Subcreation and Free Will

In this post, I’d like to discuss the relationship between the ability and right of creation and free will in the Silmarillion.

Free Will, by Tolkien’s own definition, is “derivative, and is . . . only operative within provided circumstances; but in order that it may exist, it is necessary that the Author should guarantee it, whatever betides: sc. when it is ‘against His Will’ . . . at any rate as it appears on a finite view.” (Letters 294) Within the legendarium, this could be equated with the right to sub-create, as Tolkien further explains that “He gave special ‘sub-creative’ powers to certain of His highest created beings: that is a guarantee that what they devised and made should be given the reality of Creation.” (Letters 295) In his letters, Tolkien is making reference to the Catholic God when he discusses the Maker who "gave special ‘sub-creative’ powers”, while in The Silmarillion, the equivalent is Eru/Ilúvatar, as he “showed to [the Valar] a vision, giving to them a sight where before was only hearing; and they saw a New World made before them.” (QS 5) What distinguishes the divine being in Tolkien’s mythology from non-deified ones, in this case, is the power and right of creation — that is, world-making. Yet, this power and “Will” is not excluded entirely from the children of Eru, since even Melkor's discordance in the Great Music, with his resentment and jealousy, remained in the melody and eventually became part of it. It is valid to claim, then, that sub-creation, or “Free Will,” endowed upon elves and human beings, is an extended part of sacred creation. However, the product of sub-creation does not always correspond to the theme of creation, with Melkor as an apt example. This being the case, the power of sub-creation will not be withdrawn from the sub-creators, nor will their products or creatures be unmade, which Tolkien calls “a guarantee that what they devised and made should be given the reality of Creation.” (295) I find this dimension of the permitted sub-creation and its physical, material realization in the world, particularly intriguing. From this perspective, what results from sub-creation is just as concrete and “real” as those that emerge from divine creation. Can we then, in this particular context, arrive at a common understanding that Free Will in Tolkien’s theory is a decisive force, a driving potential that is capable of transcending the sub-creators themselves?

It is necessary to bring Fëanor into this discussion at this moment. During class discussion, someone raised the point that the creation of the Silmarils involves the capturing of the light from the Trees, which raises questions about the originality of the gems. Indeed, despite the fact that the Silmarils are considered a masterpiece that even Fëanor himself is unable to remake, they are not created entirely ex nihilo, as what is essential to the Silmarils is the light of the Trees they contain. The Silmarils, then, could also be interpreted as products of Free Will, as Fëanor, their creator, is endowed with the talent that leads him to become a kind of sub-creator who draws upon an originary element (i.e., the light of the Trees) and incorporates it into his own work. After Varda consecrated those gems, it seems that the Silmarils truly transcend the sub-creation from which they originate and become genuinely sacred objects. This can therefore tie to the question raised in class discussion of whether the Silmarils are alive or possess consciousness. One passage in QS that bears on this question is the fact that the Silmarils would burn those of evil intent who dare to lay their hands on them, such as Morgoth, which makes them capable of functioning as instruments of judgement. Even till the very end, those jewels remain uncontaminated and pure, still refusing the touch of the dishonorable. Fëanor, the creator of the jewels, with Free Will being granted to him, is fully capable of falling and turning to a darker path; yet, the product of his Free Will,  his sub-creation, would not fall or be disgraced because of his deeds. In this case, the Silmarils bend to no will but their own or the will of the divine. When the story of the Quenta Silmarillion comes to an end, the Silmarils remain forever beyond the grasp of the Children of Ilúvatar, which also indicates that their fate is even beyond the reach of the Valar, let alone the elves and men. While it is guaranteed that the products of sub-creation will never be deprived of their material existence within the world, regardless of the intentions behind their making, the ultimate fate of the Silmarils is reflected in the resting places they come to occupy.

Thus, what is Free Will? It is a divinely regulated power bestowed upon the Children of Eru, which carries within it the possibility of transcendence, not for the sub-creator, but for the sub-created. What is brought into being through Free Will is not permanently bound to the fate or the moral trajectory of its maker. It is released into the divine order as an entity in its own right, subject no longer to the will of its creator, but to the deeper design of the divine plan. The Silmarils are perhaps the most significant embodiment of this, as they are born of Fëanor’s will, yet finally belonging to no will but the divine.

—YW