Melian among the maia

[Saurondil]

Originally Posted by Belegorn

What's interesting is that the force Melkor had brought together to overrun Beleriand and it's other king Thingol was utterly destroyed by Feanor and his sons and they were the lesser group of the Noldor who had come to Beleriand as the greater numbers were with Fingolfin who had not yet came.

"from it returned all the hosts that he had prepared for the CONQUEST OF BELERIAND no more than a HANDFUL OF LEAVES." [Sil, p. 124]

## Maybe Feanor (& by extension, his sons) were sufficiently (to coin a phrase) "fired up"; like Hurin at the Nirnaeth, killing his 70 orcs. Tolkien may have meant the desperate courage of both, against impossible odds, to be a version of the battle-fury (or "joy of battle") of the Viking berserker - as shown by Theoden & Eomer at the Pelennor. When the odds are desperate, and victory is slipping out of one's grasp/totally out of the question, it's all the more necessary, not less, to go down fighting. Feanor's problem (or part of it), is (to use an Old English term Tolkien refers to at length) ofermod, arrogance:

http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/...es/ofermod.htm

Only someone very arrogant could seriously think of taking on Melkor the Morgoth. OTOH, this kind of stubborn pride has the advantage of nerving the person who has it to keep fighting, even though defeat is staring him in the face. As this courage can be had without pride - as Frodo & Sam & Aragorn show - ISTM that the desperate courage of Feanor shows us something of the tragedy of Feanor: he has great strengths - but his Morgoth-like arrogance warps them, to his destruction & that of those near him. His strength, from being creative, becomes destructive - unlike that of Melian.

Feanor comes across as violent and impulsive, which is fine for a warrior (if he is warrior, & nothing more); "serene" & "peaceful" are two words that don't fit him at all; but they might well describe Melian. She's not passive - though her strength is the kind that can be confused with passivity. Though he is very wise in craft and lore, he has none of Melian's insight into the hearts of Elves & men (another respect in which Galadriel resembles her). He is alarmingly similar (in some ways) to Morgoth & Sauron - perhaps his hatred of Morgoth was (in part) hatred of something he saw in himself. Which may be why Galadriel rejected him even in Valinor.

"The light of Aman was not yet dimmed in their eyes, and they were strong and swift, and deadly in anger, and their swords were long and terrible" - that would have helped Feanor & those with him: as well as his own qualities, his being newly come from Valinor helped to make him formidable.