Tag: tsuru thoughts

On the Alkallabeth and Genesis 1-9

In light of Tolkien’s Catholic faith, one parallel between the Old Testament and the Silmarillion is that of the Downfall of Numenor and Noah’s Flood (and, to a lesser extent, the Eden story).

If you’ve read the Silmarillion, you’re familiar with the tale of Numenor’s slow corruption and eventual destruction. The story of Noah, which is similar to that of Numenor, is a short one in which God floods the earth due to humanity’s sinfulness yet spares Noah and his family.

In Genesis 6, human lifespan is decreased, God decreeing that “their days will be 120 years” (Gen. 6:3) because his Spirit is leaving humankind and they are marrying among people of lesser lineage (6:2). Before this, Genesis records people living over 900 years, much like how in Numenor those of the high line of Elros “had long life even according to the measure of the Numenoreans” (Silmarillion 261). As Elros’ descendants intermarry with lesser Men, the Alkallabeth records that their lifespans decreased—in the Unfinished Tales, this is a major point of conflict in the betrothal of Erendis and Aldarion as well. (Unfinished Tales 177).

Subsequently, God sees in Genesis 6:5-7 how great the evil of the human race has become, and becomes deeply troubled, deciding that he must wipe humanity off the face of the earth because of how corrupt his creation is. This almost directly parallels the Alkallabeth, where the puppeteering of Sauron in Ar-Pharazon’s kingship kindles corruption in the form of a dark cult of Morgoth, turning the Numenoreans against the Valar (Silm. 273). This leads to the eventual sundering of Aman from the rest of Arda, and the drowning of the civilization of Numenor by Eru.

Let’s take a step back to the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1-3. God gave to Adam and Eve, and by extension the rest of humanity, “the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). The mission of humankind is to be thoughtful stewards of the bountiful land (and its animal and plant inhabitants) that God entrusted to them as a free gift, and they have complete reign over it, barring one stipulation: they must not eat from a lone tree at the center of the garden (Gen. 2:17). God intended this to be for Adam and Eve’s protection, as in eating fruit from the tree they would desire that which they could not have—to be like God, which, being human, they could not do.

As the discerning reader may notice, this scenario is very similar to how Numenor came about. Numenor was “made for the Edain to dwell in” (Silm. 260), and was dubbed by the Valar “Andor, the Land of Gift” (260). Numenor and its people increased in power and wisdom under the light of Aman, much like God’s intention for Eden. And, again like Eden, the Numenoreans had free reign over the land gifted to them with one exception: they must not sail to the West and in doing so “desire to overpass the limits set to their bliss” (262). Being of the kindred of Men, they could not have the everlasting life of the Eldar and Ainur, and so they would destroy the bliss of Numenor by desiring what they could not have—like Adam and Eve in Eden.

Eden falls when humanity listens to the whispers of Satan in its ears (Gen. 3:6-7). As discussed previously, this also happens with Numenor.

Returning to Noah’s story, Noah and his kin are able to escape the fate of the rest of the world because they are faithful to God (Gen. 7:1). They take with them the remnants of the former world in order to build a new one. This is what occurs with Elendil and his followers also; “the Faithful put aboard their wives and their children, and their heirlooms, and great store of goods” (Silm. 276). They also took with them a sapling of Nimloth, the White Tree of Numenor, which was a symbol of the light and goodness of the Undying Lands untainted by Sauron’s malice. Humankind may have lost their Eden in the Downfall of Numenor, but the continued lineage of the White Tree speaks to a chance for future redemption, as does the rainbow at the end of Noah’s story.

This discussion will be continued later bc I have to go to workkkk

Silm Question Meme

Tagged by @feanoriansappreciation ! Sorry this took so long, I wanted to think about my answers a bit! Thanks for tagging me—this was super enjoyable! ❤

1) Which of the three brothers (Fëanor, Fingolfin or Finarfin) would you have followed, based on political opinions and actions, and your moral code? Why? Fingolfin. I would not have followed Feanor, who was behaving rashly and used methods I cannot condone (kinslaying, burning the ships, etc); however, I would not have wanted to stay in Aman with Finarfin and his people. While Aman is not bad, per se, it feels stagnant and unchanging to me. Middle-earth, on the other hand, is the embodiment of potential and change. Though ultimately all that the Elves made in Middle-earth came to naught, the joy of the making of a thing can come from the making and not just the end result.

2) What’s your opinion on the doom that befell the Numenoreans? Was the drowning of an entire island a just punishment? The island of Numenor defied the one commandment that they were told not to break. It doesn’t matter that much of the island was worshipping Morgoth; it matters that they tried to enter and defile Valinor. Viewed in this light (that Numenor was declaring war on the Valar with the intent to seize Valinor), the drowning of Numenor can be viewed as self-defense. I’m not sure if I lean strongly either way on calling it just or unjust, though. Those who were faithful to the Valar were able to escape, so it’s not like there was no way to avoid the Doom at all. I believe that there is good and evil in Arda, and that at some point that evil cannot be redeemed. If evil gets too out of hand, Arda will irrevocably be changed for the worse, so something has to be done about it. Sauron had to be stopped in the Third Age; Morgoth had to be chained; and Numenor had to be drowned.

3) What would you do in Thingol’s place, taking into consideration the prejudices, his views and biased opinions; would you have given the Silmaril back? Why or why not? I think that unless you’re almost completely pure of heart (or something like that, like Beren or Samwise), the Silmaril will taint you and cause you to lust after it. In a similar (or “silmaril”, lol) manner to the One Ring, it is difficult to give up the Silmaril once you have it in your possession. I think that this taint on the Silmarilli, whether it comes from Morgoth or the Oath of Feanor, definitely influenced Thingol in his withholding of the Silmaril. So, I guess, my answer to this question depends on me: are my motives for retaining the Silmaril selfish or not?

4) Would you have followed the Valar to Aman, considering you don’t know what happens/will happen there? Why or why not? I think I may have, but that depends on my strength of will and ability to put faith in what I do not know. IK I DO THIS A LOT BUT IMMA PREACH AT U FOR A SEC: Undergoing temporary harsh trials for the promise of a richer eternal reward is akin to the Christian life. If you have faith that God will keep his promises (he will), and trust in his unfailing love for you, then you will find it much easier to overcome the hardships and toils of this life (and spend eternity in heaven—Aman—with him). If you have faith that what the Valar say that the end of the journey to Aman will hold, and trust in their wish to guide you, then the ordeal of the journey there will seem as naught in comparison to the eternal glory of Valinor. So, if I could surrender that much of myself to the will of my benefactor, I could make it all the way to Aman. It’s not easy, though.

5) If you were an Elf, would you befriend or shut out the Dwarves? Why? Honestly, this depends on what kind of Elf I was. If I were one of Thingol’s folk, I would find it very difficult to not shut out the Dwarves for the terrible actions they committed against my people. If I were an Elf of Eregion in the Second Age, I would have no trouble befriending the Dwarves. Uhhh my LOTRO High Elf toon is a Noldor metalsmith, so I think I would befriend the Dwarves and see what I could learn of their craft.

6) You have the chance to fix a relationship (romantic or not) between two characters from the Silmarillion. Who are they and why? Sauron and Aule. Though we don’t know much of Sauron’s reasons for joining with Melkor, I do like to imagine that he saw Melkor’s power and then felt dissatisfied with what he had as a Maia of Aule. I’d love to see a reconciliation between Aule and Mairon, perhaps during the three Ages when Melkor was chained, or after the War of Wrath after Melkor has been banished. I want to believe that at some point, redemption was still possible for Sauron.

7) One personal headcanon you have about the Seduction of Mairon: Haha, I just talked about this! I think that, like Melkor, Mairon wanted the freedom to do things his way. He probably saw Melkor’s power, and Melkor knew that he could win him over fairly easily, and tempted him to his side.

8) What do you think of the Rings of Power? Was it a wise move, considering Celebrimbor knows first-hand what happened with the Silmarils? It was a wise move. Though the Three Rings are great, they are no Silmarils. Feanor flaunted his Silmarils—they were meant to be displayed—but that’s the opposite of the purpose of the Three. The Three were intended to be passive aids in the fight against Sauron and his One, and if they were used openly all would have been lost. The Silmarilli were tainted by Morgoth’s touch, but the Three never were, so they do not possess the same tendency towards stirring up strife that the Silmarilli did. Celebrimbor’s greatest feat were the creation of the Three, and Arda was better for it.

9) What’s one non-canon OTP you have? I do like Silvergifting a lot!

10) If you were to adapt the Silm into a movie/TV show, what would be the most important points you would consider? What’s most important to me is preserving the integrity of the source work. We could have a faithful adaptation in terms of sticking to the plot, but if it did not have the same messages or themes it wouldn’t have the same power. I’d looove to see an Alkallabeth TV show.

11) Thoughts on the Children of Hurin? I love the tragedy of the Children of Hurin and Turin’s inability to wrest himself from his doom. It reminds me of Hamlet a lot in that you see one character and his descent (or not) into despair; the question of fate and whether or not one can fight it; and that the tragedy of the story is so delicately complex. I love both the Children and Hamlet.

My questions:

1. Does absolute evil exist in Tolkien’s universe? Why or why not?

2. Are Orcs redeemable? Are they simply monsters of Morgoth/Sauron, or are they more complex than that? Why?

3. If the Lord of the Rings trilogy were to be set in a universe other than Middle-earth, what AU would you most like to see it in and why?

4. Who do you think Gil-galad’s father was? Why?

5. What’s a canon ship you aren’t a fan of?

6. What realm of Beleriand (Nargothrond, Doriath, Gondolin, Angband, etc) would you have liked to live in and why?

7. What’s your opinion of Feanor?

8. What’s your favorite story in the published Silmarillion and why?

9. If you could be Noldor (of Aman or otherwise), Teleri, or Vanyar, which would you be and why?

10. What’s Maglor doing during the events of the Trilogy?

11. If you could replace one male character with a female character, who would you replace and why?

I tag: @cerulean-shark @alia-andreth @cataclysmofstars @verymaedhros @silverphantomcat @darksabreassassin @vampiraptor @alexhunterreaves @glorfy-the-bright-haired-ellon @lightofthetrees