She Doesn’t Like His Vibe

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: Fëanor and his s—head sons. (We get a little spicy in this episode.) One of the original characters of Tolkien’s legendarium right from the days of The Book of Lost Tales, Fëanor is simultaneously one of the absolute core figures in the entire decades-long creative effort and yet, due to his only being mentioned once or twice in casual fashion in The Lord of the Rings, one of the most strangely obscure for even much of Tolkien’s wider audience. Yet without his family history, his dreams and desires, his actions and fears, and ultimately both the expressions of his greatest gifts and the consequences of his numerous horrific crimes, all in the belief that he was doing what needed to be done, the story of Middle-earth as we know it and as it exists as backstory for the characters in The Lord of the Rings simply would not exist. No less than Fëanor, his seven sons – often of varying personal qualities – have their own roles to play, even if some of them were ultimately more sketched out by Tolkien than others. What essential elements of the populist and demagogue can be seen in Fëanor’s wildest moments, and what resonances then and now can be drawn? What roles did the women in Fëanor’s life play, whether as mother, wife or relative, and given how they all eventually shut him out, how much of his life seemed to be shaped by being a guy among guys in contrast? How much would his sons have pulled the take-back card if they knew exactly what they were getting into? And exactly how obsessed and/or grief-ridden do you have to be to cling to a specific pronunciation just to stick it to everyone else?