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Old 02-11-2008, 08:39 AM   #1
skip spence
shadow of a doubt
 
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Join Date: Jan 2008
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skip spence is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.skip spence is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
The curse of Morgoth in CoH.

I just re-read the Children of Hurin and was struck by the dark tone of the book. The characters, especially the mortal men, just can't do anything right. Whether they have good intentions or not, all their actions lead to further evil.

I thought about Morgoth's curse on Hurin and what it really meant. Hurin thinks Morgoth is lying when he says he can curse his family and affect it from afar. Clearly Hurin was mistaken. So how does this curse work then? This is my theory:

In 'Morgoth's Ring' we're told that the whole ME is to Morgoth what the One ring is to Sauron. In his quest to be the undisputed Lord of ME, Morgoth has dispersed much of his vast powers into the very 'hroa' of the earth, which had the downside of making his own physical persona more earthbound and less potent. On the upside though, the earth itself became charged with his evil and able to exert his will: to urge on the orcs far away from Angband and to cause his enemies to mistrust and fight each other. In fact, if we believe what is written in MR, Melkor isn't just a renegade Vala, doing what is evil; he is evil itself, and the rote cause of everything that is wrong with the world . Without his discord during the creation of Arda there wouldn't be any evil deeds whatsoever, and the whole of ME would have remained a blissful paradise, akin to the garden of Eden.

I imagine the curse of Morgoth to be like an everpresent voice, whispering dark suggestions into Turin's unconsiousness, much like the rings of power does to its carriers. And although his intentions are good and noble, he just isn't strong enough to resist the will of Morgoth which is concentrated on him. And the burden of Morgoth's evil will does not rest on Turin alone. It seems like all the characters in the book are affected badly, as Morgoth's power over Beleriand is great at this time. Just think of the woman Turin rescued from his outlaw buddies and her bloodlust, demanding a head for a bride's gift.

I don't think Morgoth could plan Turin's fate in detail; after all he wouldn't have planned for Turin to slay Glaurung. Also Morgoth doesn't know where Turin is or what he does when he has no direct information from his servants, so he can't send any direct unconscious messages to him. But what he can do is to focus his evil will on Hurin and his kin, making the little red devil on their shoulders so much stronger and causing them to constantly make the wrong decisions.

Any other ideas?

Last edited by skip spence; 02-11-2008 at 11:38 AM.
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