Tragic flaw of the Hurin family

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

What I was saying, though, was not simply that Morgoth won in a battlefield sense, but that he succeeded in perverting one of the greatest of Men: ruining Hurin, turning him into an agent of evil, was a far greater victory than merely killing him. The goal of the Devil after all is not our death but our damnation.

The last sentence is undoubtedly true.

But how "perverted" did Húrin become?
I see it as analogous to the difference between the much later falls of Saruman and Denethor.

Saruman actively aided Sauron, whether as a true ally, or for his own evil ends.
Denethor never stopped opposing Sauron, but the latter's superior will overcame Denethor's resistance, and convinced him the West could not win.

Húrin did not become an ally of Morgoth, nor did he willingly help him in any way. At the time of his release, he was simply a broken man, physically and spiritually, who had seen the loss of everything he loved, and had stopped caring.

In that sense, Sauron was much more a victim of Morgoth than Húrin ever was.