I was initially worried that I would not be able to connect to Chapter 5 in any way, considering that I have not read The Silmarillion, and had never really planned on doing so. Even with these concerns, I found the chapter informative and not that difficult to follow, as it focused primarily on Tolkien’s reasons for writing this work and his processes in doing so. I did remember the quote from The Hobbit which was stated on p. 230, about the differences between the various types of elves, but while I was reading The Hobbit, I think I just glossed over it as I thought it was too confusing and didn’t know much of the back story of Middle-earth. With the presentation which we were given in about the history of Middle-earth, and some of the information in Shippey’s book including this chapter, I felt like I gained more of a comprehensive knowledge of how Middle-earth came about. I felt that Shippey did a good job of explaining the differences between ‘Light-elves’ and ‘Dark-elves.’
I thought that the parallels between The Silmarillion and Christianity were very interesting. Lucifer can definitely be associated with Morgoth, and the loss of the innocence of the elves with the Fall of the rebel angels and Lucifer. Also, the elves leaving Aman can be connected with Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden. Even with all of these parallels or possible connections, Shippey is yet again careful to distinguish the difference between the story being a complete retelling of the Christian myth and a story which happens to have all of these similarities, but which has various distinctions as well. One large difference is the dynamics of the character Feanor, who refuses to surrender the Silmarils which he has created. One sympathizes with this character, and his motives are not completely evil. This brings forth questions of his legitimacy to do this.
Even though The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings are two very different texts, I found myself noticing some echoes of each other. For instance, Feanor’s resistance to surrender his Silmarils reminded me of Frodo’s reluctance to give up the Ring. In both circumstances, the characters’ greedy actions are undermined by the fact that other characters fulfill the destiny of what is to come. Frodo’s action is obviously startling and disturbing, but Gollum destroys the Ring in the end. Feanor, while refusing to give up the Silmarils, does not realize that Melkor already stole them. The Silmarillion also includes a third section in which the elves and Melkor are fighting, and other races are brought into the mix. In The Lord of the Rings, it is another war which is being fought, but men are the primary fighters, and the elves join in to help their cause.
Tolkien was obviously very connected to this work, as he even “…had the names ‘Beren’ and ‘Luthien’ carved on his and his wife’s tombstone…” (247). I was interested in the reference to Macbeth, as I am presently studying this text for my Shakespeare for Future Teachers class. The question of the extent of influence of the witches on Macbeth, and how Macbeth’s response to them simply brings forth their predictions is also echoed in The Silmarillion. This shows the versatility of the text, and its resounding themes and eternal questions. Towards the end of the chapter Shippey says, “For all that has been said, The Silmarillion can never be anything other than hard to read.” Although I had my doubts before reading this chapter, now I am intrigued by the stories in this book, and perhaps I will give it a try sometime.
Kelsey Till November 12, 2008, at 07:12 PM
