Given, Not Kept

One of the themes that we have been exploring this week in class is the role of light, gems, and the passing down of objects designed to keep evil away. These objects in Tolkien, as well as the biblical scripture that we read for our class, take the form of jewels, phials, and other beautiful but fragile things. What I found very interesting is how it was given and what follows from characters' choices. Whether given gracefully or hoarded through centuries, we can learn something not only about the giver and the receiver, but the symbolism of the light itself and what it represents. In Tolkien's Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings we are able to see this story in a new framework, focusing on the passage of light from being to being, and what that passage reveals about the one who carries it.

Let us start in the Silmarillion with one of the most important story points in the book: the crafting of the Silmarils. When Fëanor crafts them, he does something truly incredible. He manages to capture the light of the Two Trees into three brilliant gemstones. However, despite this, Fëanor chooses to be possessive of his craftsmanship, despite the hope that these gems would bring peace and beauty back into Arda. He is so possessive that he even refuses to give them to Yavanna when in dire need. His later vow to protect the Silmarils sets off centuries of madness and bloodshed. This is the first (almost) transition. In fact it is the refusal of transition. Fëanor sees the light and beauty as his own creation and thus poisons everything that the Silmarils were supposed to represent. The Silmarils do not represent evil; in fact they are so incredible that their light causes greed and jealousy to spread.

The story continues with Eärendil, who sails to Valinor to beg for mercy. This act is entirely different from that of Fëanor. Eärendil does not keep the Silmaril for himself, but rather uses its light as a light of hope. The light passes from place to place. It goes from being hoarded greedily to being shared in the sky by all of Arda.

By the time that light reaches Frodo in the form of the phial given freely by Galadriel, it is almost unrecognizable from the greed-inducing beauty that once defined these treasures. Galadriel gives the light freely to Frodo with no price, oath, vow, or curse. It is simply a hope given to a traveler on a doomed mission, offered with the blessing that it may be a light in dark places, when all other lights go out. At this point, the meaning of light has changed from mere beauty and power, as Fëanor hoped at the creation of the Silmarils. Instead it is a beacon of comfort and hopefulness to a weary traveler. The light that once inspired wars is now given with a blessing.

What makes this pattern feel so meaningful is the way it mirrors ideas already present in the biblical texts. IIn Revelation, The city of God is not just covered in gems but entirely constituted from them. Its foundations are twelve kinds of precious stone, its gates are pearls, its streets are translucent gold. The light is no longer kept in an object, but is everything and everywhere. Darkness ceases to exist. The jewels no longer have to be passed down. The preservation is over and light is all that exists.

Now this is a lot. What exactly does Tolkien try to communicate with this underlying story? Perhaps we are reading too far into this (but it is Tolkien, and impossible to read too far into). My best guess as to what he was intending to communicate is not merely a story of beauty, but one of morality in the face of great beauty. He challenges us with characters who do different things when confronted by infinite beauty. How does the character carry it? Fëanor holds it with greed. Eärendil holds it in compromise. Galadriel holds it long enough to give it away. And Frodo, who never even wanted it, carries it into the darkest place in Middle-earth and uses it to win.

The storyline shows us that light is no good to anyone if it is hoarded and kept secret. It only works when it is given freely to whoever needs it most.