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
In the time after the elves wake, Melian, who is always followed by nightingales, travels from Lórien to Middle-earth to sing. The elves reach Beleriand, and Elwë often walks through the forest to search for his friend Finwë. When he passes through the woods of Nan Elmoth, he hears Melian singing and follows the sound, forgetting all his responsibilities. Seeing her, Elwë falls in love, and “a spell” falls on him. Many years pass while they stand silently together.
Even during the journey, the elves have become separated. While trying to search for his companion, Elwë goes missing. Falling in love with Melian separates Elwë from the other elves, both because he marries outside his own race (she is a Maia) and because he stands literally frozen in time while many of the elves depart for Valinor.
Themes
The Teleri search for Elwë after his disappearance but can’t find him, so Olwë leads them on towards Valinor. Elwë never reaches Valinor during his life and Melian doesn’t return as long as their kingdom lasts. Their children, half-elf and half-Maia, are the “fairest” of the Children of Ilúvatar. Elwë (now called Thingol) and Melian rule the Eldar remaining in Beleriand— Gray-elves or Elves of the Twilight.
The elven narrator reveals part of the fates of Thingol and Melian shortly after introducing their kingdom. Thingol will never return to Valinor, but he will briefly unite the elves of Beleriand under his rule, and his children with Melian will be important in the history of the elves.
Themes
