Feanor - Overrated?
 

I have just read the Silmarillion for the first time and think its fantastic. Before I read it I had seen a lot of quotes and posts related to the book and from it I was able to gauge a few of the important characters. The name of Feanor comes up more often than most. I started reading the Silmarillion thinking that Feanor was this really awesome guy, a total hero, and ended up thinking that he's the most overrated character in Tolkien's books I've yet come across.
Can anyone argue the case for Feanor? I could be swayed rather easily but we'll see.

How do you think he is overrated? He is the best smith ever, aside from Aule, the High King of The Noldor, and extremely charismtic, not to mention a nasty fighter.

Can you first tell us what you mean by 'hero'.

Also, what are your reasons for thinking him over-rated?

Sorry about that first post, it didn't really explain much did it?
The guy was so arrogant, he really thought he was that much better than everyone else which, I think was unjust.
He was really cold to his half-brothers. Face it, they didn't deserve to be treated like that.
He was so possesive. I know those jewels were NICE and all but it wasn't his light was it now?
And he just didn't want to help. Give them back their light, help them out. I mean, they did create you.
And, of course, he killed the Teleri and burned those ships.

He may have been gifted but I don't rate him.

Oh, and lest I forget about those horrible sons he produced. I hold him at least partially responsible for the existence of Celegorm and Curufin.

And by partially I mean a lot.

I see your point, Feanor was arrogant and unjust. But I like him [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] He's exciting. He was just corrupted. He basically was good, but he didn't see straight, and he acted out of his hatred rather then his heart. He acted too quickly. He should have thought things out. And he was proud, most of all. He didn't want to be told what to do. He hated Morgoth so much, and he wanted those jewels back, he would have done anything to get them back.

Great is not the same as good.

I think although Feanor was a bad guy (in the end) he was extremely important to everything that happened in Middle Earth in the First Age, whether it was good or not. He led the Elves to MiddleEarth and made that darned oath about the Silmarils. That got the split between the elves. The Silmarils he created also gave the elves motivation to fight Morgoth. So he wasn't overrated, just a creep.

Feanor was a hero, but he had a fatal flaw (something a hero always has in trageties). His was that he was too arogant. This leads to him taking the oath to retrieve the Silmarils... something that was impossible. The oath drives him to do many deeds that were less than heroic (ie. attacking the Teleri, burining the ships). It also ultimately causes the deaths of a large number of elves.
He is the greatest of all elves, but his mistakes also cause him to be one of the worst. A good analogy may be to Saruman. He was the most powerful wizard, but Gandalf is greater due to is wisdom and resistance to the temptation of power.

The great/good distinction is actually a really interesting one. However, I am not going to dive into it at the moment, since this thread is about Feanor specifically.

I'm not sure what you mean by "overrated," Eomer... Feanor is certainly not the character that accomplishes the most good deeds (although some of his accomplishments were impressive, such as revising the alphabet and of course making the Silmarils). However, he is a very attractive character in many ways. He's an absolutely brilliant rhetorician (reading his speeches makes me want to go to war, even though I really think his little rebellion was a dumb idea, and I'm a coward besides), and I always think of him as extraordinarily charismatic, able to garner followers with no great effort and capable of being loved by all.

He did some very, very, very bad things, and possibly the worst part of that is the loss of his great potential for good. The Valar

That pretty much sums it up, I think.

--Belin Ibaimendi

Yes, Ibai, you tapped into that nicely. Tolkien swept a great deal of tragi-mythic figures into his creation of Feanor. I believe Tolkien to have been inordinately proud of greating such a dichotomatic character; to have him as such be appealing to readers must have made him pleased.

I also have been fascinated by Feanor. The parallels with the Lucifer myth are many yet i do not wish to open that can of worms too far. I prefer to think of him as the archetypal anti-hero. I am reminded of the thread where some bright soul wrote of Tolkien's ability to create archetype-devourers. (Memory returns, it was the fine Valid Criticisms thread).

If I had more time I would write further on this matter. The characters of Tolkien that are the most naturally gifted often turn out to use such talents poorly. See Saruman et al. Indeed, Melkor.

To me, Feanor is absolutely the best character in the Sil. He's one of the only characters that people have very strong emotions. You either like him or hate him, I don't think i ever met someone who was indifferent to Feanor.
I point that is missing in this discussion, is that there was a flaw in the bringing up of Feanor. His mother refused to return ever to her body and Finwe was the only parent he knew.
His parents had flaws: Míriel failed her son and husband because she didn't want to return to her hroa and Finwe failed her wife because he didn't give her the time for her to heal and used the excuse that he wanted more children.

Feanor was a rebel who dared to rise against powers much stronger than he. And he was seeking justice (at least what he believed was just). Of course he was rash and thoughtless from the start, but for many of us the one who dares to rise against powers for a (seemingly) fair cause acquires some romantic image.
Another thing - Feanor's role in the history of Middle-Earth. Whatever his intentions were, but he brought High Elves back to M-E. Without this deed of his we could have never known Galadriel, Gil-Galad, Elrond etc. And what would have become of Men? The elves who had remained in M-E didn't seem to care much for Men (or am I wrong here?) But Noldor befrended some of them and anywhay they resisted Morgoth and Sauron to the last.

So I believe that the role Feanor played for M-E couldn't be underrated. As for his personal qualities and means he used - everyone can judge.

i, personally, sympathize and pity Feanor. I guess one of the reasons i like him is because he is NOT they typical hero
And i belive the reason Miriel died was stated in the Silmarillion (which i do not have with me, so its not an exact quote)
"The stregth that could have nourished many all went into Feanor"
Basically, she gave all her stregth to Feanor, and she died.

"Great Kings are not always Good Men"

I would have to agree that he is a way , an anti-hero. However I will not go as far as to call him evil or good. Good and Evil are merely points of view. And the whole satan( meaning ANY advisary) thing, were you meaning to compare Lucifer to Melkor or to Feanor? I feel if you were to look at that in a mythological perspective, Melkor would be more befitting for the Lucifer part rather then Feanor, for his only a being that does have faults and weakness and can die.

In the beinging of the Silmarillion it mentioned that Feanor was known for having a firy spirit. In every essenes that is true. He had a tempter, Melkor found this out the hard when he had the door slammed in his face attempting to get to the Silamrils.

I feel the whole purpose to writing Feanor was the take all of those human traits that we love and harbor ourselves and create a perfectly mundane character. THere is an intensity to this guy, unfortunatly no too many people dicuss or devote any artword to the inspiration.
To the comment of being overrated....well I feel that was improper and unclear. This "elf" did a great deal of stuff, created turmoil, the silmarils and threatened Fingolfin's life. If you really want to know more of this guy, I have cliffnotes of the Silmarillion on my website wwww.geocities.com/thestyl/tolkien_index.com

I personally find Feanor extremely fasinating for several reason: one being that he is a very intense character, reacting to his environment, he is vurnable to his own flaws and his very essense can be found with other mythiological characters.
If you were to find such characters, who would they be and why would you associate Feanor to them?

[ July 11, 2002: Message edited by: Eol ]

I totally agree that Feanor is a fantastic character, much like I think that Sauron, Melkor, Gollum and Saruman are fantastic characters who contribute to an amazing story.

It's just that if I was in Middle Earth, I wouldn't see eye to eye with him.

no one saw eye-to-eye with Feanor

At least some of his sons did I think.

Yeah, most of them did. Like Curunir and Celegorm.

I still don't see what you mean by "overrated." No one ever stated that he was the Aragorn or Gandalf of the First Age. He's never been labeled a great hero - he's just a very intersting character. Given that you've put a lot of thought into his character for your posts, I'd say Tolkien succeeded in making him a thought-provoking character.

I don't think it is very fair to place Feanor in comparison with these four characters. Feanor had some flawed, in our opinions, views near the end, but they certainly were not anywhere near as evil as these four. He was after all, still a very noble, powerful elf.

As far as the Silmarils and his unwilling to let them go, what do you expect. Morgoth himself desire these above all other object in Middle Earth. The Valar themselves loved them dearly. If such powerful beings that never desired physical objects, found these jewels fantastic, how do you think an elf would react, especially the maker. He was very protective over his own work. True the light from these jewels came from the trees of Yavanna, but Feanor was so blinded by his lust over his own craftsmanship, no one could reason with him.

You have to consider Melkor's interference as well. He is what really tipped the scales in Feanor's case. He put those seeds of evil thought into Feanor's head, and then stole them and killed Feanor's dad, whom he loved above all other things. I believe Feanor loved his dad more than the Silmarils. If all this happened to you, I think you'd blow up too. You have to look at the bigger picture than just Feanor.

Tolkien did not say elves were perfect. Elves have just about the same emotions as men, and many act on these emotions just as men do. Feanor had an extremely strong fire within him, so that reflects outwardly in his actions and his character.

Feanor was the greatest of the Noldor, I don't think Tolkien specifically stated he was the greatese elf. But I could be wrong (please tell me if I am). The Noldor were known for their stubborness, in comparison to the Teleri and Vanyar (i.e. Turgon's over confidence in Gondolin). Since Feanor was the greatest Noldor, than he'd probably be the most stubborn, don't you think.

It was just my first impression of Feanor, before reading the Sil, that he was the big star of the book. This was because of numerous threads on the forums and some of the little quotes the Downs has on the top of the pages.

I thought he'd be the main hero in the book, which is pretty silly because it's not that type of story.

Call me strange, but i rather liked Feanor. He stuck to his guns and i like that in a person... even if it was evil. On the up side, yes, he was a great smith. But when i think of Feanor and his family, i cant help but think how his wife must have felt.

Throughout the entire rest of the Silm, I never once laughed as hard as I did when I read that part! I mean, this Elf (I don't care if he was the 'best' of all Children) just slams his door in Melkor's face! It was great. And people criticize Feanor... He slammed a door in the Supreme Bad Guy's face!

Okay, I think I've exausted the door/face subject now though. And I don't really think that Feanor is overrated, and he's not really a bad guy. He was just corrupt. (full definitions and descriptions and examples of 'corrupt', 'good', and 'evil' can be found on the thread All Those Good Guys). Being corrupted (especially by someone as powerful as Melkor) is like being drunk (sort of). You get the straight path of 'goodness', and you get the twisted and distorted path of 'wrong'. If you're drunk/corrupt, you won't be able to walk that straight line no matter how hard you try! (Unless you're only a teensy bit corrupt... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ) Feanor was corrupted by Melkor, and the loss of the Trees, the rape of the Silms, and the murder of his dad sent him over the deep end. So now we have a corrupt nutcase with a really bad temper, and he wants his treasure back, not to mention satisfaction for the killing of his father. Does it really surprise anyone that Feanor did all of the stuff that he did?

Fea

I don't think that's true...

(I know I am a bit out of the discussion... Just had to reply..)

He was obsessed with the Silmarills, his heart desired them, and wanted them for himself, for all time. Even though, he knew Yavanna created the two trees, where the light from The Silmarills came from. He didn't hate the Silmarills. Therefore I think it's wrong saying he acted by his hatred. He was not willing to give them to Yavanna when she asked, because Fëanor simply loved his own work. The Silmarills were prescious to him. (*ooo that sounded Gollum-ish*)

I know that's only one example. But I think that proves that he followed his heart. his heart was just a bit... desireble..

Just my opinion though..

When you say overrated, I am not quite sure. There are no doubts about how good a smith he was. But I think he got a bit arrogant or swollen. You see, I think he wanted people to look at him as "the best" (after Aüle, of course). And he forgot why he was a smith.

And I also think he thought something like:Now-I've-made-the-prettiest-jewels-of-all-time,-no-need-to-continue-trying-to-improve.-And-best-of-all:I-have-them!! MWHAHAHA

Suddenly he was only thinking about himself... eh..


Very well..

*Nova* [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I can see what Eomer means by "over-rated" here. If you haven't read the Silmarillion and have only heard babbling on and on about this Feanor person, it's easy to think that he was some hero central to the story. Then, alas, you discover he was near being a raving madman. I wonder if Mandos has straight jackets... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Anyway, I do like Feanor (even though I am one of the few, the proud, the Caranthir-obsessed) and regard him as both hero and villain. He was heroic in the light of his intentions. He wanted, I think, to do something good- or at least worthwhile in the long run- but unfortunately it backfired on him. I think that when he made the Oath, he had the best of intentions deep within him, if not apparent on the outside. Reading that section of the Sil, it seems to me that Feanor is more misguided in his judgements than evil. Meaning what he does to try to improve things reverse on him. And ultimately, they lead him to his death and to his sons deaths. On the subject of his sons deaths, I am sure he never meant for that to happen. He wasn't the best of parents, but I do firmly believe that he wanted the best for his children. And the best, in his eyes, may have been the Silmarils.

That was all just my speculation. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I'm just meandering through the Downs and once again I stumble across the words 'Feanor' and 'Overrated'. Ah...I had forgotten about this thread.

I'd like to ask you all to discuss the topic of Feanor in all its forms, and not discuss why I was wrong to use the word 'overrated'. Thanks. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Feanor 'overrated?' No. Can't be. He was exactly as good as Tolkien wrote. Not everyone can slam a door in a Dark Lord's face, lead an army into exile, fight a Balrog, manage seven sons, create the most precioussss jewels ever and have enough guts to swear an Oath.

He certainly was rash and a bit *crazy*, but vital and very very interesting. And let's face it. No Feanor - no Silmarillion.

One more point. Being the only kid in Aman without a mother can affect one. And his father marrying again only because

(not the exact quote, but my Sil is far far away).
Quite selfish of Finwe, I think.

- Aredhel

[ July 08, 2003: Message edited by: Aredhel Idril Telcontar ]

In my opinion, Feanor only turned bad when he was such a jerk to his half-brothers. I think Fingolfin has to be my favorite elf in the Silm., and he actually tried to reconcile with Feanor, but Feanor just used him. I don't think that when Feanor refused to give the Vala his jewels it was that bad because at least it was just a pride issue. But when he was so treacherous with his brothers, he actually stepped over the line, and drew his sword on Fingolfin. It may have been Morgoth's lie spreading techniques, but Feanor was the only one to act so rashly. Because of his spirit, he was too easily influenced by evil, which made him an antagonist.

The fact that Feanor grew up w/o a mother may have damaged him in more ways than one. He couldnt relate to his half brothers( the sword on Finglofin comes to mind), treated his wife very badly, and really helped to screw up some his kids. It was almost like he had a beef with the world, and his rash, cretin-like actions may have come from this. He was brave, smart, and willing to smash a door on Melkor, so, all in all, he wasn't all bad. He was pretty cool. Besides, any guy who can manage seven kids has something going for him [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Hmmm... Grwoing up without a mother.. being evi... I just don't seem to get the link. If we are going to blame it upon the parents, Finwe did little or nothing to calm his son down, even when he turned nasty against his brothers. What I don't see is the problme with evil. I am fascinated by evil as a phenomenon and from what I have seen, it is never the entirely dominant part of a person. I could, right now, anytime, say that Hitler and Stalin ahd many good sides, for example both were genious politicians, Hitler was a phenomenal speaker and his Soviet adversary was a good golf player. That I say while I am aware of waht they did towards people, people like you and me who had done nothing towards them. I say this to make the situation around Fëanor a little more complex. He was, I should think, intoxicated by his own greatness and glory, took advice from no one and who wouldn't have had a boosted confidence? He had made the Silmarils and otehr precious item, he had dared revolt against teh valar , crossed the ocean and beaten Melkor in battle. Everybody has felt that taht invincible and great at some time and his feeling comes out strongly at comments like: "Maybe you will see that Illuvatar has lit in em a stronger flame than you think!" He is a human, and a masterly portrayed one.

Måns

It was not the loss of his mother that made Feanor like he was. It was just him; he is naturally that way.

I think I can see what you mean, Eomer. But I would not personally call him 'overrated'. He was a very great Elf, as we know -- the greatest in power of spirit and in works of craft -- but it is true that he was not a nice person. It is often so with geniuses, I suppose -- for some reason or other, they are often not normal in other ways than just being genius-ish. That is, I mean, they are often wierdos =/. Feanor was reckless, ruthless and deserved his punishment, but that does not take away from the fact that he was an incredible figure.

Somehow, I can't stop reading these threads about Fëanor...an addiction, I suppose! Another view: Fëanor was the "greatest of the Noldor," and the Noldor were known for their love of artifice and skill with creation of "things." Thus, their greatest danger is becoming enamoured of these things, rather than valuing the artistry that goes into making them. Thus, Fëanor is intoxicated with his creation, the Silmarils, and knows them to be unique and un-recreatable--just as Yavanna knows she cannot recreate the Two Trees. I suppose a great danger and a good niche for evil to enter into is the love of the creation over the love of creating--the love of things, rather than of the art that goes into making them. Perhaps this ties into Tolkien's mistrust of technology and its infinite capacity to be perverted in the wrong hands. And Fëanor's works seem to be the nexus for this, even into the LOTR: the Palantiri were his creations, after all. His descendant, Celembrimbor, was the maker of the Great Rings (at least the Elven ones, my memory fails here).

I can't think of anything else right now, but I am enjoying this discussion!

Cheers,
Lyta

Why Fëanor is the most fascinating has interested me a lot... I mean, after all, he WAS quite nasty and arrogant too, not the typical hero guy that is. My thesis is that what makes him so captivating is that he is human in another way than many other characters in ME. Túrin is human because iof his grief and rashness and rage, Boromir because he is split between good and evil, wants to do good but with power by which he is intoxicated. The difference between him and Fëanor is, of course, in level and that Boromir was enchanted by what he COULD do with the Ring and it's power, but it did not make him arrogant. I think all humans have had the feeling tha they are simply supreme and being absorbed with their own boundless capacity, no matter what one sais. He IS the greatest and he knows that and he has the very human doubt over what is the meaning of life. Wehn he sais that his flame is great (which it indeed is) he insinuates that he exists for something, he is meant to do something great! He cannot just stay in Valinor with his endless possibilities and, this is were he differs from most people, is ready to do anything to get what he wants, which in the end is his destruction.

Måns

Lyta, that's a very interesting thought. If I may take it a step further; I believe that Feanor considered both of these things, the art of the making and the final object, to be the same. It was his art that had created the Silmarils, that was why they existed, he considered them his because of that. The feeling you get is not so much that he was proud of their making, but possessive and withholding of them simply because it was he that had given birth to them. Probably the same with all his works.

And perhaps, in the same spirit, he considered the Noldor his own, of whom he was (after his father's death) the king, and who he had persuaded to rebel. They were his work, and not the Valar's.

It was, of course, this very mindset that caused him to disregard entirely the importance of the works of others, chiefly the Valar. What he could see was his work, and he judged that to be enough to make it all his.

I do not think that Feanor was overrated. He created the silmirills, perhaps the Palantiri, possibly invented those lamps that the Noldor that Tuor met in the Rainbow cleft had(In the Unfinished Tales)and the Tengwar, one of the most used writing systems in Arda. Not to mention that he was the greatest craftsman in middle earth besides Aule.

I argree that he was an @$$ because he was always threatening his half-brothers and he caused the kinslaying at Aqualonde,

Perhaps Feanor is another Boromir-type character; through no fualt of his own he and his actions were twisted against him and the world in general. He had potential to be a great guy, but it demonstrates what can happen if your temperament does not counter or match your abilities.

The whole half-brother conflict is understandable. Most half-brothers or step-brothers have that problem, vying for their father's (or mother's) attention. With Fëanor, it was even worse, because he didn't have another parent to fall back upon. All he had was his father, and now that was being taken from him by these little usurpers. His anger and resentment is completely understandable.

An apt observation, Gwaihir! Probably why ALL his sons had to take the Oath; after all, they were his, and he would suffer them to have no other master but him. Makes me feel even sorrier for Maedhros and Maglor...but I know the syndrome quite well! The son reflects on the father->the son belongs to the father->the son is part of the father. Maybe Fëanor really DID put himself into his creations, in this manner of thinking!

Cheers!
Lyta

I think my oppinion may be kinda biased becuase I *like* Feanor. But I think that he is such a good character becuase he has all the flawes and stuff that everyone has. It's just unusual to see that in an elf, but I think what Tolkien acheived was to show that not all elves are perfect! This makes us like elves more because we can relate to them better and it doesn't make us think they are mary sues.

[ July 24, 2003: Message edited by: purplefluffychainsaw ]