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Topic: Quenta Silmarillion

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The Secret Fire
Soldier of Beleriand - Rank 3
Status: Offline
Posts: 129
Date: Sep 15, 2009
Quenta Silmarillion
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What do you think of the "Quenta Silmarillion", the tale of the Silmarils and the many joys and miseries they brought to the Elves?

I feel that the Silmarils were responsible for the Elves "coming of age".  Do you think that without such a divisive and riveting raison d'être, the Elves would have gained so much wisdom and perspective?

What are your thoughts on Feanor and the exile of the Noldor? The hopeless oath of Feanor and his seven sons to recover the Silmarils at any cost?  I enjoy the poetic symbolism of the Silmarils' fate - three people sacrificed all to remove these divinely beautiful but seemingly cursed jewels.  Maedhros cast himself and his Silmaril into a volcano, Maeglor threw his into the sea, and Earendil doomed himself to sail the heavens forever with his Silmaril.  I think the Silmarils functioned as a sort of "Pandora's box" - unspeakably beautiful and illuminating, but ultimately illicit, forbidden, and destructive. 

How about the bravery of Beren and Luthien and the sacrifices of Earendil and Elwing?

Galadriel's participation in the Flight of the Noldor and their murderous assault on the Teleri?  Her later repentance and forgiveness by the Valar?

There's a lot here, I know, but I think that's why I love this story so much.






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Glorfindel
Anarion, Son of Elendil - rank 8
Status: Offline
Posts: 2154
Date: Sep 15, 2009
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Certainly a great tale. The Silmarils themselves incase the Holy Light, a light which was taken away by Morgoth but still, by chance of Feanor, are preserved in his peerless works.
The idea of the Pandora's Box' is interesting. However Pandora's Box contained all of the evils of the world, whereas the evil of the Silmarils comes from the Doom of the Noldor that was laid on them because they chose to try and reclaim them. Therefore the Silmarils are objects that cause evil (indirectly), rather than objects of evil.

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