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 peaceful days after the arrival of the Eldar, Fëanor (meaning Spirit of Fire) is born. After his birth, his mother Míriel tells Finwë that she’ll never have other children—she’s given all her strength to Fëanor. Manwë sends her to Lórien to heal, but when she falls asleep there, her spirit goes to the Houses of the Dead.
Míriel’s is the first recorded death among the elves—one of weariness rather than violence. She isn’t gone from the world, since her soul remains in Valinor, but she is permanently separated from her husband and son until their own deaths when they join her in the Houses of the Dead.
Themes
After her death, Finwë gives all his love and attention to Fëanor, who grows up clever and stubborn. He helps Rúmil of Tirion develop written language and devises a better way of polishing gems. He marries Nerdanel, who is as stubborn as him, but more patient, and able to “restrain” him when he’s too hotheaded. Some of their sons inherit her temper, and some of them inherit Fëanor’s.
Fëanor is represented as one of the greatest (though not necessarily the best) elves to ever live. He burns brightly and excels at everything he does. Yet that isn’t always a good thing. His spirit is so forceful that it tires his mother to the point of death, and his temper and pride are difficult to control.
Themes
Fëanor has “no great love” for his father’s second wife, Indis, and their two sons Fingolfin and Finarfin. It’s said later that if Finwë hadn’t divided his house by remarrying, Fëanor might have made different choices and avoided the approaching disaster. Still, Fingolfin and Finarfin are great figures, and without them the history of the Eldar wouldn’t be as great.
It is noteworthy that by remarrying and joining his house to Indis, the daughter of the Vanyar king, Finwë is at the same time dividing his house. Fëanor doesn’t perceive his father’s remarriage as an extension of his family, but as an invasion. His resentment and jealousy, the narrator warns, will lead to disaster. Even so, the elves wouldn’t change history to avoid it, since their history is part of their identity.
Themes
Meanwhile, after three ages pass, Melkor is brought again to the council of the Valar and begs for pardon, hiding his jealousy and hate. Manwë, who can’t comprehend evil, believes that Melkor is cured of it and grants his pardon. Ulmo and Tulkas aren’t deceived by Melkor but can’t disobey Manwë.
Melkor is no longer capable of true repentance; his humility before the Valar is merely an act that hides his pride and jealousy. While Manwë is a just king, his inability to understand his enemy is a distinct disadvantage to him and to the world.
Themes
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Melkor hates the Eldar because their arrival in Middle-earth led to his downfall. As a result, he pretends to offer them friendship and teach them. The Noldor particularly enjoy his craftiness and hidden knowledge. Later, Melkor claims that he taught Fëanor his craft, but he lies—Fëanor hates Melkor more than any of the Eldar and is the first one to name him “Morgoth.” Though Fëanor becomes influenced by Melkor’s malice towards the Valar, he’s driven only “by the fire of his own heart” and acts alone.
Now freed, Melkor returns to spreading lies and division among the elves and between the elves and the Valar—his favorite method of weakening his enemies. The Noldor, proud and cunning, are an easy target for Melkor. He hates them, but he’s also jealous of their prosperity and of Fëanor’s skill. Here, again, the narrator alludes to the trouble Fëanor causes—he is inadvertently influenced by Melkor, but not his accomplice.
Themes
