[ Daily Tolkien ] Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor

Tolkien Online ^ | November 08, 1999 | Mark-Edmond

[JameRetief]

A Tolkien Virgin: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
by Mark-Edmond

The Journey Continues

At long last! The Silmarils! Tolkien titled this volume "The Silmarillion," so something tells me these little fellas are going to be even more important than Feanor. But, at the same time, since he created them, whatever happens, he will have a hand in it. For without Feanor there would be no Silmarils...and therefore no Silmarillion. Perhaps this great deed, the creating of the Silmarils, is his supernatural act. Perhaps, this is why he sapped so much strength and energy from his mother at his birth.

What's odd is the Valar's reaction to the Silmarils. Apparently, they couldn't make them or hadn't thought of it, or something. If he does something that the Valar can't do, maybe he really is super-natural. What's more, the Valar seem more finite here than in the Ainulindale or Valaquenta.

As for the Unrest of the Noldor, I like how Tolkien creates strife: the elves develop a kind of fierce pride (not unlike Melkor's in the Ainulindale), so Melkor spreads insidious lies that fester and spread threatening different elves' pride. For whatever reason, the elves don't confront one another to sort out the truth of the situation. Their fears and defensiveness grow till they explode in an angry, armed, confrontation, that sorts out nothing and widens the conflict.

In all truth, by the end of the chapter I was suspicious of the goodness of the Silmarils. Feanor wasn't ""enthralled"" by the Valar, but by the Silmarils of his own creation. These gems seem to create an incredible amount of negative energy. Melkor envies them, as do the rest of the Valar to a certain extent, and they seem to transform Feanor into a different kind of evil than Melkor. Melkor wanted to create something of his own apart from Illuvatar. Feanor created something apart from anyone else, something he believes is completely of his own doing, and it seems to have awaken a darkness in him. Is there a correlation there?

I keep coming back to the same question, though: How is it that the Silmarils--gems that contain the pure light of Aman--have such a negative impact on those around them?

On a different note, the most incredibly intriguing line of this whole chapter (for me) has to be the following reference to Feanor turning away Melkor, "And he shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers in Ea." From the rest of the book up to this point, I would've thought that somehow Melkor (and perhaps all the Valar) was significantly diminishing in his power/might. So that line is a nice reminder of just how powerful he (and the rest of the Valar) still is--and just how not smart it was for Feanor to turn him away so abruptly! I might add that my vote for the mightiest of the Valar would've been for Tulkas considering how easily he manhandled Melkor the last time they duked it out. Ah well.

Author: Mark-Edmond
Published on: November 08, 1999

The next Tolkien Virgin article covers: The Silmarillion: Of the Darkening of Valinor

[JameRetief]

The Daily Tolkien articles by various authors	The Tolkien Virgin articles by Mark-Edmond
ARTICLES 1-10	1) Pre-amble and The Ainulindalë
ARTICLES 11-20	2) Ainulindalë/Valaquenta
ARTICLES 21-30	3) Of Aule and Yavanna
31) Model Languages: On Tolkien	4) Of The Coming of Elves and the Captivity of Melkor
32) Beyond The Movie: Author and History	5) Of Thingol and Melian
33) Beyond The Movie: Language and Culture	6) Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalie
34) Beyond The Movie: Myth and Storytelling	7) Of Feanor and the Unchaining of Melkor
35) Who were the real heroes of Middle-earth?	8) Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
36) The Undefinable Shadowland
37) Strange as news from Bree...

[JameRetief]

Your Tolkien Virgin Ping!

Read along with a Tolkien Virgin as he discovers and comments on the history of Middle Earth as he reads it for the first time.  These articles start with The Silmarillion, journeys through The Hobbit, and finishes with the epic Lord Of The Rings.  At the pace of 2 articles per week (Mondays and Fridays) the articles will wrap up about the same time that the final movie of the Lord Of The Rings story is released. 

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[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

[Stopislamnow]

The Silmarils are not evil, never were, never will be. They were hallowed by Varda so that they would never suffer the touch of evil.

They are not evil in nature. And their light was not an original creation of Feanor. Feanor captured the mingled light from The Two Trees. Preserving them imperishable in some crystal like substance.

The evil impact they cause is the Noldor's lust for revenge upon Melko and the recovery of the jewels. The Oath of Feanor and his sons, which was a terrible and almost blasphemous oath to begin with, follows him and his sons and all who come into contact with the Simarils or seek them.

The Oath of Feanor is what causes the evil, and the choices of the sons of Feanor who cannot deny the oath for fear of the breaking. Had Feanor loved not the silmarils overmuch, he could have and would have sought the aid of the Valar in thier return, to rekindle the trees.