marta-bee:Continuing with my reread of the Silmarillion. I forgot how fascinating the Ainulindale is...

marta-bee:

Continuing with my reread of the Silmarillion. I forgot how fascinating the Ainulindale is with my background in medieval philosophy. I mean, nothing much happens, the language is impenetrably lofty, but there’s some fascinating philosophy going on here.

More in a few days if I can find the mental energy, but briefly: why the heck would Iluvatar choose to create Ea indirectly, or even at all? What’s the point in going beyond the pure, perfect Song into a reality that can be mucked up so easily, let alone using imperfect instruments with a mind of their own? I think I have an answer of sorts, but I think I need to reread Letter #180 first, the whole discussion of sub-creation. It’s an intriguing take on the problem of evil at any rate.

No promises, but if I do decide to just keep reading I wanted to flag this as a fascinating question worth thinking about if you like this kind of thing.

Omg a fellow Silmarillion nerd!!! I’m totally that bitch who, when people tell me that they’re also Tolkien nerds, will go, “okay, but explain - in depth - your familiarity with The Silmarillion. House of Finwë genealogy, GO!” My mother had surgery recently and needed to stay still for a couple of weeks afterward, so although we’ve both read The Silmarillion many times (and she read me the entire Lord of the Rings when I was little), we’ve never read it together, so I’m currently reading it aloud to her, about one chapter per week. 

Now, to your question: why would Iluvatar create Arda in the first place? For me it’s more a question of, why does any creator create? Why do writers write? Why do artists make art? I feel like it’s all the same source. Did Iluvatar just want to create beings to glorify Iluvatar? That’s not the impression I get from reading it, but just the joy of creating, together with the Ainur. Of all the creation myths I’ve ever read, the Ainulindalë is by far the most beautiful, but then, I’m also a musician, so of course I love it. :)