 Ring Ping!! |
Posted on 01/27/2003 1:56:06 PM PST by ksen
A Tolkien Virgin: Of the Darkening of Valinor
by Mark Edmond The Journey Continues
I don't know what I think of Ungoliant. It seems odd to me that she appears out of nowhere and no one knows where she came from. The idea that she could have been "one of those that [Melkor] corrupted to his service," is weak and practically ridiculous. Ungoliant was an elf? She was "corrupted," escaped Melkor and the other Valar and some how transformed into a giant spider? I don't think so. It's a good thing Tolkien has the "some say" introduction to this lame explanation to fall back on. This is the first time I seriously find myself pleading with Tolkien, "Come on! You can do better than this!"
But then, as far fetched as her possible origins are, check this: didn't Tolkien just get done telling us in the last chapter the Melkor was the mightiest being in all of Ea? If that's the case, then the idea that Melkor could be frightened of Ungoliant is downright silly. Either Tolkien has done a terrible job of describing Melkor up to this point or he's blatantly contradicting the description that he has clearly given us; with the way he tells us Tulkas captured Melkor so easilly earlier in the story, maybe it's the former.
The monstrous spider sucking the life out of the trees and draining Varda's barrels is great imagery, but that doesn't mean that Ungoliant's sudden appearance and "mysterious origins" make any coherent sense with the rest of the story. Are we to expect more beings with "some say" origins to keep popping up over and over suddenly to help the story along? I hope not. What's the point of telling an epic history if you're not going to use it?
I suppose even the greatest writers drop the ball sometimes.
till next time, keep thinking,
Author: mark-edmond
Published: November 15, 1999
The next Tolkien Virgin Article covers: THE SILMARILLION: Of the Flight of the Noldor
Ruh roh.... should we tell 'im?
Ring Ping!! |
|
The Daily Tolkien articles |
The Tolkien Virgin articles |
| ARTICLES 1-10 | 1) Pre-amble and The Ainulindalë |
| ARTICLES 11-20 | 2) Ainulindalë/Valaquenta |
| ARTICLES 21-30 | 3) Of Aule and Yavanna |
| 31) Model Languages: On Tolkien | 4) Of The Coming of Elves and the Captivity of Melkor |
| 32) Beyond The Movie: Author and History | 5) Of Thingol and Melian |
| 33) Beyond The Movie: Language and Culture | 6) Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalie |
| 34) Beyond The Movie: Myth and Storytelling | 7) Of Feanor and the Unchaining of Melkor |
| 35) Who were the real heroes of Middle-earth? | 8) Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor |
| 36) The Undefinable Shadowland | 9) Of the Darkening of Valinor |
| 37) Strange as news from Bree... |
Your Tolkien Virgin Ping! Read along with a Tolkien Virgin as he discovers and comments on the history of Middle Earth as he reads it for the first time. These articles start with The Silmarillion, journeys through The Hobbit, and finishes with the epic Lord Of The Rings. At the pace of 2 articles per week (Mondays and Fridays) the articles will wrap up about the same time that the final movie of the Lord Of The Rings story is released.
If anyone would like for me to ping them directly when I post the Tolkien Virgin articles or my Daily Tolkien articles let me know. I hope that you enjoy them!
I wish the author of this piece would try thinking sometime. I mean, I appreciate he's a neophyte and all, but sometimes I just want to slap him upside the head and ask him, "Weren't you paying attention when you were reading???"
I like this one best. She dwarfs Shelob.
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