The Doom of Mandos and of Galadriel's Forgiveness

[Treikayan]

Ok, this has been nagging me for the life of me now. When Fëanor sets out to reclaim the Silmarils with the Noldor, he is given warning of his doom by Mandos in the North.

"Nonetheless the greater part of the Noldor escaped, and when the storm was past they held on their course, some by ship and some by land; but the way was long and ever more evil as they went forward. After they had marched for a great while in the unmeasured night, they came at length to the northern confines of the Guarded Realm, upon the borders of the empty waste of Araman which were mountainous and cold. There they beheld suddenly a dark figure standing high upon a rock that looked down upon the shore. Some say that it was Mandos himself, and no lesser herald of Manwë. And they heard a loud voice, solemn and terrible, that bade them stand and give ear. Then all halted and stood still, and from end to end of the hosts of the Noldor the voice was heard speaking the curse and prophecy which is called the Prophecy of the North, and the Doom of the Noldor. Much it foretold in dark words, which the Noldor understood not until the woes indeed after befell them; but all heard the curse that was uttered upon those that would not stay nor seek the doom and pardon of the Valar.

'Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.

'Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you. And those hat endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken.'

Then many quailed; but Fëanor hardened his heart and said: 'We have sworn, and not lightly. This oath we will keep. We are threatened with many evils, and treason not least; but one thing is not said: that we shall suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens. Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda.'

But in that hour Finarfin forsook the march, and turned back, being filled with grief, and with bitterness against the House of Fëanor..."
[JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion]

Ok, so Galadriel is on this same quest (and doom as Fëanor). How does she manage to return to Valinor after the Return of the King?

"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.'"

So is she forgiven of her debt against the Valar? I'm confused how she manages to return to Valinor forgiven. Wasn't the curse of Mandos on her as well, since she was of the Noldor and the Kinslaying. Could someone explain?

[Teresa Edgerton]

Tolkien had a lot of trouble coming up with an explanation that satisfied him over the years, and he was still writing alternate versions of how and why Galadriel left Aman in the first place.

Basically, the answer is that she didn't go in quest of the Silmarils. In later (fragmentary) versions, he wrote that she was already planning to leave for reasons of her own, had made her own arrangements, and it was just coincidental that the other Noldor ending up rebelling at the same time. But even in the 1977 Silmarillion this is what he said:

"No oaths she swore, but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle Earth had kindled in her heart, for she yearned to see the wide unguarded lands and rule there a realm of her own will."

She also managed to stay out of all the strife and treachery surrounding the Silmarils once she arrived there. (Which is also how she managed to survive long enough to be forgiven.)

So since she was less culpable, the Valar decided after the War of the Ring that she had done enough penance and earned herself their pardon.

(I also have a vague memory that she might have been allowed to go back earlier if she had been willing to ask for forgiveness, but was too proud to do so.)

[HieroGlyph]

Hmmm, yes, you've kindled some memory here, thanks, Kelpie.

I recall that Galadriel was always 'at odds' with Feanor. She went along with the Noldor but it wasnt through the sway of Feanors words in days of yore...

... And so I can imagine Prof. Tolkien rewriting the histories to 'fit' once more...

[Raynor]

Also, the curse of Mandos was lifted after the war of wrath (from Of the voyage of Earendil and the war of wrath, Silmarillion):

And when they came into the West the Elves of Beleriand dwelt upon Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, that looks both west and east; whence they might come even to Valinor. They were admitted again to the love of Manwe and the pardon of the Valar; and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and the curse was laid to rest.

More to her merit, she resisted the temptation of the ring:

Originally Posted by Letter #320 to mrs. R. Austin

I was particularly interested in your remarks about Galadriel. .... I think it is true that I owe much of this character to Christian and Catholic teaching and imagination about Mary, but actually Galadriel was a penitent: in her youth a leader in the rebellion against the Valar (the angelic guardians). At the end of the First Age she proudly refused forgiveness or permission to return. She was pardoned because of her resistance to the final and overwhelming temptation to take the Ring for herself.

[fallenstar]

I remember from the Unfnished Tales that Galadriel was pardoned after the Wars of the Jewels, but she could only go back to Tol Eressea the Lonely Isle, so she refused to go. But at last she is weary of Arda and decided to go back to the West, the ban is again lifted by then. All returned Exiles could only return to the Lonely Isle where they could behold Valinor, and they are still forbidden to step into the Blessed Realm.

[Treikayan]

Thank you for the replies. They have helped me understand Galadriel better.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by fallenstar

I remember from the Unfnished Tales that Galadriel was pardoned after the Wars of the Jewels, but she could only go back to Tol Eressea the Lonely Isle, so she refused to go.

This is one reason why I get impatient with people who think that Tolkien's Elves were all elevated thoughts and more-than-human nobility. Because even the best of them (and to my mind that would be Galadriel, at least among those in Middle Earth) did have to struggle with issues like pride and that stubborn desire to have everything their own way.

The Galadriel we see in LOTR has had tens of thousands of years to learn wisdom and master her own shortcomings.

[HieroGlyph]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

This is one reason why I get impatient with people who think that Tolkien's Elves were all elevated thoughts and more-than-human nobility...

Aye, people have oft said the same within earshot of myself.

This understanding, from our perspective, is simply not enough! They are bound to appear aloof to us mere mortals. (This is why 'real' fantasy is so far from that teenage-fantasy label... I cant say it eloquently enough.)


[lol - 'real' fantasy, what???]