All the (Silmarillion) Feels is an emotion- and story-focused summary of The Silmarillion. You’ll get facts, but that’s not the point here. Let’s talk themes, meaningful quotes, and moments that made us go “WHOA.” I started this project after falling in love with The Rings of Power television show, so expect me to focus on things to do with Galadriel and Sauron.

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Chapter 2: Of Aulë and Yavanna

The Creation of the Dwarves

This chapter is short (just six pages) but so sweet! Until now, the focus has been on the Valar with little hints of the coming of Elves and Men. You might have noticed one race conspicuously missing from this list: Dwarves! (If you thought I was going to say Hobbits, I’m so sorry, but I don’t think they’re anywhere in The Silmarillion.)

As you may remember from previous chapters, Aulë is the Valar that is all about crafting, building, and creation. He reminds me of Hephaestus. So in the midst of all the Lamp/Tree drama that went down, Aulë decides that Middle-earth needs a race that is “stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity” to resist Melkor’s evil. In secret, he forms the Seven Fathers of Dwarves, one of whom is Durin, “father of that kindred most friendly to the Elves, whose mansions were at Khazad-dûm.”

The only problem? Dwarves were not in Ilúvatar’s creation song, so Aulë is acting beyond the creator’s will…much like Melkor. When Ilúvatar confronts him, however, Aulë is contrite, insisting that rather than create something of his own in order to dominate it, he “desired things other than I am, to love and to teach them, so that they too might perceive the beauty of Eä, which thou hast caused to be.”

In shame over his actions, Aulë takes up his hammer to destroy the Dwarves, and they cower in terror. Ilúvatar stops the killing blow and points out that he has blessed the Valor’s work, giving them true life as they recoiled from Aulë. But! Dwarves cannot be created before Elves and Men, since they are not the foretold Firstborn, so Ilúvatar puts them to sleep until a more appropriate time.

I had remembered this story as mirroring the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, as one of sacrifice, near death, and last-minute salvation. However, there is a key difference between the stories. In The Silmarillion, Ilúvatar does not ask Aulë to kill his son/creation. Aulë moves to do this on his own. Here, Ilúvatar only shows mercy, preventing death and offering life instead.

The Creation of the Ents

When Aulë goes home to Yavanna and tells her what went down at work, she is happy for him, but sad for herself and the things that she loves most: plants. She foresees that “thy children will have little love for the things of my love… They will delve in the earth, and the things that grow and live upon the earth they will not heed. Many a tree shall feel the bite of their iron without pity.”

They have a conversation about ethical consumption, and although Yavanna admits that all the Children of Ilúvatar will use and eat her creations, she can’t help but feel the sting of powerlessness. “Shall nothing that I have devised be free from the dominion of others?” This cry is so relatable, especially coming from a woman. It’s one of the reasons why I find it such a pity Tolkien didn’t write more female characters into his works, because he really does nail some aspects of the feminine experience.

Anyway, Yavanna realizes that she’s primarily concerned for the trees. After all, animals at least have a chance to escape capture or defend themselves, but trees grow slowly and have no defense against destruction. Having learned from the results of Aulë’s secrecy, Yavanna goes to Manwë and asks if she can create something to defend the forests. In the end, they agree that “in the forests shall walk the Shepherds of the Trees.” That’s right: ENTS!

Happy in her success, Yavanna returns to Aulë to tell him that his creations will no longer be able to take from the forests indiscriminately. The chapter ends on a comedic note that feels a little out of context, much like the presence of Tom Bombadil. “Nevertheless, they will have need of wood,” Aulë comments as he continues to work. Ba dum tss!

Alright, dude. Let her have her moment, please.

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The Dwarves have been made and subsequently put to sleep, so it’s probably time to get a move on with the Firstborn, huh? Good things Chapter 3 is titled, “Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor.”

All the (Silmarillion) Feels is an emotion- and story-focused summary of The Silmarillion. You’ll get facts, but that’s not the point here. Let’s talk themes, meaningful quotes, and moments that made us go “WHOA.” I started this project after falling in love with The Rings of Power television show, so expect me to focus on things to do with Galadriel and Sauron.

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Chapter 1: Of the Beginning of Days

The Two Lamps

It’s the beginning of the world, and the world is flat! The creative song of the Valar that we heard about in the Ainulindalë comes to fruition; Yavanna is the star here, planting trees and making the new world beautiful and lush. One of the things that sets the good guys apart in Tolkien’s world is their ability to work together (in a fellowship, if I may), and it is through the combined craft of Aulë, Yavanna, Varda, and Manwë that the two great lamps of Middle-earth give first light to the land, though this is technically set before Middle-earth looks anything like we’re used to. Karen Wynn Fonstad’s The Atlas of Middle-earth is a really fun resource for uber-nerds, and she’s drawn what this version of the world looked like in the top left image.

To celebrate winning the First War against Melkor (about which little is said other than Tulkas having some Rohirrim-like battle joy) and the greenness of the land, the Valar party! In their distracted rest, Melkor sneaks back into the north of Middle-earth and builds his stronghold Utumno. No one realizes he’s there, but the lush land that Yavanna created begins to rot and grow poisonous. When he deems that he’s strong enough, he launches an attack on the two lamps, destroying them, casting the world into darkness, and literally throwing the earth into tumult.

Valinor

The Valar retreat far across the sea to the west, where they build a new home and name it Valinor – yes, the Valinor that the Elves in Lord of the Rings always talk about!

“Valinor became more beautiful even than Middle-earth in the Spring of Area; and it was blessed, for the Deathless dwelt there, and there naught faded nor withered, neither was there any stain upon flower or leaf in that land, nor any corruption or sickness in anything that lived; for the very stones and waters were hallowed.”

The Silmarillion, page 30.

Valinor is very much a physical place, and a lot of action is going to happen here in future chapters, but as you can see from the quote above, it’s also got a lot of Heaven Vibes that are strongly leaned on in later books, like this gorgeous conversation between Pippin and Gandalf:

PIPPIN: I didn’t think it would end this way.

GANDALF: End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.

PIPPIN: What? Gandalf? See what?

GANDALF: White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

The Valar settle in, building a mountain range along the edge of the sea to keep Melkor out, and generally creating and singing together like the world’s original commune.

All of this was done in darkness, since you’ll remember that Melkor destroyed the two lamps. Yavanna takes the lamp idea and makes them her own by singing into existence two trees to light the land: Telperion with silvery dark green leaves and Laurelin with golden light green leaves. Their light waxes and wanes and overlaps in 12-hour cycles, and time now exists in Valinor!

The rest of the Valar keep on about their business, and we get some little hints about the relationships they will have with the Elves in the future, including the first name drop of the gems referenced in this book’s title: “Aulë it is who is named the Friend of the Noldor, for of him they learned much in the after days, and they are the most skilled of the Elves…The Noldor also it was who first achieved the making of gems; and the fairest of all gems were the Silmarils, and they are lost” (pg. 33). Spoilers!

Middle-earth

While the Valar are having a great time in Valinor, Melkor skulks around Middle-earth in cold and fire. He’s a Valar of extremes, which is a Tolkienian sign of unhealthiness! Although the focus in on Valinor, a few of the Valar keep a bit of attention on the lands where they once lived. Manwë gets regular information from his eagle and hawk friends; Ulmo never went to Valinor at all but continued to chill in the oceans; Yavanna returns to Middle-earth occasionally to heal the land’s hurts; and Oromë rides out to push Melkor’s dark forces back to Utumno. But those forces are never fully defeated, and one can’t help but think the Valar should focus their efforts and take care of him before anything gets out of hand! But then we wouldn’t have much of a story… and that seems to be something of Ilúvatar’s plan.

Elves and Men

The first chapter ends with a broad introduction to the Children of Ilúvatar, aka Elves and Men (Men here means humankind, though to be honest, Tolkien also mostly focuses on men!). If you watched The Rings of Power and thought the border elves were kind of harsh on the Southlanders (or heck, remember the disgust on Elrond’s face when he spits, “Men? Men are weak”), well, this is a very common thought amongst the early denizens of Middle-earth. Ilúvatar loves Men, but everyone else is a little skeptical. From the beginning, it’s said that they would “stray often, and would not use their gifts in harmony.” In fact, “the Elves believe that Men are often a grief to Manwë…for it seems to the Elves that Men resemble Melkor most of all” (pg. 36). Harsh.

In contrast, listen to the Elves’ introduction:

“The Quendi [Elves] shall be the fairest of all early creatures, and they shall have and shall conceive and bring forth more beauty than all my Children; and they shall have the greater bliss in this world.”

The Silmarillion, page 35.

What I find especially interesting about this is Tolkien’s reason for the great difference between the two. Men are given the gift of death, “which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy.” It seems that because of the short amount of time given to Men, it brings out the best and the worst in them, especially because Melkor “confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out of good, and fear out of hope.”

Death as a gift is a theme that is revisited throughout Tolkien’s works, though it is never fully explained, because how could it be? I wrestle with this idea a lot, but in a society that glorifies youth and spends a lot of time and money resisting the inevitable, I find it helpful to sometimes think about death not as something to be feared, but as a reminder to live fully while I can. Memento mori.

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We end this chapter with Elves and Men, and in the next chapter we get one of my favorite stories: the creation of Dwarves! See you then.

All the (Silmarillion) Feels is an emotion- and story-focused summary of The Silmarillion. You’ll get facts, but that’s not the point here. Let’s talk themes, meaningful quotes, and moments that made us go “WHOA.” I started this project after falling in love with The Rings of Power television show, so expect me to focus on things to do with Galadriel and Sauron.

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Where are my Greek mythology girlies at? This is the chapter for you! Tolkien’s cisheteronormative pantheon includes seven gods and seven goddesses (aka Valar, six of which are paired off, and this section of The Silmarillion introduces us to each one (plus some lesser gods with VERY familiar names).

Valaquenta: aka the Gods and Goddesses of Middle-earth

Manwë, Lord of Arda

Manwë rules the skies, which gives me serious Zeus vibes. However, he has none of the Greek gods’ licentiousness, because one of Tolkien’s favorite things is monogamy. He’s also less about lightning and more about birds, and yes, the Eagles are Coming was Manwë’s doing.

Varda, Lady of the Stars

Varda is the Valier who is most feared by Melkor because the light of Ilúvatar is in her face. The elves love her best of all the Valar, and she’s basically the personification of hope, so in the world of Tolkien, that makes her the best.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Varda + Manwë

The first couple in list and in power, I adore the fact that Tolkien mentions that their powers are greater when they are together. Varda helps Manwë see further, and Manwë helps Varda hear more clearly. I’m a big believer that couples should support and enhance each others’ strengths, so this note is right up my alley.

Ulmo, Lord of Waters

A solitary Valar with the heavy influence of Poseidon, Ulmo symbolizes freedom. He doesn’t go to meetings, he doesn’t rest, he doesn’t like to appear to elves or men, though he will help out if necessary. He just wants to hang out in the deeps of the sea, making him the patron saint of introverts.

Aulë, Master of All Crafts

Aulë is the good Morgoth, and maps onto Hephaestus pretty well. They both love making original content, but while Morgoth does it for his own glory, Aulë shared what he made and was open to direction by Ilúvatar. The Dwarves love Aulë because he’s all about gems and gold, and SPOILER, but Aulë is actually their daddy.

Yavanna, Giver of Fruits

As the lover of all things that grow, Yavanna is the Demeter of Middle-earth. There’s a great image of her as a giant woman robed in green, with roots stretching to Ulmo’s waters and branches high in Manwë’s sky…kind of like if the Norse tree of life, Yggdrasil, was a lady, which I am very into.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Yavanna and Aulë

Relationships in mythology are used to show the interrelationship of natural things. In this case, the two Valar are a celebration of the earth, above and below, as well as the creative capacity of natural substances. Yavanna gives me serious elvish vibes while Aulë is strongly connected to the dwarves; the fact that these two races are so often at odds is extra tragic when we’re told here that the two are best when working together.

Námo/Mandos, Keeper of the Houses of the Dead

It’s Hades! Mandos is the place which essentially becomes Námo’s name, and he’s the keeper of knowledge and souls, the pronouncer of Doom upon the world. But like, in a heavy but not evil way?

Vairë, the Weaver

Vairë is the three Fates as one being, and she weaves the webs of Time in ever-widening halls. Pretty badass, if you ask me, though she does sound a bit like a spider.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Mandos and Vairë

These two are the gothic couple that everyone respects but doesn’t invite round for tea.

Irmo/Lórien, Master of Visions and Dreams

Can’t read Lórien without thinking Lothlórien, am I right? Galadriel will rule over Lothlórien someday, and her Mirror gives visions…COINCIDENCE?

Estë, Healer of Hurts and Weariness

What a useful, lovely goddess! The equivalent deity that springs to mind is Becky Chambers’ Allalae, the god of small comforts. Estë seems to sleep all the time, and she gifts rest to those who need it. Love a sleepy girl.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Lórien and Estë

Do you have friends who, when you go to their place, you know you’ll feel cozy and cared for? Honestly, I aspire to be that friend, and now I know who to emulate. Tolkien says that the Valar head to Lórien and Estë’s house when they need to ease their burdens; sounds nice.

Nienna, Lamenter of Grief

Nienna is a downer at first glance since she is melancholy personified, and I LOVE that Tolkien made this emotion a deity. She is “acquainted with grief” and her mourning was woven into the song of creation. But she isn’t morbid. Her grief enables others to “learn pity, and endurance in hope.” She’s a single lady, and like a wise guru, people come to her to so that their sorrow can be turned to wisdom.

NOTE: One of the Maiar (lesser gods) who spent a lot of time with Nienna is Olórin. The name he’s better known by? GANDALF.

Tulkas the Valiant

Tulkas is Thor, the broiest of the Valar. He loves fighting and proving his physical prowess. You can just imagine him bouncing around asking people to dare him to jump over a mountain or wrestle a bear.

Nessa the Fleetfooted

Nessa is Artemis if Artemis also loved dancing. She likes deer? This is pretty much all we know about her.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Tulkas and Nessa

What does their relationship reveal? They both have an air of wildness about them, though in possibly the most heteronormative way possible. Tulkas is all manly brawls, while Nessa is nimble and quick. A classic barbarian/rogue team up?

Oromë, Lord of Forests

This guy loves Middle-earth the most (as opposed to Valinor, the heavenly land where the Valar live and the elves sail to), and Oromë is the original horse boy, in whose footsteps Aragorn and his ancestors will someday tread.

Vána, Ever-young

The younger sister of Yavanna (see tree goddess above), this Valier is all about flowers and birdsong. She’s basically the template for a 20th century Disney princess.

RELATIONSHIP ALERT: Oromë and Vána

The feeling I get with these two is a May-December romance that feels kinda skeezy from the outside, but they’re genuinely happy on their ranch, where they garden and hunt to their hearts content.

Melkor aka Morgoth

This guy is counted among “The Enemies,” though he was once the mightiest of the Valar. He’s a classic case of hubris, desiring things he couldn’t have and ruining (and being ruined) in the process of pursuing them.

“Melkor spent his spirit in envy and hate, until at last he could make nothing save in mockery of the thought of others, and all their works he destroyed if he could.”

Page 18

He is especially tied to darkness, which is likely why he’s so afraid of Varda and her light. He’s power drew a lot of people to his side among the Maiar (lesser gods), including Ossë, who rules the coasts, the Balrogs, and SAURON. Tellingly, Tolkien points out that Sauron was not as evil as Morgoth because he served another rather than himself. It’s when Morgoth is gone and he claims total power to rule for himself alone that he’s truly beyond redemption.

(If you’ve got feels about how this relates to his offer to share power with Galadriel in episode 8 of Rings of Power, then WOW, let’s please talk in the comments.)

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With the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta done, we move into The Silmarillion proper! It’s time to focus on the original piece of jewelry that threw all of Middle-earth into a tizzy.

Watching season one of The Rings of Power brought my deep and abiding love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories of Middle-earth back to forefront of my interests, and when it ended I knew I wanted to reread The Silmarillion to continue living in pre-Lord of the Rings history. This is a startlingly beautiful book that is, nevertheless, very dense and intimidating. There are a plethora of deep dives and fact battles out there for the reader who wants to focus on timelines and details. But if you’re like me, you would much prefer a guided walk through the stories prioritizing emotions and relationships. Hence, All the (Silmarillion) Feels.

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Some people consider The Silmarillion to be the bible of The Lord of the Rings, so it’s fitting that we begin in the same place: with the god(s), before the world was made, in a story that is more poem than prose.

Ainulindalë: aka The Creation Myth of Middle-earth

In just nine pages, Tolkien rolls out an awe-inspiring creation story based in music, conflict, and hope. I’ll be honest, it’s hard for me to read this bit without going deep into my religious feels, but I already wrote that essay in my personal blog in 2015: “Theodicy and The Silmarillion.” For our purposes here, I’ll stick to themes and values that go beyond any particular religion.

Main Characters

• Ilúvatar: God, basically
• Melkor (soon to be known as Morgoth): Satan, basically
• Ainur/Valar: gods in the vein of Zeus, Poseidon, etc.

Middle-Earth’s HR Policies

Middle-earth is created by music sung by the gods, which such a great emotional image. I can just imagine that a river is a song given physical form, you know? Ilúvatar is the manager of our dreams, laying out a clear picture of what he expects to see and then rewarding the tentative attempts of his workers until they are confident in their ability to sing beauty into existence. When one worker (Melkor) gets ideas of grandeur into his head and begins to sing his own song, Ilúvatar weaves the songs together into something greater than before. There’s even a bit that reads like a progressive discipline manual, with Ilúvatar reacting to Melkor’s initial shenanigans with a smile, then with sternness, and finally with a face “terrible to behold.” It’s a poetic glimpse of the story we’re going to read in The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings: beautiful, patient, melancholy, tragic, and ultimately: cathartic. The good and the bad feel worth it, and maybe even necessary.

Where Are the Ladies?

It’s worth noting here that Tolkien’s Catholicism shows in his fantasy religious hierarchy of male-defaulted deities. The three Valar that are named (plus Melkor) are all male, though the equivalent of goddesses will exist in future chapters. There’s also some old-fashioned gender essentialism in Tolkien’s description of the Valar taking on physical form. He does a lot of things really well, my favorite cis white fantasy author, but nuanced depictions of gender and sexuality are not among his talents.

Don’t Play D&D with Melkor

Easily the most emotional part of this introduction is the fact that over and over again, good is made out of evil. Exactly how that evil is portrayed (pride, impatience, envy) can be accepted or not, but the key thing here is that every time Melkor tries to wrest control of creation through violence, the end result is something beautiful. Creation is meant to be a group project, one in which personal flourishes are applauded but expected to work alongside everyone else’s flourishes. It’s like in D&D when you tell the players not to hog the spotlight but instead draw out those who are quieter or more timid. Melkor would be a disaster to play D&D with.

Luckily, Ilúvatar is a great GM. When the Valar complain about Melkor ruining their campaign, he basically says, “Yeah, I know it sucks that he made bitter frost and fire without restraint, and it’s ruining the setting you’re trying to create. But hey, I took his ideas of extreme temperature, and they’re actually going to cause mist, clouds, and rain. And those are really great.”

Beauty isn’t the only thing made out of discord; connection is too. The god of the air (Manwë) and the god of the sea (Ulmo) are the ones complaining about Melkor’s shitty behaviour, and his actions allow the two of them to work together more closely.

“Then Ulmo answered: ‘Truly, Water is become now fairer than my heart imagined, neither had my secret thought conceived the snowflake, nor in all my music was contained the falling of the rain. I will seek Manwë, that he and I may make melodies for ever to thy delight!’ And Manwë and Ulmo have from the beginning been allied, and in all things have served most faithfully the purpose of Ilúvatar.”

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Today’s Emotion is: Trust

There’s a lot of lore and a lot of values packed into the Ainulindalë; we’re going to see them play out over and over again in the remaining 354 pages. As a truly talented storyteller, Tolkien is confident enough in his story that he gives away the ending right at the beginning: It’s going to be alright.

I love reading Tolkien’s work because it is religion, therapy, and entertainment wrapped up in one. “Things are going to be terrible,” I see him saying, “but that isn’t all there is. Find the beauty in the pain, and trust that in the end, it will all be okay.”

And you know what? I trust him.