ambrorussa:Hmm, trouble in paradise? “[Ingoldo’s] father she may miss; but not the fat

ambrorussa: Hmm, trouble in paradise? “[Ingoldo’s] father she may miss; but not the father of Feanaro!” Morgoth’s Ring 249 Like I always see lots of commentary about this passage and some of it resurfaced on my dash, so I felt like logging in to add soemthing. A lot of the conversation revolves around Fëanor, Indis, with a dash of Fingolfin thrown in, but I think the one (1) thing this quote actually and solely sheds some light on is Finwë himself. Honestly, in my opinion there’s really nothing else to talk about.Not only it’s him speaking in first person (basically coloring anything in here with his own bias and feelings — though I don’t even think such feelings are all that mistaken) but it’s also a quote that is opened by a dichotomy and ends with one. Finwë begins with talking about his two wives (also highlighting how terribly cultural the concept of marriage is, and not at all “biological” like some dogmatic readings of LaCE would like us to believe), his love for his two wives, how one doesn’t diminish another. Then he proceeds to talk about his sons (it’s worth pointing out that Ingoldo at this stage is Fingolfin and not Finarfin), which I think is a really easy parallel: the way he talks about his wives here might easily be applied to the way he may well talk about his sons.But what I think is really relevant and remarkable is how Finwë himself divides his own identity in two. He says his role is divided in the eyes of Indis, sure, but the fact that he’s talking about himself shows a huge level of self-awareness. He’s likely talking with the benefit of hindsight here, but whether this self-awareness came after death or not, it still points out that, when looking at his past actions and self, he can see how he was two different people for different members of his family. Indis may miss the man she loved and married and who was father of Fingolfin, but the man who said nothing when Fëanor threatened Fingolfin and afterwards chose to follow Fëanor in exile and renounced to his crown until exile was revoked, she cannot possibly miss that man too.Problem is, Finwë is and always has been both, and he’s been pulled apart by a dichotomy for a long time, whether that was his wives, his children, his two families. The only thing I can legitimately read in that quote is Finwë acknowledging his role in the family feud. Perhaps not acknowledging what he could have done differently or whether there was a chance to do it differently to begin with, but acknowledging the part he played in the whole thing.If this says anything about Indis’ feelings on Fëanor, well, he threatened to kill Fingolfin, I don’t think there’s any reason why she should feel that charitable after that. -- source link

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