Session 5-19: Differing Perspectives of Men and Elves
Discussion of Episode 1 B-plot
Before going to live in Gondolin, Aredhel went on a tour of Beleriand, which led her to doubt the feasibility of keeping Morgoth in leaguer. She saw Gondolin as a place where they could hide and build an army and eventually attack when Ulmo sends them a message (based on older story from Book of Lost Tales). Gondolin was a means to an end. However, Turgon and many of the Gondolindrim are coming to think of Gondolin as an end in itself. Aredhel leaves because she thinks Turgon is not following his mission. She is a tragic figure for foreseeing Turgon’s failure, but she is not able to correct it by herself. Her efforts to help with the leaguer are futile, and she makes bad decisions later on when she meets Eöl. She is also going against Ulmo’s directive by leaving Gondolin prematurely. Aredhel’s impulse is similar to what Fingolfin’s impulse to attack Morgoth.
In Episode 1, Turgon gives a speech in Gondolin. Aredhel notices that, while he is praising the city, he is not talking about the future or the plan for Gondolin. When Aredhel confronts Turgon later in the episode, he is surprised that she is upset and believes he is fulfilling Ulmo’s purpose. Turgon has a more long-term, Elflike view. Aredhel’s view is more human. Turgon sees Gondolin as a refuge. Not just from Morgoth, but from change as a whole, kind of like Lothlórien in the Third Age. Aredhel should say that Turgon has changed. The Gondolindrim are turning inwards; they now see themselves as separate from the rest of Beleriand. Turgon will not disagree with her, he will just see her concerns as overexaggerated and Aredhel herself as impatient.
There is a 15-year gap between Episodes 1 and 2. Turgon gives his blessing to her plan to leave in Episode 1; Aredhel actually leaves in Episode 2. This is not weird because they are Elves. In Episode 2, there is a public ceremony in which Turgon explains that Aredhel is going on an embassy to Fingolfin so the public does not think Aredhel is just getting an exception to the no-one-leaves-Gondolin rule.
Both Aredhel and Turgon are correct; there is just a tragic misunderstanding. Turgon was right to foresee that bad things would happen if Aredhel left Gondolin, which will be confirmed when she dies later in the season.
Pengolodh is an unsung hero. He is the compiler of the Silmarillion. In this episode, he can show the Gondolindrim perspective because he has never known anything but Gondolin. He sees Gondolin as the whole world; Aredhel thinks about all of Beleriand.
Frame Story in Episode 1
The teaser of this episode establishes where Harad is and that there is distrust between Gondor and Harad because they were enemies in the past. There is trade between Gondor and Harad, but they are not at war or even preparing for war … yet. The captain calls Gandalf “Gandalf,” not “Mithrandir.” Perhaps Gandalf could introduce himself as Incánus in Gondor.
Harad might visually look like northern Africa, but without the distinctly Muslim cultural influences. We don’t want Gondor and Harad to look like Christian vs. Muslim.
It has been 30-40 years since Incánus has been to this town in Harad. Incánus is welcomed like he is in Hobbiton. The younger son has heard about stories about Incánus, but he doesn’t remember him personally. The Queen of the city-state remembers Incánus and is surprised that he appears the same as when he visited previously. The main characters have Adûnaic names and Númenórean heritage. This is part of why Gandalf was interested in the city-state.
Differences between Men and Elves
The lifetime of a human is about the time it takes an Elf to grow from childhood to maturity. Especially in Nargothrond, we can show children aging at different rates. Elves might seem condescending to Men. Because Men are the same ages of children, they might speak to them like children. This would be somewhat like when teenagers want adults to see them as equals, but Elves would not have had the same experience. Fingon might see Hador entering his service as taking custody of a child. Hador proving himself would help earn respect for all Men.
Evolution of Elves’ understanding of Men: Men die in extremely short periods of time (Bëor) -> Men can be useful and productive despite their short lifespans (Hador)
Elves will come to realize what Men can accomplish as a whole in their short lifespans. One place where this can come up is Finrod’s visit to the House of Bëor after they have moved to the frontier. He may have reservations about how long it will take them to adapt, but when he visits, he will see that their society has transformed.
The living memory of Elves is more than the generational tradition of Men. Men will more quickly forget who they are and where they came from. Men might revere the Elves because of their long memories and wisdom. This might be kind of like how the Hobbits in LOTR react to the Elves. Even though the Finrod clarifies that the Elves are not Valar, Men might see something godlike about Elves. Elves might try to adapt their thoughts to Men in consideration of Men’s limited memories. They would not try to tell Men all the stories about their ancestors, but they might occasionally bring them up, e.g., Finrod might compare Barahir to Bëor.
Men would learn writing from Elves and use it to preserve their history. This will become more important to Elves as more and more Elves start dying. This would probably come up in Nargothrond. It would correlate with the House of Bëor’s tradition of a wise person being a leader. Andreth will still be the wise woman/record keeper after she retires so Barahir can be leader.
We will come back to talking about the differences between Elves and Men in a later session. The “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” is a great source for this.
