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| At Manwë's Feet: Studies in Tolkien's World by Fiondil | 5 Review(s) |
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| Erulisse (one L) | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/30/2010 |
| I finally managed to carve out some time to read this thoroughly. You mention many things that I have thought over the years that I have been reading JRRT and I agree with a great deal of what you have said in this. As always, I learn a lot by reading your words and I thank you for taking the time to present this to us. - Erulisse (one L) Author Reply: Hi, Erulisse. Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed this essay. I really appreciate it. | |
| Tari | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/18/2010 |
| Wow!! You did an amazing job of comparing the Silmarillion to the Bible. In this book, Tolkien made no attempt whatsoever to hid his Christian faith. I find it fascinating every time I read it, which is not often because it breaks my heart to see what happens to the beautiful elves. While he says his faith does not enter the trilogy, I find that in many instances it does. It's sad to see how many people in these times just don't get it. I, myself, am not afraid of death. I know what lays beyond this life is much more beautiful that we can possibly imagine. Author Reply: Thank you, Tari. I'm so glad you enjoyed this essay and found much it to think on. It's very sad that people just don't get it, but that is unfortunately the way it is. In many ways our culture is very much like that of the Numenoreans, who were so afraid of death that they tried to cling to life more and more, only ending up with a shorter life span and dying anyways. And, of course, this is a major theme throughout Tolkien's writings. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this essay and to let me know what you thought of it. Thanks again. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/15/2010 |
| Very interesting overview of the themes in The Silmarillion. I've only read it once but it was fascinating and I will be reading again. I so love that quote of Iluvatar's to Melkor in Note 2. Death is indeed a Gift to us all. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Thank you, Antane. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review this essay. As difficult as the Silmarillion can be to read, it really is worth the effort. God bless. | |
| Rhyselle | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/15/2010 |
| Dear Fiondil, your essays help me to appreciate many things anew. :) I really enjoyed reading this particular essay, as, even though I don't tend to get into the theologic aspects of Tolkien's Arda in my own writing, I do think about them when I'm preparing to write things about life in Aman. When I first read THE SILMARILLION, I was too young to really understand the real issues regarding the Valar's actions concerning the elves. I hadn't even thought about likening the mythology of the Silmarillion to the creation story in the Bible, nor questioned the motives and decisions that the Valar made. But since reading your body of work, and studying the SILM in more depth, I find myself being able to more easily make the mental connections that you consolidate so elequently in this essay. From a scholastic perspective, this essay satisfies my desire to look at and learn from the building blocks that construct the written tales; from a writer's perspective, it inspires me to incorporate some of the concepts in my character development when I write about the Valar and their interaction with Children of Illuvatar. It is much more interesting in writing about imperfect beings than perfect ones. And the more powerful the being who makes the mistake, the more intriguing and far-reaching the consequences of that error will be. So maybe now my muse will be inspired to scribble more about the Valar, and about the Elves and Men of Arda.... Whatever is produced will be better than it might have been, thank to this essay! Well done! Author Reply: Hi Rhyselle. Thank you so much for your lovely review of this essay. I actually hesitated for the longest time before posting it as I wasn't sure how well it would be received, especially since most people are not into the Silmarillion as much as they are into LOTR. I am glad that this essay has satisfied both your scholastic and authorial bents, and that you find inspiration from this for your own stories. That was essentially my intent, as well as to hopefully give people an appreciation for the intricacy and genius of Tolkien's mythology. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Word cannot adequately expression my appreciation. | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/13/2010 |
| This was interesting, I know how much of Tolkiens tale was influenced by his Christian and Catholic ethics, this sort of puts it all in perspective. One question though, did men know about Illuvitar before they came over the mountains from the East and were 'found' by Finrod? I am very sure that Melkor did not mention Him to them! Huggs, Lynda Author Reply: Hi Lynda. I'm glad you found this essay to be informative. In other writings of Tolkien, I think there is something about how Ilúvatar spoke in the hearts of Men but Morgoth came among them and turned them away from the 'Voice'. Also, in the Silmarillion itself, it states that Men met the Avari in their travels and learned much from them, so I imagine they would have learned about Ilúvatar from them as well. But it is an interesting question as to when Men did learn of Him. Perhaps it is safe to say that only when they reache Beleriand and met Finrod and the other Noldor did they learn more fully about Ilúvatar, more than just the rumors that they might have come upon as they wandered westward in search of a paradise. | |