Fëanor remains an iconic, important, and polarizing character in Tolkien’s legendarium, and I love him. I love him, and I find him to be one of Tolkein’s most layered and interesting figures. Truly not a villain, far from a hero. Here, I will go into detail about his family, the forging of the silmarils, what the cost of forging them truly was, his mental health decline, and a bit about his relationship with Morgoth. Fëanor: the obsessed artist, the innovator, the king, and a madman. A loving son and father, who is so selfish still despite that. He died and lived as his namesake, Spirit of Fire.
Fëanor was the oldest son of Finwë, first king of the noldorian elves. Fëanor, however, had a different mother than his four other half siblings. Finwë's first wife was Míriel, and Fëanor proved to be a difficult pregnancy for her. As he grew, he sapped all the energy out of her spirit. His birth would be very intense, and Míriel couldn't take it. Chapter 6, pg 63 of The Silmarillion covers the birth of Fëanor. A paragraph reads: “In the bearing of her son, Míriel was consumed in spirit and body; and after his (Fëanor) birth she yearned for release from the labor of living. And when she had named him, she said to Finwë, “Never again should I bear child, for the strength that would have nourished the life of many, as gone forth into Fëanor.” Finwë attempted to get his wife help and to let her heal, but it was fruitless. It is noted that Finwë was saddened that Míriel wouldn't remain to see even that early days of their son's youth.
Mírel's death and Fëanor not having a relationship with her really contextualizes a lot of things about Fëanor. He's the only elf born in Aman to have a single parent, and despite being born in the blessed realm, Fëanor has some understanding of what death is, and what it's like to be different. The circumstances around Míriel's death seem to be pretty open, and at times I wonder if Fëanor blamed himself for her demise. He also likely felt othered already, and despite his swift growth and immense knowledge, Fëanor carries the absence of his mother on his shoulders. He is very protective over her memory.
What I do find incredibly interesting are Míriel's final words. Written on page 64 of The Silmarillion: “It is indeed unhappy, and I would weep if I were not so weary. But hold me blameless in this and all that comes after.”
Those words imply that Míriel had some sort of foresight, and had an inkling of all that her son would achieve, for both great and bad. I believe that she passed a bit of that gift to her son, as his foresight is actually mentioned a few times in the story. We'll get to that later.
It is written that Finwë long grieved his first wife. He poured all the love he had for her into their son. To Finwë, Fëanor was the most beloved. Fëanor was born with a great strength of spirit, and he grew up swiftly. “He became all of the noldor, then or after, the most subtle in mind and the most skilled in hand.” Fëanor was impressive, smarter and greater than many of the other elves, while he was proud, I don't always find his immense pride completely unfounded. He should be proud of all that he has accomplished.
Even apart from the silmarils, Fëanor had many great and important works under his belt. Great and many beautiful crafts and gemstones, The Palantrìri, The Fëanorian lamps, and The Tengwar (The Fëanorian alphabet) It is the most used writing system in Arda, and it is the basis for most written languages, and all of the elvish dialects.
Here, I will begin to cover the start of his relationship with his wife and his sons. Nerdanel and he married when they were still very young, and had seven sons together. They both shared a great love of knowledge and art, and they both shared a strong spirit and will, though Nerdanel is said to be more understanding and patient than her husband. She always sought to listen and understand, then dominate and conquer as her husband was prone to do. Luckily, she passed her temperament down to some of her sons, though not to all. Fëanor and Nerdanel were close for many years, and she was able to stoke the flames of Fëanor's spirit for a long while, but they eventually grew estranged. For Fëanors actions later in life would saden Nerdanel greatly, and he would stop trusting her counsel.
Their relationship is interesting to me and speaks volumes about what Fëanor valued. He loved all art and knowledge, and valued Nerdanel's strength of spirit. Nerdanel was no lords daughter, and Fëanor married her despite others finding her below his station. It was always clear that Fëanor followed his heart and spirit more than what was expected of him. Its also an example of how Fëanor gradually changes, as he and Nerdanel were married thousands of years before they grew apart.
I find it a very common misconception that Fëanor didn't love and adore all his children. Obviously, he did play favorites and was closest to his 5th son, Curufinwë, (which is also Fëanor's father name) who was said to be most like him. In a way, Fëanor mirrored his father in the regard of having a favorite child, but also like his father he loved the rest of them and desired to have a large successful family. Almost all of his children have feats of great renown, all of them are of sharp mind and talent, and Fëanor was likely proud of them. Finwë was, after all, the person Fëanor held in the highest regard, and they shared counsel with each other always. Fëanor and fatherhood go hand in hand, and I believe at the beginning, Fëanor was a very strong and supportive presence to his sons, like his father was to him.
When it came to his family, Fëanor was very possessive. He heavily guarded his father and his sons, and resented that Finwë even remarried. He was jealous that Finwë had love for his other children as well to a noticeable degree.
In fact, Fëanor's most complicated relationship is with Finwë's other children. At this point Fëanor was the only elf born in Aman that didn't have both of his parents. For all of Fëanor's impressive feats and all his knowledge, Fëanor was alone in the fact that he didn't have his mother. Fëanor likely resented his half siblings for having a mother, and for Finwë giving plenty of love to them as well.
Fëanor was most estranged with Finwë's other two sons, Fingolfin and Finarfin. Fëanor was very bitter at the fact that Finwë eventually remarried, and it seemed that Finwë didn't do very much to help mend the rift between his sons, which was to their detriment. Fingolfin was the other sibling closer to Finwë, and was very beloved by the noldor, it was him that Fëanor seemed to resent the most.
In Fëanor's early life we see the parts of him that aren't the best, the envy and bitterness that he has in him that many other elves don't have, but we also see a creative young mind, and an elf that desires to work towards a better future for both his family, and the elves of Aman.
Now, Fëanor's downfall and descent into mental turmoil begins with two events: The Unchaining of Melkor and The Forging of the Silmarils. Melkor's role in the darkness of Fëanor often gets overlooked, as well as the exact context of Fëanor's exile.
The forging of the silmarils begins in chapter 7. That is where Fëanor's foresight is at last mentioned. Page 67 of The Silmarillion reads: “For Fëanor, coming into his full might, was filled with new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near, and he pondered how the light of the trees might be preserved imperishable.” Thus, Fëanor began his secret forging of the silmarils, the greatest works of all the noldor. Three gems that held the light of the trees within them. These gems are were the doom of the noldor really begins and the future of Middle-Earth as well.
The silmarils have a really similar sway on the hearts of others in a way that is akin to the One Ring. To me, it’s because the ring and the silmarils hold something similar within them, a piece of their maker's spirit. As elves and maia both carry powerful spirits within themselves - and no one had a soul that burned brighter and more powerfully than Fëanor's did. More than the light of the trees resided within them. “All that dwelt in Aman were filled with wonder and delight of the work of Fëanor.” Varda herself even loved them, and she hallowed them, so no evil could touch them without burning and withering away. Mandos however knew they would eventually have a role in the fall of the noldor.
Fëanor was immediately attached to his work. He became obsessed with them. The idea of preserving the trees was gone, and he coveted the gems with a glaring possessiveness. He loved the silmarils most among all of his great works, and wholly believed he could never make something to their likeness again.
Fëanor wasn't the only one that was obsessed with the gems, for no one coveted them more than Melkor. Who already looked upon the great works of the noldor with great lust and envy. The moment he gazed upon the silmarils, he desired most to obtain them for himself. Once Melkor's jail stint in Mandos is over, Melkor begins a plan to divide the noldor from the Valar, and obtain Fëanor's gems. Melkor got readily to work. The noldor already had an open ear relationship with the Valar, and they welcomed Melkor among them. Unfortunately, this would prove to be an irreversible mistake. Melkor began to sow lies into the ears of the noldorian elves with the intent to ruin their relationship with the rest of the valar. Melkor even spoke to them of the coming of men, and sowed the idea of the elves being replaced. Some of the noldorian elves began to believe his lies, and the noldor, in all their pride, turned away from the valar. Notably among them was Fëanor. Who truly desired freedom among all else, and hardly liked being underneath the rule of anyone.
This is where we truly see Fëanor's behavior begin to change. The Silmarils, which harbor the pieces of Fëanor that are bright and beautiful have been forged, leaving a huge toll on Fëanor's spirit. On top of that, Melkor's lies began to sow their seed. He became even more possessive of his gems, and utterly paranoid that they will be taken from him. While Melkor himself desired the gems, he had planted the idea in Fëanor's head that all the valar coveted them, and that the silmarils would be stolen from him. In his fear, Fëanor began to lock the jewels away. He only permitted his sons and his father to be the ones that were allowed to see them.
Seeing that his lies were working, and that Fëanor was trusting his council, Melkor got to work isolating Fëanor further from the valar - and from his family. Melkor begins to tell Fëanor even more lies, among them was that Fingolfin was planning on usurping their father, and denying Fëanor his own claim to the throne. The only thing that Fëanor valued more than his own great works was his family - chief among them his beloved father.
All of the lies and devices of Melkor began to grow and take seed, Melkor convinced the noldor to begin to forge weapons and armor in secret. Fëanor himself made swords and armor in the most secret, just for him and all his sons. Before long, Fëanor began to openly speak about rebelling against the valar.
Finwë began to grow deeply concerned for his beloved son's well being, and for the safety of all his people. Finwë called all the noldorian lords to council, but Fingolfin arrived to speak to his father privately first. Fëanor then arrived fully armed and armored into his father's halls, and heard his brother speaking to his father. Then and there, Fëanor drew his blade upon his brother, and chased him from his father's halls. Very public was Fëanor's threat to his brother. All of the elf-lords witnessed it. “See! Half-brother, this blade is sharper than thy tongue. Try once more to usurp my place and the love of my father, and maybe it will rid the Noldor of one who seeks to be the master of thralls.” Fëanor said this threat to his brother, and Fingolfin just walked away from his enraged brother in calm silence.
In that act, the unrest of the Noldor had become apparent to the Valar; they summoned Fëanor to the Ring of Doom to question him about his rebelliousness and his bitterness. Eventually, they trace the root of the problems all back to Melkor and his lies. The Valar still decide to exile Fëanor for threatening his brother's life, and sowing unrest. In exile, Fëanor brings his sons with him, and after some time, Finwë joins his son in exile. He vows he won't return to his kingdom until his son is pardoned. He gives the crown to Fingolfin temporarily in his stead. Despite being discovered and having to flee for a time, Melkor's lies have worked. Fëanor's relationship with his brother never recovers, and the unrest of the noldor is too great to put at ease.
Melkor isn't found within Valinor for some time, but one day he does appear at Fëanor's doorstep. Melkor tries to convince Fëanor that he wants to help Fëanor flee the Valar, Fëanor considers Melkor's words for a moment, until Melkor gets too eager and mentions the Silmarils. In that moment Fëanor sees through Melkor and his desires. “Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail-crow of Mandos!” and he (Fëanor) shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers in Eä.” I can say with certainty that this is one of the most iconic parts of The Silmarillion.
Rereading the relevant chapters of The Silmarillion for this analysis has made it apparently clear to me how dear Finwë was to Fëanor and vice versa. It is mentioned several times in the text that Fëanor had the most of his father's love, and that Finwë was willing to give up his crown to go forth into exile with this son. Fëanor always trusted his father, and always held him in the highest honor. At this point in the story, Fëanor has already begun to slip, and the true madness is starting to show. The darkness of Melkor and the crafting of the Silmarils have taken their toll, and Fëanor is starting to really shift. The fire inside of him is burning too
hot. He was becoming dangerous.
Despite that, Finwë has always stood beside his son, and has always been Fëanor's closest and most trusted companion. Finwë never reacted to any of Fëanor's misdeeds with anything other than concern. He loved his son, and was afraid at how troubled he had become.
Let us not forget that Fëanor also always had his sons near him and trusted them always. For they were very dear to him as well. I find his love for his family adds to the tragedy of the House of Fëanor, he loved his sons but in his madness at the end of his life, he damned them all to a terrible fate. Soon, we will arrive at the rebellion of the noldor and witness their doom truly begin to take hold. I always refer to Fëanor as the first individual noldorian tragedy. He really caused their ruination in the long run, all in his grief and rage.
Melkor did eventually return to Valinor with a cruel plan to destroy the two trees of light and steal the Silmarils. To do so, Melkor enlisted the help of a creature unlike any other. Ungoliant. A spider-like creature that lived only to devour all light. The two of them wait for a time of Festival in Aman before they enact their plan. During that time, Manwë asks Fëanor to speak with him in the Ring of Doom. Fingolfin was there as well. Manwë urged the brothers to reconcile, and Fingolfin forgave Fëanor, and told him he will always love his brother and that he will follow Fëanor always. Though, Fingolfin doesn't know what his promise to his brother will bring.
Ungoliant and Melkor take their chance to descend upon the trees. Ungolinat devoured all the life and light from them and they withered and died. Valinor was then plunged into complete darkness. Yavanna's solution to save the trees is to ask Fëanor to open the Silmarils - as their light now remained only in Fëanor's jewels. Fëanor didn't immediately answer them and was quiet for a moment. Aulë, seemingly understanding that the gems are part of Fëanor, told them all to give Fëanor a moment, for they do not understand what they asked of him. After Aulë spoke, Fëanor gave his answer. His dialog there is very insightful to me because I believe it's further evidence that Fëanor put a part of his spirit into the Silmarils. Chapter 9, page 78 of The Silmarillion reads: “But Fëanor spoke then, and cried bitterly: “For the less, even as for greater, there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only; and in that deed his heart shall rest. It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like; and if I must break them, I shall break my heart, and I shall be slain; first of all the Eldar in Aman.”” Fëanor expresses then that if he could open up the Silmarils, destroying them would destroy him.
In that moment, Fëanor looked upon all the valar as if they were enemies surrounding him. They had done as Melkor had foretold - and demanded the silmarils from him. None of them were any different from Melkor to him, and his fear and paranoia came flooding back to him.
Suddenly and urgently, messengers came into the Ring of Doom to tell Manwë that Melkor had come and killed The High King Finwë on the steps of his son's house, and had stolen the silmarils that were locked tightly away. Marking Finwë the first elf truly slain in Aman, and the trees of light were unable to be saved.
Fëanor snaps then and there. A line on page 79 reads. “Then Fëanor ran from the Ring of Doom and fled into the night; for his father was dearer to him than all the light of Valinor, or the peerless works of his hands; and who among sons, of elves or of men, have held their fathers of greater worth?”
Finwë was most dear to Fëanor, and he is inconsolable at the senseless murder of his father. In Aman. By one of the Valar. Finwë's death was not only pointless, but never should have happened. The loss of his father and the theft of the Silmarils were too much for Fëanor to bear.
Utterly given into his madness and enraged, Fëanor gathered all of the noldor, and called them to rebel against the Valar. Most sided with Fëanor or his brother, Fingolfin, who decided to stand beside Fëanor. He gathered the noldor to leave Aman, and made his sons swear the Oath of Fëanor. Calling the endless darkness upon themselves if they don't obtain the Silmarils for themselves. Truly, what I consider to be the most evil deed he's ever done, as he drags his own sons down with him to doom.
To most effectively leave Valinor, they needed boats. Fëanor's solution was to simply just take the boats from the teleri elves, as they were great mariners. Fëanor begged the teleri king for the boats, and he was denied. Fëanor decided that they were just going to steal the boats.
The teleri elves started to push back against Fëanor's host of elves trying to steal the one-of-a-kind swan boats. Teleri elves began to push fully armored noldorian elves overboard the boats, and swords ended up drawn as the intensity of the situation grew. A bloody fight ensued, and when Fingolfin's host (led by Fingon his son) arrived, the teleri elves were overrun by the noldorian hosts.
This marked the first kinslaying. Fëanor, having obtained the boats, had spilled blood to do so. They had passed the point of no return. Some of Fëanor's host takes the boats by sea and some travel by land. Undeterred by the slaying of the teleri, the noldor continued their march out of Aman. Eventually, they arrived at the northern confines of the Guarded Realm, and they were met there by a hooded figure. Mandos then spoke of a curse and a prophecy. The Doom of the Noldor. Fëanor took no mind to the prophecy, and in his madness continued the march. He no longer cared about the consequences he may face. All he wanted to do was obtain the silmarils again, and avenge the murder of his father.
The two hosts (Fëanor's and Fingolfin's) came upon the Helcaraxë and all its seemingly endless ice. Fëanor was presented with two choices, they sail by the boats that cannot fit everyone, or they make the journey across the treacherous ice. Fëanor decided that the Helcaraxë was impossible to cross, and he opted to use the boats, but the boats were too few to carry the entire host, so Fëanor and his sons (and their loyal followers) decided to take over the boats for themselves and took to the sea. Fëanor abandoned Fingolfin's host on the ice. (Cold blooded Fëanor, Cold blooded)
Fëanor had no intention of sending the boats back to Fingolfin's host. He orders them burned. Fëanor is truly lost now, for he has seemed to have lost all of his care for anything, but his own desire for revenge. He wants to continue on as swiftly as possible, and damn anyone who tries to slow him down.
It almost reads, through all this time, that there's two halves of Fëanor. An artist, a family man, a lover of crafting, and knowledge, and light. There's something so lovely and magnetizing about that part of Fëanor. I do believe that part of him now forever lives in the light of Silmarils, and the other parts of Fëanor grew and festered in the places where his spirit once was whole: The anger and bitterness and madness. A spirit of fire, untamable and dangerous. The shadow of Morgoth, (Morgoth being the name given to Melkor by Fëanor himself), had taken its hold in his mind, and it never let him go.
Fëanor's time in Middle-Earth, however, was short lived. The burning of the boats had attracted forces of Morgoth, and Fëanor's host was attacked. Despite being taken by surprise, the noldor host was swiftly victorious and drove off Morgoth's host. Fëanor, blinded by rage and madness, kept behind the host of orcs. Seeking to follow them all back to where Morgoth was dwelling. Fëanor pressed on too harshly, and found himself surrounded by something a bit more dangerous than orcs. Fëanor fought the balrogs for a long while, undeterred by his burns and injuries, until he was beaten to the ground by Gothmog, lord of the balrogs. His sons and their forces caught up to them, and the balrogs fled back to Angband. His sons attempted to carry him back to their camp, but Fëanor knew it was his time. He demands his sons to lay him down on the ground.
In his final moments, he still doesn't find clarity. Nothing mattered much more to him than his gems anymore. Even knowing at that moment that the noldor wouldn't be able to win a fight against Morgoth, he makes his sons re-swear the oath instead of releasing them from it. There they vow once again to obtain the silmarils - or call the Endless Darkness upon them.
Then Fëanor dies. He goes unlike any other elf, for his body burns to ash as if suddenly set ablaze, and there ends Fëanor, spirit of fire, king of the noldor.
Tolkien has many characters I find layered and fascinating. Fëanor I still feel is his most interesting one. A visionary, an anti-hero of sorts, the first true tragedy of the legendarium. Many people hate him, and find him wholly selfish and villainous. Though his final actions may not be the wisest or the gentlest, I always find myself finding understanding in him. Fëanor was not lost to evil - he was lost ultimately to madness and grief. His rebellion against the Valar and betrayal of his half brother do not lie just within to retrieve the Silmarils - a piece of him that he has lost - but to avenge the senseless murder of his beloved father.
Fëanor was also successfully manipulated and isolated from his family by Morgoth. The lies of Melkor affected his relationship with his brother, all of the noldor, the valar, and even played into the estrangement Fëanor had with Nerdanel. His own growing mental issues (paranoia chief among them) and his manipulation by Morgoth is something I find often overlooked. Melkor, as seen with several examples, is more than a manipulator. He is an abuser. He isolates, manipulates, and holds power of his victim with ease. Fëanor was not weak, nor was he a fool. It goes to show that anyone could be manipulated and used, and it doesn't make you lesser for it.
Fëanor wasn't some abusive, dead beat father who tossed his wife aside. He loved his wife and married her despite others believing she was beneath his station, he raised seven incredible children who loved him till the end, and he loved his father above all. Fëanor constantly made inventions to make the ways of life much easier, and was known to make gifts for those he held in high friendship and regard. Towards the end, he hoarded his most prized artwork, and put his friends in harm's way. Not because he was always a villain, but because there is something missing in Fëanor at that point, something in him that's snapped and can't be repaired.
Fëanor was also highly independent and intelligent. He was prone to work alone - and always marched to the beat of his own drum. The moment he felt that the valar wanted to control him, he began to push back. A fire set free is impossible to control and difficult to put out.
Fëanor split his spirit into pieces forging a piece of art that can never be done again, and with it kickstarted the events that, ironically, do lead to the eventual downfall of Morgoth. He died as he lived, always pressing forward and never looking back. A blaze that burned up everything around it.
Fëanor is Tolkien’s most conflicting and polarizing character, and there's always many arguments and interpretations to be had of his character, but textually speaking, I find him a good but flawed man who was taken in by his own mental illness. There's even the splitting of his soul - a really interesting metaphor for how it feels to have a personality disorder. He's highly intelligent and artistic, and it is known that genius and madness often go hand in hand, and Fëanor is an example of that.
Fëanor was also someone who didn't sit idle in anything, and I admire his tenacity to get things done. Morgoth killed Finwë, and while the Valar were content to sit and weep over the trees, Fëanor rallied the noldor to his cause and got to Middle-Earth. He was disgusted at the Valar's inaction, and so pressed onwards himself. There is something to be said about Fëanor, if the noldor hadn't gone to Middle-Earth, the fate of the world may be very different.