May. 19th, 2013

[identity profile] pandemonium-213.livejournal.com
Recently, a discussion ensued on Tumblr[1] that addressed two theses pertaining to the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. Silm fans have wrestled with this topic ad nauseum, and it would seem some folks who are relatively new to the fandom are likewise considering it. I do not necessarily have a horse in this race, but I tried to follow the discussion as best I might, so I am distilling it down to the following (numerical order for convenience, not for weight):

Thesis 1, Materialism: The Kinslaying at Alqualondë ultimately was due to the refusal to give up possessions, i.e., Fëanor's refusal to turn aside from his quest to regain the Silmarilli and Olwë's refusal to give up his ships to the Noldorin cause.

ETA: Please to note that the term "Materialism" is derived from what appears to be a prevailing theme in the original Tumblr discussion, re: "In Tolkien’s world, people are very materialistic." Maybe there's more nuanced thought there, but in that discussion, the notion that possessiveness and possessions were precipitators of the conflict seems prevalent. So, if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it ain't a platypus.

Thesis 2, Difference of World View: The theft of the Silmarilli were incidental in the rebellion and subsequent flight of the Noldor; they were primed for rebellion as the result of a complex array of reasons. Fëanor et alia expected Olwë to understand and support his cause, but when he was refused, blood was shed and the ships were hijacked.

Anyone (Bueller?) please feel free to elaborate on the two theses and give us your take on them. Even if we're repeating ourselves here, hey, we do like to talk about this stuff! Bear in mind that these are only two proposed theses. Certainly, there are others that may be a blending of the two or altogether different.

Here are a couple of links (incomplete, I would guess, because my impression is that there were many more comments and positions taken on other Tumblr blogs, but due to the ephemeral nature of posts on Tumblr, it's damned hard to search for them):

Elleth brought the Alqualondë issue to attention. Again, my impression is that there were other sidebars, but I may be wrong there.

A bit of disagreement on Theses 1 and 2, hence my comment (as Prof. Thû) as a facilitator of sorts to take it outside. ;^)

This is likely rehashing old stuff for a number of folks (First Wave Silmfans, Second Wave Silmfans - I'm one of the latter), but for new fans (Third Wave?), it might be useful. Or not.

As noted, discussions on these topics can get...passionate. Remember, it's quite possible to disagree vehemently with another and still remain friends, or at least collegial!

So go talk amongst yourselves. Then we'll go have beer. Or wine. Or tea.

[1] A few folks have expressed dissatisfaction for Tumblr as a platform for discussion, so the suggestion to take this to email or an LJ was made. Upon conferring with Dawn, the Silm Community LJ seemed as good a place as any. An advantage over the SWG Yahoo group is that one needn't register to make comments here. I believe anonymous comments may be made as well, but I think this will be screened by the community mods.

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