Fëanor () is a fictional character in
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a book consisting of a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited, partly written, and published posthumously by his son Christopher in 1977, assisted by G ...
''. He creates the
Tengwar
The Tengwar () script is an artificial script, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the context of Tolkien's fictional world, the Tengwar were invented by the ...
script, the
palantír
A palantír (; ) is one of several indestructible crystal balls from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy, epic-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The word comes from Quenya 'far', and 'watch over'. ''The Lost Road and Other Writings'', p ...
seeing-stones, and the three
Silmarils, the skilfully forged jewels that give the book their name and theme, triggering division and destruction. He is the eldest son of
Finwë, the King of the
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor (also spelled Ñoldor, meaning ''those with knowledge'' in his constructed language Quenya) are a kindred of Elves who migrate west to the blessed realm of Valinor from the continent of Middle-earth ...
Elves, and his first wife Míriel.
Fëanor's Silmarils form a central theme of ''The Silmarillion'' as Men and Elves battle with the forces of evil for their possession. After the
Dark Lord
In fiction and mythology, a dark lord (sometimes capitalized as Dark Lord or referred to as an evil overlord, evil emperor etc. depending on the work) is an antagonistic archetype, acting as the pinnacle of villainy and evil within a typically h ...
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Vala (Middle-earth), Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', ...
steals the Silmarils, Fëanor and his seven sons swear the Oath of Fëanor, vowing to fight anyone and everyone—whether
Elf
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
,
Man
A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy.
Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
,
Maia
Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus.
Family
Maia is the daughter of A ...
, or
Vala—who withholds the Silmarils.
The oath commands Fëanor and his sons to press to
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
, in the process committing atrocities against their fellow Elves, the first Kinslaying, at the havens of the Teleri. Fëanor dies soon after his arrival in Middle-earth; his sons unite in the cause of defeating Morgoth and retrieving the Silmarils, but end up causing further harm among the Elves.
The Tolkien scholar
Jane Chance
Jane Chance (born 1945), also known as Jane Chance Nitzsche, is an American scholar specializing in medieval English literature, gender studies, and J. R. R. Tolkien. She spent most of her career at Rice University, where since her retirement she ...
has seen Fëanor's pride as leading to his downfall, alongside Morgoth's corruption of Elves and Men as reflecting
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
's temptation of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
, and the desire for godlike knowledge as in the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
. Others have likened Fëanor to the Anglo-Saxon leader
Byrhtnoth
Byrhtnoth (), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 - 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English language, Old English ''beorht'' (bright) and ''nōþ'' (courage). He is the subject of ''The Battle of Maldon'', an O ...
whose foolish pride led to defeat and death at the
Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 or 11 August 991 AD near Maldon, Essex, Maldon beside the River Blackwater, Essex, River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the En ...
.
Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
writes that the pride is specifically a desire to make things that reflect their own personality, and likens this to Tolkien's own desire to
sub-create. John Ellison further likens this creative pride to that of the protagonist in
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's 1947 novel ''
Doctor Faustus'', noting that both that novel and Tolkien's own
legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of ''The Silmari ...
were responses to World War.
Fictional history
Early life
Fëanor's father is
Finwë, the first King of the
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor (also spelled Ñoldor, meaning ''those with knowledge'' in his constructed language Quenya) are a kindred of Elves who migrate west to the blessed realm of Valinor from the continent of Middle-earth ...
; his mother, Míriel, dies, "consumed in spirit and body", shortly after giving birth to him. Fëanor "was made the mightiest in all parts of body and mind: in valour, in endurance, in beauty, in understanding, in skill, in strength and subtlety alike: of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and a bright flame was in him." Finwë remarries and has several children, including Fëanor's half-brothers
Fingolfin and
Finarfin. Fëanor studies under his father-in-law Mahtan, who was a student of the godlike Vala
Aulë. He becomes a craftsman and gem-smith, inventor of the
Tengwar
The Tengwar () script is an artificial script, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the context of Tolkien's fictional world, the Tengwar were invented by the ...
script, and the creator of the magical seeing-stones, the
palantír
A palantír (; ) is one of several indestructible crystal balls from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy, epic-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The word comes from Quenya 'far', and 'watch over'. ''The Lost Road and Other Writings'', p ...
s.
[, Chapter 6 "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"]
Silmarils
Fëanor, "in the greatest of his achievements, captured the light of the
Two Trees to make the three
Silmaril
The Silmarils (Quenya in-universe , )J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien, J. R. R., "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in ''Vinyar Tengwar'', 46, July 2004, p. 11 are three ficti ...
s, also called the Great Jewels, though they were not mere glittering stones, they were alive, imperishable, and sacred."
[, Chapter 7, "Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"] Even the
Valar
The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are "angelic powers" or "gods" subordinate to the one God ( Eru Ilúvatar). The '' Ainulindalë'' describes how some of the Ainur choose to enter the ...
with their godlike powers could not copy them. In fact, Fëanor himself could not copy them, as part of his essence goes into their making. Their worth is close to infinite, as they are unique and irreplaceable. The Vala "
Varda hallowed the Silmarils so that thereafter no mortal flesh, nor hands unclean, nor anything of evil will might touch them, for it would be scorched and withered."
[
Fëanor prizes the Silmarils, and grows suspicious of the Valar and ]Elves
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''.
In medieval Germanic-speakin ...
who he believes covet them. The Vala Melkor
Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as '' The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', '' Beren and Lúthi ...
, recently released from imprisonment and now residing in Valinor
Valinor (Quenya'': Land of the Valar''), the Blessed Realm, or the Undying Lands is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the home of the immortal Valar and Maiar on the continent of Aman, far to the west of Middle-earth; he ...
, sees an opportunity to sow dissent among the Noldor. Fëanor refuses to communicate with Melkor, but is still caught in his plot. Fëanor angrily warns Fingolfin not to spread lies, and threatens to kill him. As punishment, the Valar exile Fëanor to his remote home Formenos for twelve years. Finwë too withdraws to Formenos.[
The Valar learn that Melkor is manipulating Fëanor, and send one of their number, Tulkas, to capture Melkor, but he has already escaped. Fëanor wisely realises that Melkor's goal is to obtain the Silmarils, "and he shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers in Eä."][ The Valar invite Fëanor and Fingolfin to Valinor to make peace. Fingolfin offers a hand to his half-brother, recognising Fëanor's place as the eldest. Fëanor accepts, but soon Melkor and ]Ungoliant
Ungoliant () is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, described as an evil spirit in the form of a giant spider. Her name means "dark spider" in Sindarin. She is mentioned briefly in ''The Lord of the Rings'', and plays a sup ...
destroy The Two Trees,[, ch. 8, "Of the Darkening of Valinor"] leaving the Silmarils as the only surviving light of the Trees. The Valar ask Fëanor to give them up so that they can restore the Trees. Fëanor replies: "It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like; and if I must break them, I shall break my heart."[, Chapter 9, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"] He refuses to give up the Silmarils of his own free will. Messengers from Formenos tell him that Melkor has killed Finwë and stolen the Silmarils. Yavanna is thus unable to heal the Two Trees.[
For this deed, Fëanor names Melkor "Morgoth", "Black Enemy".][ Fëanor rails against the Great Enemy, blaming the Valar for Morgoth's deeds.] He gives a speech in the Elvish city of Tirion, persuading most of his people to return to Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
to avenge Finwë and free themselves from the Valar. Together with his seven sons, they swear the Oath of Fëanor:
Return to Beleriand
To get to Middle-earth, Fëanor goes to the shores of Aman, and asks the seafaring Teleri for their aid. When they refuse, Fëanor orders the Noldor to steal the ships. The Teleri resist, and many of them are killed. The battle became known as the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, or the first kinslaying.[ His sons later commit two other acts of warfare against Elves in ]Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
in his name. In repentance, Finarfin, Finwë's third son, takes his host and turns back. They are accepted by the Valar, and Finarfin rules as High-King of the Noldor in Valinor. The remaining Elves, those who follow Fëanor and Fingolfin, become subject to the Doom of Mandos
The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are "angelic powers" or "gods" subordinate to the one God ( Eru Ilúvatar). The '' Ainulindalë'' describes how some of the Ainur choose to enter the ...
, that they will come to harm if they continue their rebellion against the Valar. There are not enough ships to carry all the Noldor across the sea, so Fëanor and his sons lead the first group.[ Upon arriving in the far west of Beleriand, they decide to burn the ships and leave Fingolfin and his people behind. Fingolfin, furious, returns to Beleriand by the long and hard land route, via the northern ice.][
Morgoth summons his armies from his fortress of Angband and attacks Fëanor's encampment in Mithrim. This battle was called the Battle under the Stars, or '' Dagor-nuin-Giliath'', for the Sun and Moon had not yet been made. The Noldor win the battle. Fëanor presses on toward Angband with his sons. He comes within sight of Angband, but is ambushed by a force of ]Balrog
Balrogs () are a species of powerful demonic monsters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the Company of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in ...
s, with few Elves about him. He fights mightily with Gothmog, captain of the Balrogs. His sons come upon the Balrogs with a great force of Elves, and drive them off; but Fëanor knows his wounds are fatal. He curses Morgoth thrice, but with the eyes of death, he sees that his Elves, unaided, will never throw down the dark towers of Thangorodrim.
Aftermath
The Oath of Fëanor affects the lovers Beren and Lúthien. They steal a Silmaril from Morgoth, leading to Kinslaying and years of strife among the Elves,[, Chapter 19, "Of Beren and Lúthien"] until Eärendil carries the Silmaril off into the West.[, Chapter 24, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil"] That Silmaril is lost to the Sons of Fëanor, but the other two remain in the crown of Morgoth. They too are stolen, one ending in the earth, one in the sea.[
According to Mandos' prophecy, following Melkor's final return and defeat in the Dagor Dagorath, the world will be changed and the Valar will recover the Silmarils. Fëanor will be released from the Halls of Mandos and will give Yavanna the Silmarils. Fëanor will break them, and Yavanna will revive the Two Trees. The Pelóri Mountains will be flattened and the light of the Two Trees will fill the world in eternal bliss.][, ch. 3: "Quenta Noldorinwa"][, Part 2, "The Later Quenta Silmarillion", "The Last Chapters of the Quenta Silmarillion"]
House of Fëanor
Kings of the Noldor in
Valinor
Valinor (Quenya'': Land of the Valar''), the Blessed Realm, or the Undying Lands is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the home of the immortal Valar and Maiar on the continent of Aman, far to the west of Middle-earth; he ...
High Kings of the Noldor in Exile (in Middle-earth)
All the characters shown are Elves
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''.
In medieval Germanic-speakin ...
. The above tree follows the late note '' The Shibboleth of Fëanor''.[, " The Shibboleth of Fëanor"] In the published Silmarillion, the birth order of Fëanor's sons is Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin (father of Celebrimbor), Amrod, and Amras; Fëanor's half-sisters Findis and Lalwen do not appear.[, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age": Family Tree I: "The house of Finwë and the Noldorin descent of Elrond and Elros"]
Development
Fëanor was originally named Curufinwë ("skilful on of
On, on, or ON may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews
* ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin
* ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995
* ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001
* ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...
Finwë") in Tolkien's fictional language
Fictional languages are the subset of constructed languages (conlangs) that have been created as part of a fictional setting (e.g. for use in a book, movie, television show, or video game). Typically they are the creation of one individual, while ...
of Quenya
Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in '' Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed l ...
. He is known as Fëanáro, "spirit of fire" in Quenya, from ''fëa'' ("spirit") and ''nár'' ("flame"). Fëanáro is his "mother-name" or ''Amilessë'', the name given by an Elf's mother at, or some years after, birth and it was one of their true names.[, Chapter 11 " The Shibboleth of Fëanor"]
Tolkien wrote at least four versions of the Oath of Fëanor itself, as found in ''The History of Middle-earth
''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin in the US. They collect and analyse much of J. R. R. Tolkien' ...
.'' The three earliest versions are found in '' The Lays of Beleriand'': in alliterative verse
In meter (poetry), prosody, alliterative verse is a form of poetry, verse that uses alliteration as the principal device to indicate the underlying Metre (poetry), metrical structure, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly s ...
(circa 1918–1920s), in chapter 2, "Poems Early Abandoned" ''The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor''. Lines 132–141; in rhyming couplets
In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...
(circa 1928), in chapter 3, " The Lay of Leithian". Canto VI, lines 1628–1643; and in a different form as restated by Celegorm, third son of Fëanor, in chapter 3, "The Lay of Leithian." Canto VI, lines 1848–1857. A later version is found in '' Morgoth's Ring''. Fëanor is among those major characters whom Tolkien, who also used to illustrate his writings, supplied with a distinct heraldic device.
Analysis
Pride and downfall
The Tolkien scholar
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his High fantasy, fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with Tolkien's legendarium, his legendarium t ...
Jane Chance
Jane Chance (born 1945), also known as Jane Chance Nitzsche, is an American scholar specializing in medieval English literature, gender studies, and J. R. R. Tolkien. She spent most of her career at Rice University, where since her retirement she ...
sees Morgoth's corruption of Elves and Men as clearly Biblical, as it "mirrors that of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
by Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
; the desire for power and godlike being is the same desire for knowledge of good and evil witnessed in the Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
." She treats the Silmarils as symbols of that same desire. She identifies Fëanor's wish to be like the Valar in creating "things of his own" as rebellious pride, and that, like Melkor, he "succumbs to a 'greedy love'" of his creations that causes his downfall. She points out that Fëanor's rebellion is echoed by that of the Númenórean man Ar-Pharazon, and then at the end of ''The Silmarillion'' by the (angelic) Maia
Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus.
Family
Maia is the daughter of A ...
, Sauron
Sauron () is the title character and the main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor. He has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middle-earth, using the power of the One Ring, which he ...
, who becomes the Dark Lord
In fiction and mythology, a dark lord (sometimes capitalized as Dark Lord or referred to as an evil overlord, evil emperor etc. depending on the work) is an antagonistic archetype, acting as the pinnacle of villainy and evil within a typically h ...
of ''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
''.
The philologist Elizabeth Solopova suggests that the character of Fëanor was inspired by the Anglo-Saxon leader Byrhtnoth
Byrhtnoth (), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 - 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English language, Old English ''beorht'' (bright) and ''nōþ'' (courage). He is the subject of ''The Battle of Maldon'', an O ...
, and in particular his appearance in the poem "The Battle of Maldon
"The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an Old English Old English literature, poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a Viking raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are ...
". The poem tells how he is slain in that battle, which took place in the year 991. Tolkien wrote a short play in verse, '' The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son''[, " The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son"] on the character's misplaced pride, and described Byrhtnoth as misled by "pride and misplaced chivalry proven fatal" and as "too foolish to be heroic".[, pp. 4, 22] Fëanor is similarly driven by "overmastering pride" that causes his death and that of countless followers.
Pride in sub-creation
The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
comments that Fëanor and his Silmarils relate to ''The Silmarillion''s theme in a particular way: the sin of the Elves is not human pride, as in the Biblical fall, but their "desire to make things which will forever reflect or incarnate their own personality". This Elvish form of pride leads Fëanor to forge the Silmarils, and, Shippey suggests, led Tolkien to write his fictions: "Tolkien could not help seeing a part of himself in Fëanor and Saruman
Saruman, also called Saruman the White, later Saruman of Many Colours, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is the leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the go ...
, sharing their perhaps licit, perhaps illicit desire to 'sub-create'."
John Ellison, writing in the Tolkien Society's journal '' Mallorn'', draws a comparison between Fëanor and the Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
legend, in particular Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's version in his 1947 novel '' Doctor Faustus''. In Ellison's view, the life history of both characters is of "genius corrupted finally into insanity; the creative drive turns on its possessor and destroys him, and with him a good part of the fabric of society." He describes as parallel Mann's depiction of his Faust character Leverkühn in a collapsing Nazi Germany and Tolkien's starting his mythology amidst the collapse of pre-1914 Europe in the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Fëanor is, he writes, not an exact equivalent of Doctor Faustus: he does not make a pact with the devil; but both Fëanor and Leverkühn outgrow their teachers in creative skill. Ellison calls Leverkühn "a Fëanor of our times", and comments that far from being a simple battle of good versus evil, Tolkien's world as seen in Fëanor has "the creative and destructive forces in man's nature ... indivisibly linked; this is the essence of the ' fallen world' in which we live." He adds that Fëanor is central to the whole of Tolkien's legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of '' The Silma ...
, "the hinge on which the whole great Tale ... turns."
Like Shippey, Ellison relates Fëanor's making of the Silmarils to what he supposes was Tolkien's own belief: that it was "a dangerous and impermissible act" that went beyond what the Creator had intended for the Elves. Further, Ellison suggests that while Fëanor does not directly represent Tolkien, there is something about his action that can be applied to Tolkien's life. Tolkien calls Fëanor " fey"; Ellison notes that Tolkien analysed his own name as ''tollkühn'', with the same meaning. Further, Tolkien seems, Ellison writes, to have felt a conflict between his own "sub-creation" and his Catholic faith.
Ancestry as guide to character
Shippey and the Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger both note that Tolkien intended ancestry to be a guide to character. Shippey writes that ''The Silmarillion'' echoes Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
in this belief, and that one perhaps needs to study the family trees to see clearly how it all works:
"Subtle" and "skilled"
Flieger writes that Fëanor's fire drives his creativity, making the beautiful letters of the Fëanorian script, and jewels, including, fatefully, the Silmarils. She comments that Tolkien, choosing his words very carefully, calls Fëanor both "subtle", by etymology from Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''sub-tela'', "under the warp (of a weaving)", hence the crosswise weft threads that go against the grain, a dangerous part of the fabric of life; and "skilled", by etymology from Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
''skel-'', "to cut", like the Noldor as a whole tending to cause division among the Elves; and indeed his choices, and the Silmarils, lead to division and war, to the Kinslaying of Elf by Elf, the theft of the Telerin Elves' ships in Aman, and in turn to further disasters across the sea in Beleriand.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Feanor
The Silmarillion characters
Literary characters introduced in 1977
Noldor
Middle-earth rulers
pl:Lista Calaquendich#Fëanor