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
During that time, only Oromë and Yavanna come to Middle-earth, where evil and “dark creatures” walk. Yavanna puts some of the natural world to sleep so it won’t age before the elves arrive. Melkor’s corruption and influence grows, and he creates a new fortress near the western shore commanded by Sauron and called Angband. Yavanna tells the council of the Valar that the Children of Ilúvatar will wake up eventually to find Middle-earth overrun by evil if they don’t do something about Melkor.
Most of the Valar avoid Middle-earth, though it’s their own creation and the fated birthplace of the Children of Ilúvatar. Yavanna and Oromë work to mitigate the damage Melkor is doing to Middle-earth, but they can’t combat him alone. They need the agreement and cooperation of all the Valar to remove Melkor from the continent, if it’s even possible to do so.
Themes
Tulkas urges them to begin another war with Melkor, but Manwë reminds the Valar that the elves are fated to wake up in darkness, under only the light of the stars. Varda, who already created stars, leaves the council and begins the “greatest of all the works of the Valar.” She takes the shining dew from Telperion and uses it to craft new, brighter stars and constellations. Because of this labor, the elves call her the Kindler and the Queen of the Stars.
This fate—that the elves will wake in darkness—is one decreed by Ilúvatar and will certainly happen no matter what the Valar do. Still, rather than leaving the elves in the near-total darkness under her dim stars, Varda creates new stars from Telperion’s living light. Though Middle-earth remains in twilight and under Melkor’s influence, the elves will have the constellations to see by and to give them hope.
Themes
As Varda finishes her labor, the elves wake up in the bay of Cuiviénen, and the first thing they see is starlight. They live by the water for a long time, exploring the world, then begin to create language and name themselves the Quendi. As Oromë rides through Middle-earth on a hunt his horse stops suddenly, and he hears the sound of singing. By this chance, the Valar discover that the elves are awake.
Ilúvatar hid the details of the elves’ arrival from the Valar, so their awakening is a surprise. By the time Oromë discovers them, they have already grown and learned enough to create their own language and music. They awaken (as the Ainur were created) as a united race with one home and one language.
Themes
Oromë is “filled with wonder” seeing the elves, and names them the Eldar (the people of the stars), but many of the elves are afraid of Oromë since Melkor has plagued them with spies and evil spirits. If any of the elves venture too far away from the bay and disappear, a lie begun by Melkor leads them to assume Oromë the hunter caught them. Melkor corrupts and enslaves the elves he captures and uses them to create the race of orcs—possibly his worst crime. The noblest of the elves, however, are drawn to Oromë and don’t run from him.
Here, the elven narrator explains what the elves believe to be the origin of the race of orcs. Melkor sows fear and division among the elves because he hates and fears them—united (and united with the Valar) they’re far more powerful. By kidnapping and corrupting elves into orcs, he divides the entire race and uses it to create its own ancient enemy.
Themes
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Oromë travels to Valinor to tell the Valar the news, then returns immediately to Middle-earth to stay with the elves. Ilúvatar counsels Manwë to lead the Valar to defend the elves from Melkor. The Valar fight Melkor in the north-west of Middle-earth, destroying much of the land, but winning a swift victory and driving him back to Utumno. The siege of Utumno changes the shape of Middle-earth and ends with Tulkas capturing Melkor and restraining him in chains made by Aulë.
The time comes for the Valar to return together to Middle-earth and defend the elves from Melkor. United, they can defeat him, but the victory is not without cost—it harms much of the land and alters the very shape of Middle-earth. Melkor universally provokes loss and destruction, even in his defeat.
Themes
Though Melkor’s capture leads to an age of peace, the Valar don’t find all the hiding places in Utumno and Angband, so many evil things (including Sauron) escape. When the Valar bring Melkor back to Valinor to face the council of the Valar, Melkor begs Manwë for pardon and is denied. They imprison him in the Houses of the Dead, where no one can escape, and plan to wait three ages before allowing him to ask for pardon again.
With Melkor’s capture, his immediate interference in the world is briefly ended. However, though he is imprisoned, his influence in Middle-earth remains, as it will throughout the history of Arda. His servants can’t be wholly eradicated, and neither can the lies and fear he spreads among the Children of Ilúvatar.
Themes
The Valar argue about how to care for the Quendi. Some want to heal the wrongs of Middle-earth and leave the Quendi there, but others fear for their safety and want their companionship. The Valar decide to summon the Quendi to Valinor to live with them, as Mandos knows is part of their fate. “Many woes” result from the invitation.
The ultimate reasoning behind bringing the elves to Valinor is that the Valar simply want to know them, since the Children of Ilúvatar are the reason for their descent to Arda in the first place. The elven narrator recognizes in hindsight that this choice to invite the elves sets the world on a path towards further loss and sorrow.
Themes
The Quendi are fearful and hesitant to come, so Oromë selects ambassadors to travel to Valinor first. Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë meet the Valar, then return to advise the rest of the Quendi to come to Valinor, leading to the first division of the elves. Most of the elves (called the Eldar after this) follow their leaders to Valinor. Others called the Avari (or Unwilling) refuse to come and are separated from the Eldar.
The division of the elves is inevitable and natural, though it is provoked early on by the Valar’s invitation. As the population grows, the elves wish to follow different leaders and live in different lands. Still, the separation is a moment of loss and profound change, since the elves will never be truly reunited while the world lasts.
Themes
The first group of elves to depart Middle-earth, led by Ingwë, is called the Vanyar, or the Fair Elves, who rarely return to Middle-earth. The next group, led by Finwë, is called the Noldor, or the Deep Elves, and is loved by Aulë. The biggest group is led by Elwë and his brother Olwë and is called the Teleri, or the Sea-elves. The elves that make it to Valinor are collectively called the Elves of the Light. Other members of the Eldar don’t complete the journey, becoming lost on the road or lingering in Middle-earth. They, along with the Avari, are called the Elves of the Darkness.
Contributing to the sense of loss around the sundering of the elves are the groups that literally become lost on the path to Valinor, wandering away from the larger group or being left behind. There are even new factions among the elves who do make it to Valinor, divided by their temperaments, interests, and leaders. They break themselves into three main groups, and the elves left behind on Middle-earth become scattered.
Themes
The Eldar’s trek to Valinor is long, since they enjoy the sights of Middle-earth as they travel and often stop moving entirely if Oromë isn’t there to lead them. The Teleri almost stop to live near the Anduin river, and one elf named Lenwë leads many elves away from the march to Valinor. They become the Nandor, who possess extensive knowledge of nature. Eventually, all three groups of Eldar reach Beleriand, the westernmost part of Middle-earth at the edge of the sea that leads to Valinor.
Though the elves freely choose to come to Valinor, in doing so, they also lose Middle-earth, the land of their awakening. This is a significant loss for the elves, who are bound to the land and made by Ilúvatar to love it—significant enough that many can’t bring themselves to leave. Even those who do eventually depart are reluctant and refuse to travel onward without prompting.
Themes
