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Review of The Children of Húrin By J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0618894640 For those that might not know, there's more to LOTR than Frodo and Sam, Gollum and Sauron, Aragorn and Princess Arwen. In the same way that George Lucas wrote Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III to fill in backstory for episodes IV, V, and VI, so also did Tolkien write The Silmarillion. A short history: before there was Sauron and the One Ring, Sauron had a boss named Melkor, later Morgoth (think Lucifer). This year's latest new Tolkien work is The Children of Húrin. It’s an expansion of a shorter tale told in The Silmarillion. Where Silmarillion tells the story of the Elves vs. the Great Evil of Morgoth in the very ancient days before the Rings were made, Húrin is the story of one of Middle Earth's most powerful, foolhardy, and tragic human beings. The story is assembled from J.R.R.'s original notes, carefully organized and tied together by son Christopher, who has been carefully safeguarding and interpreting his father's works for new audiences and old fans for decades. The major events in Húrin happen because of Morgoth and Glaurung father of all dragons (tangible, concrete Evil on Earth given form). Tolkien makes it clear that these two are meant to be the cause of it all. But what if they are also extensions of humankind's unconscious, with Húrin as Hubris, Glaurung as Wrath/Lies/Malice, and Morgoth as the Light Bringer distorted by his own ambition, and self-hate? Is Túrin a bully? Yes. However, his actions would look familiar to patriots like King Leonidas of Sparta, Robin Hood, or William Wallace. Warriors fight to the ethical standards of their times. Chaucer and Shakespeare both would have understood a dispossessed noble taking to banditry so he can eat. Túrin is by turns noble, sacrificing, enduring, arrogant, and humble. Are the Dragon and Morgoth Jungian keys, mirrors to Húrin's wrath and pride? Our own? Tolkien leaves that unanswered, cloaked in fairy-story conventions. This book has plenty of good points, but I fear it may leave many modern readers unsatisfied. There’s little help for that, first because of Tolkien’s intent, and also because of the gap of decades between his notes, and us. If one is able to accept this tale as a fairy story, (which according to Christopher, and Mr. Tolkien himself) was his intent, then the narrative works fine. If Húrin’s brigandish behaviour can be seen in context as the actions of a reasonable man torn from his home life too early in the face of almost infinite evil, then the narrative makes sense. If the evils of Morgoth and Glaurung are externalizations of Húrin’s (and our own) negative inner natures, then the book is instructive. The problem is, Nienor/Niniel has almost no presence in the novel, other than as the half naked girl running into the woods, losing her memory, and then becoming Húrin’s (unwitting) incestuous lady fair. She exists almost entirely as the Dragons’ tool. Even though J.R.R. tells us she is as mature as her mother, mom has more life to her, and all she does is “hold down the family fort” and then eventually goes off to join the elves. Húrin is a good tragic story, flawed but worth the read. If you look at it strictly as a “fairy story” then it works fine. The narrative has many moments of rousing action, loyalty, nobility; Túrin is wrathful and far too proud, but he tries to be a loyal friend and leader. If you can accept the idea of Morgoth as external evil, then his actions make sense. If you look deeper, the story is a thought-provoking take on the nature of wrath, malice, and hubris, with the dragon Glaurung and Morgoth representing malice and wrath, Túrin’s father Húrin literally a prisoner of the malice and wrath of humanity, locked into immobility for years by Morgoth himself, and Túrin either Fate’s dupe, or using the family destiny as an excuse to cut his way across Middle Earth at will, depending on one’s point of view. Legends and myths make comments to us about ourselves, even if they are things we would rather not hear. “Húrin” does this without apologizing for fairy tale conventions, telling a good yarn, while still showing us the weaknesses to be found in standard mythic conventions. This book would be useful as an exploration of the hero's journey, for comparison of the Hero archetype found in many different Myth and Folklore stories. Húrin would be useful as comparison material for British Lit. courses, and explorations of different Jungian archetypes that relate to Heroism. |