In the first half of Chapter 9 of The Silmarillion, “Of the Flight of the Noldor”, Melkor and Ungoliant leave the dead Trees behind them and continue their crime spree in Formenos. Fëanor goes full-emo and rallies the Noldor to pursue his Black Foe back to Middle-earth, swearing a terrible oath in the process. We revisit Míriel in Mandos, and also discuss how a Silmaril is like a bite of ribeye.
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(New listener here; I’ve heard 3 episodes so far.)
Starting about 1:41:40, you all talked about the Valar in a no-win situation. It would have been better if they could have stopped the Noldor, but as you describe it, they couldn’t intervene because Fëanor would use that to prove his point that the Elves were their thralls. Well, I wondered, what kind of great Powers are the Valar, if they can get caught out so easily? That made me realize that one Vala is missing. You know who could have resolved this whole situation? Loki.
‘”Come away, let the cowards keep this city!” cried Fëanor, and he stepped upon a banana peel, and he fell heavily upon the bones of his sacrum, and the Ainur were united with the kindreds of the Eldar in merriment.’
Every other mythology has some kind of a trickster in it. This must be why.
Now THAT is good humor — Fëanor stepping on a banana peel and Manwë doing a spit-take with his tea! 🙂
On the more serious note, I tend to think of moments like these as reminders of the Valar’s limited powers — albeit powers far, FAR beyond ours — and their ultimate need for reliance on Ilúvatar.
And, by the way, welcome aboard — we are very happy to have you, and are glad you’ve started the long and arduous journey of catching up on our episodes. Be sure to either like us on Facebook or Twitter if you use either of those platforms!
Alan
Hi Alan and Shawn,
This speaker is all the way from India. I read LOTR way back just as a fun read and found out about your podcast some time ago. Catching up all the way from the start. It will probably take a couple of years to catch up with you guys. The journey so far has been AMAZING.
I did feel a bit of sympathy towards Feanor when he was asked to give up his Silmarils. I know the light of the Silmarils is not his, but the body definitely is. And as the text quotes,
” that crystal was to the silmarils but as is the body to the children of illuvatar … and is its life “.
Just to be clear, I am NOT a Feanor apologist. With his actions, he has made himself irredeemable.
Being a 2000s kid, all your 80s references go above. But, your joy in making these references is still infectious.
Love from India.
Hi! I’m a new listener going through your older episodes as I read through The Silmarillion for the first time. First off, I’d like to say I’m absolutely loving the book and your podcast. Thank you both for your consistent greatness.
My comment is unrelated to any of the texts, though. I’m here listening as I work on a website for a client(I’m web dev) and seeing your large image header at the top inspired me with some layouts of my own while working. I just wanted to thank you for that.
Much love from New Jersey!