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
The Valar gather around the dead Trees beneath Varda’s stars. Yavanna declares that, though she can’t remake the Trees, she can revive them with the light of Fëanor’s Silmarils. The Valar ask if he will give the Silmarils to Yavanna, but Aulë, who understands the difficulty of the request, urges them to give Fëanor time. Fëanor tells the Valar that, just as Yavanna can’t make more Trees, he can’t make anything like the Silmarils again, and to see them destroyed would kill him. Fëanor feels that he’s surrounded by enemies and remembers Melkor’s suggestion that the Valar want the Silmarils. He won’t give them up willingly.
The creations of the elves are vitally important to them—Fëanor implies that he has put something of himself into the Silmarils. He can’t live without them, and he can’t survive their destruction. Fëanor fails to recognize that the Trees are as important to Yavanna as the Silmarils are to him. And, unlike the Silmarils which he claims for himself alone, the Trees bring light to all of Valinor. Circumstance again gives credence to Fëanor’s paranoia and Melkor’s insinuation that the Valar want the Silmarils for themselves.
Themes
As Manwë accepts Fëanor’s refusal and Nienna stands to mourn the Trees, a messenger arrives to tell them that Melkor has killed Finwë and stolen the Silmarils. Fëanor curses Melkor and names him Morgoth, “the Black Foe of the World,” the name the elves know him by. Fëanor also curses Manwë’s invitation, wishing he’d been at Formenos to defend his father, though he couldn’t have saved him from Morgoth. Distraught, he runs from the Valar.
Contrary to Fëanor’s fears, the Valar won’t take the Silmarils from Fëanor by force, even to save the Two Trees. It is Melkor who resorts to theft, commiting the first murder in Arda’s history and escaping with the Silmarils. In his grief, Fëanor overestimates his own abilities and believes he might have been able to protect his father if not for the Valar.
Themes
Meanwhile, Morgoth and Ungoliant pass through the northern wastes of Araman and cross over a strait filled with “grinding ice” to Middle-earth. Ungoliant guesses that Morgoth, fleeing to Angband, is trying to escape her to avoid fulfilling his promise. She’s still hungry, and she wants the jewels they stole from Formenos. Reluctantly, Morgoth gives them to her to eat but refuses to give her the Silmarils, which have begun to burn his hand through their crystal box.
If all the light of Valinor couldn’t satisfy Ungoliant’s hunger, Fëanor’s jewels certainly won’t either. Ungoliant is insatiable—even if Morgoth feeds her, she’ll always want more. Though Morgoth is more calculating and less mindlessly hungry than Ungoliant, he matches her in greed, refusing to give up the Silmarils even as they burn him.
Themes
Ungoliant wraps Morgoth in darkness, and he cries out. The Balrogs hiding in Angband hear him and come to his aid, burning Ungoliant’s webs and driving her into a valley in Beleriand where other spiders live. Later, she mates with them and kills them, then departs for the south, leaving her descendants behind. Though her fate is unknown, some say that, in her hunger, she devours herself. Morgoth rebuilds his armies in Angband and forges himself a crown set with the Silmarils. His hands are permanently blackened from touching them. He’s filled with hate and devotes himself to domination and evil.
Morgoth and Ungoliant are formidable allies and well-matched enemies. Though the force of their greed is similar, Morgoth has cunning and power beyond Ungoliant’s capabilities. Driven by her hunger, she has difficulty thinking beyond her immediate desires. Her greed eventually leads her to destroy herself—an indication of what could happen to Morgoth, who already irreparably injures himself in his greed for the Silmarils.
Themes
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Though the Vanyar remain with the Valar to mourn the Trees, the Noldor return to Tirion, where Fëanor suddenly appears, though he’s technically still banished. A “master of words,” he gives an angry speech and declares his kingship over the Noldor. He asks why they should serve the Valar, who are kin to Morgoth, and refuses to live with them in Valinor. He urges the Noldor to follow him back to Middle-earth, since Valinor doesn’t offer either protection or light, and accidentally echoes Morgoth’s own rhetoric to convince them not to trust the Valar.
After the destruction of the Trees, the elves who came together for the festival break apart again. Though Fëanor hates Morgoth, his vices are not unlike Morgoth’s, and he is very susceptible to Morgoth’s lies. Fëanor’s pride and anger have finally driven him to outright rebellion. He incites his people, the Noldor, to leave Valinor, convincing them that the Valar are no better than Morgoth.
Themes
Finally, Fëanor promises that they will wage war on Morgoth until they reclaim the Silmarils. Then the Noldor alone will possess their light and be the rulers of Arda, above every other race. Fëanor swears an oath on the name of Ilúvatar that he’ll pursue anyone who tries to keep a Silmaril from the Noldor “with vengeance and hatred” to the end of the world. His sons swear the same.
Fëanor’s oath is one of the things that most effectively divides the world in the coming years. By swearing it, Fëanor and his sons promise to make anyone their potential enemy. His pride, his desire not to be ruled, and his obsession with the Silmarils drives Arda into a seemingly endless war with Morgoth and with each other.
Themes
Fingolfin and Turgon speak against Fëanor, nearly leading to a fight, but Finarfin calms them down. Galadriel longs to rule her own land in Middle-earth, so she speaks in favor of leaving Valinor. After a long debate, the majority of the Noldor are enflamed by Fëanor and decide to follow him immediately. The Valar watch, saddened by the accusations against them and unwilling to hold the Noldor captive if they wish to leave. Still, they aren’t convinced that Fëanor can control the Noldor, most of whom are loyal to Fingolfin and want him as their king. Fingolfin will accompany the Noldor because his son wants to leave, because he refuses to abandon his people to Fëanor’s rashness, and because of his promise to follow Fëanor. Finarfin accompanies them regretfully.
The elves who follow Fëanor do so for many reasons. Galadriel’s pride makes her interested in ruling her own land. Others, like Finarfin, don’t want to leave at all but hope to avoid a conflict. Fingolfin is bound both by his promise to follow Fëanor and his loyalty to his people. The younger, more rash generation of elves is most taken by Fëanor’s arguments, and some of their elders follow for their sake, unwilling to be separated from them and entrust their safety to Fëanor. While a clever speaker, Fëanor is not an experienced leader.
Themes
Manwë sends a message as they depart, counseling them not to leave and formally banishing Fëanor because of his oath. Fëanor laughs and tells the Noldor that if they don’t find joy beyond Valinor, they’ll at least find freedom. He leaves a message for Manwë that he’s not being idle in his grief like the Valar are; even if he can’t overthrow Morgoth, he’ll attack him so fiercely the Valar will hear about it. The Noldor are split—the followers of Fëanor leave without looking back, and the followers of Fingolfin are slow and reluctant to depart, burdened by possessions to remind them of Valinor.
The Valar don’t want to control the Noldor, but they also don’t want them to be corrupted by Morgoth’s influence as Fëanor is. All the Valar can offer is a warning, though Fëanor happily ignores it; once again, his confidence and arrogance convince him that he has the power to defeat Morgoth. The Noldor are united in following Fëanor, but they are divided in heart. Fingolfin’s people will leave Valinor, but they are both less eager and slower in doing so.
Themes
Fëanor asks for boats from the Teleri, who are grieved that the Noldor are leaving and refuse to help them. Their ships, like Fëanor’s Silmarils, are the creations of their hearts and not easy to give up. Fëanor decides to take the ships by force, and the Noldor are beaten back in the following battle three times, with many deaths on both sides. Fingon, leading the Noldor loyal to Fingolfin, joins the fight before he knows what caused it and overcomes the Teleri, killing most of their mariners. The Noldor attempt to man the ships, but Uinen raises the sea and wrecks many of them.
Fëanor is too consumed by his purpose, driven by the Silmarils and his own pride, to think rationally about his actions. Fingon is similarly hasty, though less malicious. The result is a horrific crime—the first killing of elves by other elves and the beginning of a long estrangement between the Noldor and the Teleri. The battle becomes known to the elves as the first Kinslaying.
Themes
The majority of the Noldor escape and reach the borders of Araman. Mandos appears on the cliff above them and delivers a curse foretelling that the Valar will shut them out of Valinor and that Fëanor’s oath will constantly betray them and cause evil. For killing the Teleri, the Noldor who die in Middle-earth won’t find mercy in the Houses of the Dead, and the ones who survive will become weary and diminished. Fëanor insists that he’ll keep his oath and add to his fate—his deeds will be remembered in song until the end of the world.
The curse doesn’t force the Noldor to betray each other—instead, it merely warns them of the natural consequences of their actions, foreseen by Mandos. The pursuit of the Silmarils will lead only to chaos, suspicion, and ruin. Though Fëanor is right—his deeds have been remembered by the elves—the consequences Mandos cautions them about raise the question of whether lasting glory is worth the price.
Themes
Finarfin turns back with many of his people and is pardoned by the Valar, but his sons stay with Fëanor and Fingolfin’s sons. Fëanor leads the Noldor to the Helcaraxë, the treacherous bridge of grinding ice that leads to Middle-earth. Fëanor debates what to do, since the Helcaraxë is dangerous and impassable but there are too few ships to carry all the Noldor. Fëanor gathers everyone loyal to him and leaves secretly on the ships, abandoning Fingolfin and his people.
The division among the Noldor that occurs when Finarfin decides to return to the Valar is a necessary one—the groups have different priorities and wish to live in different lands. The division that results from Fëanor’s departure, however, is a grave betrayal of Fingolfin and his people, and one that could have easily been avoided.
Themes
When they land, Maedhros asks his father who will return to ferry the rest of the Noldor across the strait. Fëanor laughs, refuses to go back for “needless baggage” and, assuming Fingolfin will return to Valinor, burns the Teleri’s ships. Fingolfin’s people see the fires and realize they’ve been betrayed. Not yet weary, they refuse to return to Valinor in shame. Led by Fingolfin, Finrod, and Galadriel, they cross the Helcaraxë, where many of them die.
Fëanor’s fervent desire to reach Middle-earth, now that he’s there, has become malice—there is no other reason to leave Fingolfin behind. Maedhros is the only one of Fëanor’s followers to care about their abandonment of their own people, but he can’t change his father’s mind. Fingolfin’s followers, stubborn and prideful in their own right, decide to risk their lives to reach Middle-earth rather than beg the forgiveness of the Valar.
Themes
