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Originally Posted by tumhalad2
The "problem" the writer refers to is the disjunction between two moral systems, and the incompatability of Turin's life-story, which involves both his own bad choices and the whims of fate, and the universe of the Lord of the Rings, suffused with the presence of a supposedly benevolent creator god. If this god were truly all-knowing (omniscient), all loving (omnibenevolent) and "everywhere at once" (omnipresent) and all-powerful (omnipotent), then surely it follows logically that he would not allow suffering to occur.
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I want to avoid any direct discussion of real-world parallels, but I think that suffering, as joy, can occur as a result of free will. If one is to be rescued from the consequences of every bad decision, what's the point of attempting to do good? This may lead to the age-old question of why good things happen to bad people, but at least in Túrin's case I don't think that's a consideration. The man wasn't by nature evil, by any means, but his pride led him into some evil situations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tumhalad2
How was Turin to know that Nellas would return to Thingol and speak on his behalf? Given the circumstances, one might contend that his actions were justified, and not rash at all.
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I wouldn't judge his actions there to be justified. Understandable, perhaps. Later though, Túrin is explicitly told by Beleg that he was ultimately not held responsible for the death of Saeros, and still his pride kept him from returning to Doriath, which would have made it much harder, at least, for Morgoth's curse to have come to fruition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tumhalad2
Morality thus becomes an epistemic issue: given that no one seems to have access to divine knowledge or guidance in Turin's world (and thus complete knowledge) all choices and actions are undertaken according to provisional standards.
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Actually, there
was such a person, and Túrin, unlike any other Man (except Beren), had the opportunity to benefit from her wisdom: Melian. And unlike the later situation in the Third Age with the Istari, it was likely generally known that Melian was of the 'divine' race.
The principal characters in
LOTR do have Gandalf's wisdom to guide them, but they, by and large, did not
know what Gandalf was, and thus were unaware that his advice was any more weighty than that given by others. They, of their own free will, chose to listen to him. It's notable too, I think, that at least one person in
LOTR has Gandalf beside him, and still goes down to ruin as a result of his own actions: Denethor.