Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silmarillion, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Unity vs. Division
Fate, Doom, and Free Will
Pride and Arrogance
Greed, Jealousy, and Obsession
Inevitable Loss
Myth and Memory
Summary
Analysis
Turgon finds the hidden valley in the mountains and secretly constructs a citadel called Gondolin, the Hidden Rock. As he prepares to travel there, Ulmo tells Turgon that he’ll hide the city’s entrance, and that it will last the longest against Melkor of any of the elven cities. He also warns Turgon that “the true hope of the Noldor” is in the west and comes from the sea. Lastly, Ulmo reminds him of the curse of the Noldor given by Mandos—Gondolin might fall to treachery because of it.
Though Gondolin will protect Turgon and his people longer than any of the other elven cities, it won’t hide them forever. It will eventually be betrayed and destroyed, like everything else the Noldor build in Beleriand. Neither will it be able to permanently save them from the threat of Morgoth. Only with the help of the west (the land of Valinor, to the west of Beleriand) will the Noldor be truly safe.
Themes
If Gondolin does fall, Ulmo predicts that someone will come from Nevrast to warn Turgon, and that person will bring hope to elves and men. He instructs Turgon to leave a sword in his old house for that person to find so Turgon can recognize him later, which Turgon does. Ulmo departs, and Turgon gathers his people into Gondolin and shuts the gates. For over three hundred years, Gondolin prospers and grows to look similar to Tirion in Valinor.
Gondolin, as a well-kept secret, is necessarily isolated from the other Noldor settlements and the rest of Beleriand. By remaining isolated—not involving itself in the Noldor’s squabbles and their conflict with Morgoth—the city is kept safe. Still, at Ulmo’s urging, Turgon prepares for the time when Gondolin will inevitably fall.
Themes
Galadriel talks about Valinor with Melian often, but doesn’t usually discuss anything that happened after the destruction of the Trees. Melian doesn’t believe that the Noldor came to Middle-earth as the Valar’s messengers, as they claim. Galadriel explains that they came for vengeance on Morgoth and tells Melian about the kin-slaying at Alqualondë. Melian warns Thingol about the Silmarils and foretells that the world will be “broken in battles” before they’re recovered from Morgoth.
Mandos has already predicted that the Silmarils will be caught up in the fate of the world—now Melian reveals that there is much more bloodshed to come before they change hands again. This passage also reveals that the Noldor have lied to the Sindar about their purpose in Middle-earth. Rather than admit to their crimes against the Teleri and risk estranging themselves further from the other elves, they claim to have been sent by the Valar to help fight Morgoth.
Themes
Rumors of the Noldor’s departure from Valinor spread among the Sindar, probably due to Morgoth’s influence. Thingol confronts Finrod about the Noldor’s lies, and Angrod blames the kin-slaying on Fëanor and his sons. Thingol promises to remain friends with the followers of Fingolfin but forbids Quenya, the language of the Noldor, in Beleriand. The Noldor are forced to speak Sindarin.
Morgoth’s suspicion and rumor, once begun, take on a life of their own and perpetuate themselves. As punishment for the Kinslaying, Thingol bans the use of Quenya, denying the Noldor elves a fundamental part of their identities and compelling them to conform to the language of Beleriand, further separating them from Valinor, their former home.
Themes
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At a feast, the sons of Finarfin gather with Galadriel, who asks why Finrod isn’t married yet. Finrod has a premonition that one day he’ll swear an oath and need to be free to “go into darkness” to fulfill it, and that his realm won’t last to be inherited by his son.
Finrod foresees both his own death and the destruction of his kingdom. The doom of the Noldor will destroy all the elven realms, his own included.
Themes
