An interesting (to my mind at least) thought occurred to me while reading this chapter. After Tulkas first comes to Arda and puts fear into Melkor's heart, the Dark Lord apparently;
Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Simlarillion: Of the Beginning of Days
... brooded in the outer darkness...
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It seems to me that Melkor loved the Darkness. In Ainulindele he spent a lot of time in the void looking for the secret fire and it seems to me that he had a liking for the darkness. Hence becoming a 'Dark' lord. Does this mean that Melkor felt that darkness was his only hiding place? I think so. Later on we see that as the armies of the west come for him, he is in a deep and dark cavern. In the same way, his servants take after him, the Orcs hate the sun light as did Melkor and Trolls are killed by it. Even Sauron, when Melkor first falls, hides in the deep darkness.
So why did Melkor never 'flee into the outer darkness' again? I think the answer lies in his loss of power. After causing so much destruction and perversion of Middle Earth, Melkor is weakened and becomes lesser than the other Valar, losing his ability to change shape among other things. I think that Tolkien is perhaps suggesting that evil wears itself out and although it seems easier to destroy than to make, the Valar do not diminish, even after healing many hurts and making Valinor etc...
Thoughts?