February

12.1.22

We were 4 at our meeting this afternoon, and as it happened we benefitted from being in our new downstairs space in the Library because Chinese New Year celebrations were taking place outside. Vibrant as these always are, like other festivals, they do tend to drown out our discussions and distract us with the colour, and the presence of the Dragon/lion.

So in the quiet recesses of the Library we few, we happy few, began our consideration of ‘The Beginning of Days’

We agreed that as Laura could not join us but had done preparatory work, we would be entirely happy to revisit the chapter and the later parts of the Valaquenta, because as Tim observed, we rarely undertake our discussions in a linear fashion, but wander around rather a lot. So our responses listed here can be read as provisional and awaiting Laura’s input.

I began proceedings by drawing attention to the effect of laughter, as part of the characterisation of Tulkas, and for its effect on Melkor when Tulkas laughs as he fights. Tim thought this was contemptuous laughter, and Eileen added that Melkor feels undermined by this.

Ian thought this laughter is ironic as Tulkas laughs to himself, and continued by noting a vocalic echo between Tulkas/Tolkien, adding that Tolkien defined the meaning of his name as ‘Rashbold’, which may well define Tulkas himself.

Eileen observed that Melkor couldn’t tolerate not being confronted with violence.

Tim remarked that laughter demonstrate lack of fear, and together with Eileen, defined Melkor as a typical bully figure.

Tim also related laughter to music and thus to The Music because laughter is represented in music by a kind of ‘lightness’, and in fact Tulkas is strong, bluff and hearty.

I felt him to be an anomalous character, and Tim compared him to Hercules.

Ian observed that he is not attached to anything elemental in the way the other Valar are, and nor is Melkor, although he intervenes in bits of all the others.

I noticed that Tulkas has no attribution and wondered if Iluvatar has created a new independent being, but Ian contested this, and we concurred in seeing Tulkas as a champion figure.

Tim noted that Melkor wants order on his terms, but Tulkas isn’t bothered, indeed, he is rather anarchic. Ian attributed this to his being overloaded with endorphins.

We moved on to consider the statement that ‘because of the light of the lamp Iluin they [the Valar] did not perceive the shadow in the north that was cast afar by Melkor’. This, I thoughts was a strange concept, that light could be almost a danger, but recollected the motif from Beowulf, where within the hall of Heorot there is light and feasting, companionship and music, while outside in the dark – beyond the firelight – Grendel lurks in hatred.

Ian responded that we witness the mythological mindset in Beowulf, and the need to band together and be part of the tribe against the darkness, but Tolkien presents initially all light, but with darkness waiting to destroy the light of the Lamp.

I took a metaphorical leap forward to ask again about Tolkien’s presentation of light, specifically in Gimli’s sadness at leaving Lothlorien, when he tells Legolas that he would not have come on the Quest if he had known the danger of light and joy.

Tim observed that it is a particular kind of light in this place, and Eileen reminded us of the light that Galadriel emanates. Tim thought both kinds were seductive.

We went on to consider one particular description which troubled me, and that is Melkor’s perversion of animal life into ‘monsters of horn and ivory’. I thought this an unfortunate characterisation, but Ian proposed that as the perversion of Yavanna’s beasts, the hardness represents their corruption.

Tim also noted that medieval devils have horns – and hooves, or non-human feet, I would add. The horn reference also reminded me of descriptions of dragons with hides or scales of horn.

This reminded Eileen that Tulkas ‘s laughter undermines Melkor’s selfhood by wrong-footing his expectation, and compared this to Bilbo wrong-footing Smaug by his polite and apparently composed exchange of views. However, Tim observed that Melkor wrong-foots the Valar with his pre-emptive strike on the Lamps.

In the wake of this destruction, Tim noted, the move of the Valar from their island to Valinor was effectively their Plan B.

Allowing that we may wish to revisit some of the points raised here, we nevertheless agreed that we would read for next time the following chapters which are ‘Aule and Yavanna’ and ‘The Coming of Elves and the Captivity of Melkor’.

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