Ar-Pharazon

[Inderjit Sanghera]

After recently reading ‘The History of the Akallabeth’ in ‘HoME 12 ‘Peoples of M-E’, (a great read) I ran across a rather interesting story on Ar-Pharazon and Miriel. Apparently, J.R.R Tolkien wanted to change the whole ‘forced marriage’ angle, and in his newer version, Miriel was loved by Elentir, a newly created brother of Amandil, and she was about to marry him, when she saw Ar-Pharazon and fell in love with him. So the marriage was not forced. This essay is also an interesting view on Ar-Pharazon, as relatively little information is given about him and his personality, and it also focuses on his great friendship with Amandil.

CRRT on the emergence of this new view of Ar-Pharazon and Miriel:

“ they represent the emergence of a doubt in my fathers mind whether the marriage of Pharazon and Zimrahil (Miriel) was indeed ‘against her will’ and the sketching of a new story on the subject.

Hmmm…If only Tolkien had lived a bit longer. Then maybe have lots of the new stories, and maybe a JRR version of Doriath and the incorporation of the round world mythology into the Sil.