Here is the next installment of Mark-Edmonds report on The Silmarillion.
I will be gathering all of these and other pieces that people have written and place them all in a new section called the Lore Masters’ Corner… or something like that.
And, as for Mark-Edmond’s side note, I’m sorry I have been a party to spreading this little problem with Mark-Edmond’s name. Please forgive.
Article
“Feanor seems almost supernatural. Something is going to go down. It’s going to be nasty. And Feanor is going to have his hand in it. That much is clear. But, is it just me, or is he supernatural? He’s special. But the way his mother withers away and dies (as much as that is possible for an elf) after his birth, he would almost seem even greater (not in the “good” sense of great). We don’t know why (his birth alone?), but we can tell he’s an extraordinary figure.
Tolkien lays the foreshadowing on thick, here: first, before his mother dies, she says, “But hold me blameless in this and all that may come after.” Next, Tolkien mentions that if his father had been content and not remarried perhaps “great evil” would have been avoided. And finally, Melkor is released here in this same chapter as Feanor is born. But since it’s assumed that the reader (later generations of elves) will be familiar with what nastiness “comes to pass,” all these references make perfect sense.
With the way this chapter is presented, I must say it will be interesting to see how the relationship between Feanor and Melkor plays out. They’re both tragic figures. I wonder how many tragic figures there are in these elven legends.
Till next time, keep thinking,
mark-edmond
Side Note: I hate to be a pain, but my first name is Mark-Edmond for those of you who refer to me on the message board…not Mark. As petty as that may seem, Mark, quite simply, is not my name. Thanks a million.
