by contra mundum » June 7th, 2007, 3:41 pm
After starting the book, I couldn't put it down, and have now finished. I'm going to do a re-reading to digest a bit more of the detail, but I'll begin with some preliminary comments on chapter 1.
First, this account of Turin's early years alone makes this far more satisfying than the skeletal "Of Turin Turambar" in The Silmarillion, which says virtually nothing of his early years. Already here you can see Turin's character developing along the lines it will continue to follow for the rest of his short life. He is guarded and speaks little, but when he does speak he speaks plainly and literally, and prefers plain, literal speech over suggestion and innuendo. Pity moves him deeply, which is his most endearing virtue, and (not coincidentally) the virtue which most sets him apart from his mother.
Also significant is how Turin's relationship with his family shaped his entire life. His parents were distant--his father physically, his mother emotionally--so he spent his time either alone or in the company of outcast types, like Sador. And he is secretly protective of his younger sister.
Frankly, I don't see how anyone could read about Turin's relationship with Sador and not love him.
As for the mystery of Morwen: I suspect that she is a woman whose feelings run very deep, but she is incapable of articulating or expressing them. While only Tolkien himself could say something like that definitively, and we don't have many clues from the story itself as to whether that is true, that is how I read her character.
Last edited by
contra mundum on June 8th, 2007, 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“Doubt no longer, then, when you see death mocked and scorned by those who believe in Christ, that by Christ death was destroyed . . .”
Athanasius