Yes - I also recall at a lecture I attended where Donaldson spoke once, way back - in 1987, where he spoke of his 'two theme' thing. Leprosy was big, and probably the biggest theme, tho the sexual violation of Lena and the incest with, then Elena the offspring! MAN -
Donaldon is very - um - direct about his heroic characters and makes no shame of working with that position. A hero was our Thomas Covenant, and so much so for the readership. How he could take people on that journey so also about redemption. In The Gap series - Thermopile (
therm-opoly hahaha not thermo-pile hahaha) was also a sexual violator - and that Nick Succorso zone implant sex stuff - oh....my......god!!!!!!!
After reading your post, earlier today, I was thinking about whether or not Dolaldsonian characters create Foul. I found at least three examples, actually, through his main characters, after my quick 'no' yesterday.
At Ridject Thome, did we not have Saltheart's Caamora - in the great lavas protecting Foul's home. So, then, the Giant walks through the defence and is burned clean of the banes of battling and Giantish pain. He then, of course, delivered a very dire blow to Foul. Laughter, actually. To unmake Foul for three thousand years. A very deep effect upon Foul as well.
Then, of course, our Linden Avery in Mount Thunder when she re-crafted the Staff of Lore. Runeless, and not yet blackwood. She surpassed Foul whilst bearing Staff and Ring in the final conflagration after breaking the Raver's hold. (Oh god, ya gotta love Linden Avery. I dunno tho - I haven't finished series three. I don't know what Elena fate yet is, in that She Who Has No Name thing. Not fun to date that one
Frodo - tho - as 'creating Sauron'. Receptive was Frodo's legacy, not invasive. It's not like Frodo was going to get far with any 'mine' confrontation with Sauron. My god, what would have happened had the Nazgul made it to Orodruin any more quickly?
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Originally Posted by Pitchwife
But this, and thinking about Aule, Sauron and craftsmen in the context of your riddle over in the Quiz Room, takes me to quite another question: Why is it that it's always the makers, artisans and (sub-)creators who are most vulnerable to the lies of Morgoth and his minions - from Sauron to Fëanor to the Gwaith-i-Mirdain to Saruman, and I'm sure I've missed a few? And where does Tolkien, as a mythopoetic subcreator, situate himself in this context - or, to vary the title of this thread a bit: Is Sauron the author's shadow?
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I've wondered what the heck happened during the Music of the Ainur before Eru in the Making, how some of them schitzed out and made rebel music. I read in a Letter written by Tolkie, that Aule had a 'domain' comprised of Maia and many of other forms. I recall Sauron was a renegade from Aule's domain. A craftsman who, ultimately, was chief of Morgoth's and wrought many designs, many of which were never realised.
'Why' Morgoth's call is so pervasive?
Eol, Maeglin. Boromir. Celebrimbor. Perhaps Galadriel. Lines of the echoes of sexuality in themes of deviation, but not as pervasively directly said as Thomas Covenant's double Lena Elena thing. Elena - my god - she didn't have much of a chance. I recall the scenes where something
wrong (in the Foul-ian sense) emerged in her in glimpses of perversion. Yet - Donaldson does so well at insisting that these things are part of a greater Call, Narrative, Join, Belonging - in the Mythology Whole.
So - these things also 'Spectral sexuality' meaning - we see them in news castings or analyses, such as of places and cultures in our world. Themes about 'the ghosts' that are perversions of territorial religiosity, perhaps. I see the Nazgul as having originated from down this line. Greed, and self-serving seduction. Extended into the metaphysical, but in our world, the minds of might of 'men' - sociopathic. Sauron, and all the bad bois of both Donaldsonian and Tolkien seem to have the 'bad boi sociopathic' archetype, where it castes to metaphysical ideas.
Yet, Spectral metaphysical fears in societies (the Ghosts of formalised religion, perhaps) also create 'shadows' of social behaviour. But - ghosts - are often attributed to the occult, which also calls in Spectral caste to curiosity. There seem to be Spectral lines, of flow.
In Tolkien - he did speak of Sauron's greed and lust. As this ever-growing balloon - that past a point, just swelled and swelled - man - Sauron was in many ways quite unidimensional. Powerful hold, however, over cultural governance. In his presence, people cave and buckle. As he perverts and ruins.
Sauron's was a Spectral realm of a bound of territorial 'hold' over 'Ea' - in a mis-design and marring. None of his 'creations' were particularly 'living'. Necromancy, undead, things of simple, greed-based - almost idiocy. There's a thread about what Sauron's world would have looked like. Dark dust bowl. Nothing really having fun. Orcs and their 'festivities'. When there was nothing to hack at (Elves) I suspect they would turn on each other. They could never unify, except by external governance (Sauronic will). I suppose, also, there was 'lordlyness' somewhere in there. The Witchking laughed, spoke, made decisions about 'who' was his primary target during battle. He certainly held power of Lore and Spell. They certainly had presence, even if that was life draining. Certain realm of influence, in the Wraith-other-world that Elves somehow can 'see' yet where they vary in 'otherworld' form. Was Sauron 'Omni-present' in a Nazgul head - I would say so.
This last one seems most closely aligned with Ravers.