Damn, this is an old thread!
Anyway...while I largely cringe upon my earlier posts here, after numerous re-reads of everything Tolkien in the meantime, I
still stand by my initial thesis.
I don't see
how it is even possible for Morgoth to curse Turin in the sense that most fandom assumes (i.e. Morgoth having some metaphysical power over the lives of Men - as in all but ensuring the outcome of a single person's life, which would go
completely against Tolkien's metaphysics, both in real-life and in the legendarium).
Which forces me to conclude that the so-called 'curse' was actually a perfect storm of innate character (both Turin's and Morgoth's) + Morgoth's unimaginably childish pettiness, and obsession with Hurin's family + most importantly, Turin's
own belief in the curse, showcasing a complete lack of
estel...
I'd like to start with the conversation of Hurin and Morgoth:
Quote:
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"This last then I will say to you, thrall Morgoth," said Húrin, "and it comes not from the lore of the Eldar, but is put into my heart in this hour. You are not the Lord of Men, and shall not be, though all Arda and Menel fall in your dominion. Beyond the Circles of the World you shall not pursue those who refuse you."
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It is evident to me that Eru reached out to Hurin in that moment, and that Morgoth clearly has no authority to decide the ultimate fate of Men. Sure, he can torment them, he can delay that (as Sauron did with the Nazgul), but he can't change that which Iluvatar made them.
Hurin knows this, or at least it was revealed to him in that moment.
My argument is that the so-called 'curse' really is a 'perfect storm' of several things:
1) Morgoth's unimaginably petty fixation on the immediate family of the one who scorned him (Hurin)
EDIT: In fact, I'd say that this fixation actually provided Gondolin with a few indispensable decades - and allowed Tuor (nephew of the 'cursed' Hurin!) to go under the radar and eventually reach Gondolin, and marry Idril, and the rest is history: and, of course, a scion of the House of Hador, Earendil, ultimately brought doom and destruction on Morgoth.
2) Turin's worst characteristics - pride and rashness
3) Turin's best characteristics - pity and empathy
4) Turin's
absolute worst characteristic - his
own belief in the curse!
I don't see this brought up all that often - but I'm 100% sure that it was Turin's belief in the very existence of the 'curse' that was the catalyst for all his terrible flaws to manifest themselves.
But Turin also had beautiful virtues - but if you combine the above and present + Morgoth's petty fixation on him + unknowable circumstances = Turin's story in the end.
With all that said, I'd like to focus on 4) - because it is the crux of the issue IMO...
Turin's belief that Morgoth could
ever possibly alter his future so much that it was effectively 'fate' (in a metaphysical sense), was, I think, an utter failure of
estel on Turin's part: and through that lack, ironically, his so-called 'fate' was sealed.