[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

I suppose one could be pedantic and argue that void and emptiness are opposites of creation, are a form of not-being, but nonethess the possibility exists that she is something from outside Iluvatar's creation.

there in Avathar, secret and unknown, Un- goliant had made her abode. The Eldar knew not whence she came; but some have said that in ages long before she descended from the darkness that lies about Arda, when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwe, and that in the beginning she was one of those that he corrupted to his service. But she had disowned her Master, desiring to be mistress of her own lust, taking all things to herself to feed her emptiness; and she fled to the south, escaping the assaults of the Valar and the hunters of Orome, for their vigilance had ever been to the north, and the south was long unheeded. Thence she had crept towards the light of the Blessed Realm; for she hungered for light and hated it.

In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous form, weaving her black webs in a cleft of the mountains. There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun it forth again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished.

Now Melkor came to Avathar and sought her out; and he put on again the form that he had worn as the tyrant of Utumno: a dark Lord, tall and terrible. In that form he remained ever after. There in the black shadows, beyond the sight even of Manwe in his highest halls, Melkor with Un-goliant plotted his revenge. But when Ungoliant understood the purpose of Melkor, she was torn between lust and great fear; for she was loath to dare the perils of Aman and the power of the dreadful Lords, and she would not stir from her hiding. Therefore Melkor said to her: 'Do as I bid; and if thou hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever thy lust may demand. Yea, with both hands.' Lightly he made this vow, as he ever did; and he laughed in his heart. Thus did the great thief set his lure for the lesser.

I think Bethberry is definitely on to something here, as the text clearly states that Ungoliant's origins are different to those of any other being. She is not Valar or Maia, as she did not come to Arda when they did, and she is not of Arda, as the text states she descended from the darkness. If Eru created Arda, then she cannot have been there already, as the Ents may have been. It seems she did come from the void, that place which is outside everything else. I like this, as it also tallies with my concept of her being something of a black hole in tangible, sentient form.

What I also like about this is that it allows for the possibility of other forms of existence outside Eru's control. Who knows which other enigmatic characters may have 'descended from the void'?!

And yet another thing I like is that Ungoliant is a morally grey character. She could indeed be the Trickster figure. Notice in the text above how Ungoliant is tempted by Melkor and then rejects him, preferring to go her own way! That must have taken incredible strength; and it also suggests that she was corrupted by him. Melkor then goes to work again on her 'lust' and gets her to take part in his plans.

Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will.

This again is an odd passage. It seems that by getting Ungoliant to do what she did, Melkor unleashed 'Darkness', the opposite of Light. It seems to grow the more Ungoliant devours Light. And this Darkness has "power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will". Hmm, reminds me of something in LotR, that does...

Far beneath the ruined halls of Angband, in vaults to which the Valar in the haste of their assault had not descended, Balrogs lurked still, awaiting ever the return of their Lord; and now swiftly they arose, and passing over Hithlum they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire. With their whips of flame they smote asunder the webs of Ungoliant, and she quailed, and turned to flight, belching black vapours to cover her; and fleeing from the north she went down into Beleriand, and dwelt beneath Ered Gorgoroth, in that dark valley that was after called Nan Dungortheb, the Valley of Dreadful Death, because of the horror that she bred there. For other foul creatures of spider form had dwelt there since the days of the delving of Angband, and she mated with them, and devoured them; and even after Ungoliant herself departed, and went whither she would into the forgotten south of the world, her offspring abode there and wove their hideous webs. Of the fate of Ungoliant no tale tells. Yet some have said that she ended long ago, when in her uttermost famine she devoured herself at last.

I had to add this in out of interest. Ungoliant is then pursued by Balrogs and we see how she comes to go into hiding and mate with lesser spiders (if indeed she is a spider at all) and hence produce Shelob. What is amazing here is that Ungoliant may yet be alive!