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Originally Posted by mark12_30
If memory serves-- was it not Feanor's frustration at being refused his request (of a strand of hair) that made him determined to create the silmarils in the first place? (Edit on rereading-- sorry, you already said that, more or less. ) Had Galadriel aquiesced, would we have had a happy Feanor-- and no theft, no oath, no kinslaying, etc, etc?
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One thing that comes to mind is something another speaker said - after Feanor's repeated requests for a tress of Galadriel's hair it states that 'they were unfriends forever'. This is odd if you think about it - what was it about Feanor's request that produced such an extreme reaction? The speaker
suggested there may have even been an
incestuous desire on Feanor's part - after all, a lock of hair is a classic 'lover's gift'. I'm not sure about this, but Galadriel's response does speak to something more than mere irritation at being pestered for some of her hair. Another possibility suggested was the folklore tradition of using hair or fingernails of a person to cast a spell over them.
Certainly we do see that Feanor's desire was the 'light', the
radiance, of Galadriel's hair. If, as in Sam's song, the branches of trees are seen as their 'hair' then it seems that Feanor's use of the light of the Trees is a
substitute for the light of Galadriel's hair - it is a 'second best'. Maybe his reaction to the theft of the Silmarils is caught up with his feelings for Galadriel?
The Maedhros/Idril story springs to mind - this at least shows that incestuous desires for near kin were not wholly alien to the Eldar.....