Exploring Tolkien’s Creativity by Attempting to Identify the Valar

During the discussion in class on Monday, one of the major topics that was brought up for discussion was about the Valar and what they should be identified as. With no clear classification of the Valar during my readings of The Silmarillion and multiple people in class having their own personal thoughts about the subject manner, it is not entirely clear what the Valar are. Tolkien himself does not offer any concrete classification of the Valar either. In fact, when reading Letter 153 in The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien, it appears that even Tolkien does not have a solid answer to this question. For example, in the letter, Tolkien writes, “As for ‘whose authority decides these things?’ The immediate ‘authorities’ are the Valar (the Powers or Authorities): the ‘gods’. But they are only created spirits – of high angelic order we should say, with their attendant lesser angels – reverend, therefore, but not worshipful; and though potently ‘subcreative’, and resident on Earth to which they are bound by love, having assisted in its making and ordering, they cannot by their own will alter any fundamental provision” (Carpenter 193-194).

            With Tolkien not giving a clear answer as to what the Valar should be identified as, the class and I decided to give our own theories about what the Valar represents. One idea that was brought up during the discussion was that if Eru is God of Middle Earth, then the Valar are the angels that serve Him. Considering the amount of Catholic and Christian symbolism Tolkien put in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, this is entirely possible considering that, like God with his angels, Eru created the Valar “of his thought” (Tolkien 15) and that they “made a great Music before him” (Tolkien 15). This indicates that, like the angels in Christianity, the Valar were both subservient beings to Eru and vital in creating the world the way their creator intended. Despite these similar characteristics though, it does not seem likely that the Valar are angels considering that not only are the Valar capable of creating something on their own, something the Christian angels are not able to do, but they are also independent beings with their own thoughts and feelings. In fact, the Valar seem to have more of a personality than the Christian angels ever had.

            If the Valar are not angels, then maybe they are gods, especially since Tolkien himself used the word when describing the Valar in Letter 153. If the Valar are gods, then I believe that the best comparison to make with them is that of the Greek pantheon. Like with the gods in Greek mythology, each member of the Valar are gods who create and watch over a certain aspect of Middle Earth with Manwë serving as the appointed, Zeus-like leader of the Valar. Furthermore, not only can Manwë be compared to Zeus in that they are both sky deities, but like the relationship between Zeus and Poseidon, Manwë had close ties with a water Valar named Ulmos who, according to Tolkien, is both “next in might to Manwë” (Tolkien 17) and “was closest to him in friendship” (Tolkien 17).

However, like the comparison with the Christian angels, it also appears unlikely that the Valar are polytheistic gods like the Greek pantheon because of two distinct reasons. The first being that unlike Zeus, who was a flawed being who indulged himself in numerous moments of lustful desires, Manwë appeared to be a kind, passionate ruler who “is dearest to Ilúvatar and understands most clearly his purposes” (Tolkein 16). Additionally, unlike in Greek mythology where the Greek gods were the only deities in existence, in Middle Earth, the only reason the Valar even came to existence was because of the will of Eru, and in gratitude for what Eru has done for them, they strive to work with him in establishing the Song of Creation.

So, if the Valar are not exactly angels, but they are not exactly gods either, then what are they? As frustrating as it may be, no matter how many different comparisons people will try to use to classify the Valar, there really is no definitive answer, and I think Tolkien did that on purpose. Tolkien made it clear that he wanted to create a modern mythology for England seeing as almost every other country and culture has its own. In doing so, Tolkien also wanted his mythology to be uniquely its own without having any direct comparisons to other mythologies. Therefore, it seems that whenever Tolkien is asked to provide a strict definition for something within his world, he fails to do so because, from his perspective, there is not a modern, English equivalent to his Middle Earth creations.

For example, in Letter 131 of The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien, when Tolkien is describing the language to Milton Waldman, he writes, “But to those creatures which in English I call misleadingly Elves are assigned two related languages more nearly completed” (Carpenter 143). While the quotation used primarily discussed the language of Middle Earth, the words Tolkien used to describe the Elves is fascinating because, from his perspective, there is not a modern English equivalent of what these creatures in his novels are. Therefore, Tolkien uses the word, “Elf”, to describe these creatures because while the term may be a bit misleading to him, it is the only word that can both describe the creatures in a manner that fits Tolkien’s vision and help his readers understand what they exactly are.

Therefore, if the “elves” in Tolkien’s novels lack a modern, English equivalent, then maybe the Valar lack a modern, English equivalent as well. It may be why in Letter 153 he uses the word ‘gods’ in quotations when describing the Valar because the word, ‘god’ is also the closest term in the English language that can both classify the Valar in a way that fits Tolkien’s vision and helps his audience understand what to view the Valar as. It may also explain why the Valar in The Silmarillion have certain characteristics like that of the polytheistic religions of Ancient Greece and Rome and the monotheistic elements of Christianity. These elements are simply there to help readers better understand what the Valar are and what their role is in Tolkien’s grand story and world. It may not be the most satisfying way to properly explain the classification of the Valar, but considering that Tolkien restricted was by the modern, English language while writing these books, I can only imagine how frustrated he is about all of this.

-TL

Sources used:

Tolkien, J.R.R. Letters. Houghton Mifflin, 1981

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Silmarillion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1977