleriand, pitting the Noldor and the Sindar against Morgoth, are offensive in their design; their goal is not merely to overthrow Morgoth because he is an existential threat, like Sauron.