The Children of Húrin

“Túrin was slow to forget injustice or mockery; but the fire of his father was also in him, and he could be sudden and fierce.”

Túrin is described as resembling his mother more than his father in both mood and appearance. One of his key character traits is his serious nature, which in his adulthood will make him prone to anger. As this quote implies, the growth of his seriousness into wrath is influenced by the character traits he inherits from his father, making him sometimes rash and intense.

“‘Fair as an Elf-child is Lalaith,’ said Húrin to Morwen; ‘but briefer, alas! And so fairer, maybe, or dearer.’”

Húrin indicates that though his first daughter, Urwen Lalaith, is as beautiful as an elf, the fact that she is destined to live a shorter life makes her more precious—perhaps even “fairer.” This clashes with the notion that Men are lesser beings simply because they are physically weaker, though Húrin’s remark is bittersweet in tone. That he seems to have some premonition of her death also hints at destiny’s prominence in the narrative.

“Grief is a hone to a hard mind.”

When Túrin claims that he will one day be as fearless as his father—or at least as fearless as his mother presents herself to be—Sador considers the way Urwen’s death has affected Túrin. Morwen came into the House of Hador in a state of grief, having lost her home in the Bragollach. That grief caused her to be reticent since few could understand her particular loss; he suspects the same could be said of Túrin as he grows older.

“‘But my father loves them,’ said Túrin, ‘and he is not happy without them. He says that we have learned nearly all that we know from them, and have been made a nobler people; and he says that the Men that have lately come over the Mountains are hardly better than Orcs.’

‘That is true,’ answered Sador; ‘true at least of some of us. But the up-climbing is painful, and from high places it is easy to fall low.’”

Túrin comments on the friendship between Men and Elves, echoing his father’s sentiment that the Elves have brought Men into a higher state and citing the Easterlings as evidence that the Edain were once less noble than they appear to be now. In response, Sador advises him that it is possible for Men to fall back into that lower state and that the ensuing fall from grace may be even more ruinous, hinting at The Inescapability of the Past.

“I am the Elder King: Melkor, first and mightiest of all the Valar, who was before the world, and made it. The shadow of my purpose lies upon Arda, and all that is in it bends slowly and surely to my will.”

Morgoth reminds Húrin who he is in the face of the latter’s defiance, revealing an important contradiction within his character. Morgoth declares himself a king whose proper dominion is in the worldly realm, yet he refuses to distance himself from his origin as one of the Valar, a godly servant of the Supreme Being, Eru Ilúvatar. While he threatens Húrin with his godlike power, he asserts his obsession with governing worldly beings and matters, betraying his vulnerability to worldly threats.

“‘You are not the Lord of Men, and shall not be, though all Arda and Menel fall in your dominion. Beyond the Circles of the World you shall not pursue those who refuse you.’

‘Beyond the Circles of the World I will not pursue them,’ said Morgoth. ‘For beyond the Circles of the World there is Nothing. But within them they shall not escape me, until they enter into Nothing.’”

As one of the Valar, Morgoth is privy to knowledge that is beyond Húrin’s capacity to learn. When Húrin challenges Morgoth’s reach, Morgoth implies he knows humans’ ultimate fate better than humans themselves, leveraging the existential fear of oblivion in an attempt to persuade Húrin and all humans to submit to his dominion.

“False hopes are more dangerous than fears.”

Ever the wise counselor, Sador passes this advice along to Túrin after he expresses the hope that his father will soon return to Dor-lómin. However, the advice is also a fitting admonishment for the older Túrin, whose tragic flaw is his pride. Pride creates the false hope that things may be easily resolved, while fear makes one conscious of all possible outcomes, including the ruinous ones.

“‘What is a thrall?’ said Túrin.

‘A man who was a man but is treated as a beast,’ Sador answered. ‘Fed only to keep alive, kept alive only to toil, toiling only for fear of pain or death.’”

Sador teaches Túrin what kind of suffering can be expected under Morgoth’s dominion. This heightens the stakes of the conflict by introducing further consequences to its resolution: Should Morgoth’s curse have its way with Húrin and his family, they could be enslaved.

“But Húrin did not wear the Dragon-helm with ease, and in any case he would not use it, for he said: ‘I would rather look on my foes with my true face.’”

As the Dragon-helm of Hador is introduced, the narrative dips briefly into the history of its ownership, showing how Húrin distanced himself from this heirloom of his house out of a desire for personal glory. For Húrin, it isn’t enough to enter the battlefield as the Lord of the House of Hador; he must build his own reputation through valiant and brave deeds. By contrast, Túrin will wear the helmet and will generally refuse to admit who he is, underscoring the impact that the mere fear of Morgoth’s curse has on him.

“If in days to come you remember the words of Melian, it will be for your good: fear both the heat and the cold of your heart, and strive for patience, if you can.”

Melian gives Túrin this advice as he seeks Thingol’s permission to go into the battlefield for the first time. This request marks a milestone in the protagonist’s life, transitioning firmly out of childhood into young adulthood. In this context, the advice applies just as much to his life off the battlefield as on it: He must be careful not to let his temper dictate his actions. Melian’s words thus foreshadow many of Túrin’s mistakes, from his refusal to return to Doriath to his murder of Brandir.

“In winter they were most to be feared, like wolves; and Gaurwaith, wolf-men, they were called by those who still defended their homes. Some sixty of these men had joined in one band, wandering in the woods beyond the western marches of Doriath; and they were hated scarcely less than Orcs, for there were among them outcasts hard of heart, bearing a grudge against their own kind.”

The Gaurwaith are first introduced as a feared group, creating the impression that they will occupy an antagonistic role according to the traditional good and evil character types in fantasy. However, this is not the case; Túrin comes to join and later lead the Gaurwaith, even going on to express his attachment to them. This complex depiction of a group of flawed men hints at the multidimensional quality of humanity.

“‘Lawless and fruitless all our deeds have been, serving only ourselves, and feeding hate in our hearts.’

But Andróg said: ‘But whom shall we serve, if not ourselves? Whom shall we love, when all hate us?’”

Andróg is expressing the resentment he feels toward the world as an outlaw, having been ostracized from society for a terrible crime. Though this does not absolve him from the repercussions of that crime, Andróg recognizes that even outlaws deserve some level of love. Being ostracized, he must learn to give that love to himself and seek it from the community he has built. His ensuing attachment to Túrin is strong enough that he uses his dying strength to free the captured Beleg despite his prior dislike for the Elf.

“‘Why, why, Túrin, did you not speak of Saeros’ assault to Mablung? All otherwise might things have gone. And,’ he said, looking at the men sprawled near the mouth of the cave, ‘you might have held your helm still high, and not fallen to this.’

‘That may be, if fall you call it,’ said Túrin. ‘That may be. But so it went; and words stuck in my throat. There was reproof in his eyes, without question asked of me, for a deed I had not done. My Man’s heart was proud, as the Elf-king said. And so it still is, Beleg Cúthalion. Not yet will it suffer me to go back to Menegroth and bear looks of pity and pardon, as for a wayward boy amended. I should give pardon, not receive it. And I am a boy no longer, but a man, according to my kind; and a hard man by my fate.’”

Túrin bears his own resentment toward society, mirroring Androg’s only a few pages earlier. Recalling his last encounter with Mablung after the death of Saeros, he remembers the way Mablung looked at him with the conviction of guilt. This prompted Túrin to reflect upon the difference between Men and Elves, and to think about his status as an outsider at Doriath. By remaining with the Gaurwaith, he finds an opportunity to be with his own kind, but he also demonstrates the inflexible pride that repeatedly leads him into trouble, refusing to accept Thingol’s efforts to set things right.

“Alas! child of Men, there are other griefs in Middle-earth than yours, and wounds made by no weapon. Indeed I begin to think that Elves and Men should not meet or meddle.”

Beleg expresses this lament after Túrin confesses that he has forgotten Nellas. It saddens him to know that Men can forget their lives so easily, especially since, from Beleg’s perspective, little time has passed at all. It is a rare moment of vulnerability for an Elf, who, as a race, have been characterized as being relatively immune to injury and pain.

“Yet he began to fear that Túrin would grow to such a power that the curse that he had laid upon him would become void, and he would escape the doom that had been designed for him, or else that he might retreat to Doriath and be lost to his sight again.”

This passage, which is about Fate Versus Free Will, reinforces the idea that Morgoth’s power is limited, inviting speculation that Túrin and his family could escape the curse that Morgoth has placed on them. This could suggest that fate is not all-powerful and that one can choose their own destiny; alternatively, it could simply imply that Morgoth’s claims to wield ultimate power over fate are as hollow as Turin’s will be.

“Beleg drew his sword Anglachel, and with it he cut the fetters that bound Túrin; but fate was that day more strong, for the blade of Eöl the Dark Elf slipped in his hand, and pricked Túrin’s foot.”

In this passage, the narrator makes an explicit reference to fate causing the accident that results in the death of Beleg. The framing of fate as “more strong” suggests a struggle between destiny and free will to dictate the events of the world. The death of Beleg also demonstrates the “treacherous” nature of Anglachel, reinforced by the allusion to its maker; the description of the blade rather than Beleg as “pricking” Túrin hints at the sword’s own agency, foreshadowing the sentience it demonstrates in its final conversation with Túrin.

“‘The Valar!’ said Túrin. ‘They have forsaken you, and they hold Men in scorn. What use to look westward across the endless Sea to a dying sunset in the West?’”

At Nargothrond, Túrin challenges the Elves, who have the closest relationship of any race to the Valar and believe the Valar may be the only ones with the strength to defeat Morgoth. However, Túrin criticizes the Valar for inaction, encouraging the Elves to take matters into their own hands. In urging them to control their own destiny, however, Túrin inadvertently causes their destruction, implying that the Elves’ original belief about the futility of resistance may have been correct.

“‘But you are kingly,’ said she, ‘even as the lords of the people of Fingolfin; I would I had a brother so valiant. And I do not think that Agarwaen is your name, nor is it fit for you, Adanedhel. I call you Thurin, the Secret.’

At this Túrin started, but he said: ‘That is not my name; and I am not a king, for our kings are of the Eldar, as I am not.’”

In order to keep up his disguise, Túrin rejects Finduilas’s name for him, adding that he is not a king. While the latter is technically correct, it mirrors his continual distancing of himself from his lineage, which culminates in the renouncing of his name and family. However, the fact that Finduilas can sense his noble quality speaks to the inescapability of the past and the ways that Túrin’s lineage catches up to him. That Finduilas, who is in love with Túrin, outwardly expresses a desire to have him as a brother also draws a parallel between her and Niënor and foreshadows the latter’s incestuous relationship with Túrin.

“‘I spoke not of the difference between the black and the gold,’ said Arminas. ‘But others of the House of Hador bear themselves otherwise, and Tuor among them. For they use courtesy, and they listen to good counsel, holding the Lords of the West in awe. But you, it seems, will take counsel with your own wisdom, or with your sword only; and you speak haughtily. And I say to you, Agarwaen Mormegil, that if you do so, other shall be your doom than one of the Houses of Hador and Bëor might look for.’”

The difference between Túrin and his father is stressed by the Elf messenger who critiques Túrin for his stubborn manners and arrogance. He too is able to see through the façade Túrin presents and calls on him to behave in accordance with his house’s customs. This once again hints at how Túrin’s attempts to distance himself from the past only result in further harm.

“Then Gwindor said to Túrin: ‘Let bearing pay for bearing! But ill-fated was mine, and vain is yours; for my body is marred beyond healing, and I must leave Middle-earth. And though I love you, son of Húrin, yet I rue the day that I took you from the Orcs. But for your prowess and your pride, still I should have love and life, and Nargothrond should yet stand a while.’”

Gwindor’s last words are filled with resentment, echoing Beleg’s lament about the relationship between Men and Elves. In particular, he blames Húrin for taking his position, his betrothed, and now his native city away from him. That he nevertheless recognizes Túrin as a friend highlights Túrin’s noble qualities and thus underscores the tragedy of his story; although he brings destruction wherever he goes, he has the potential to be a great leader.

“Though three and twenty years were gone since he had trodden that path, it was graven in his heart, so great was the sorrow of each step at the parting from Morwen. Thus at last he came back to the land of his childhood.”

Túrin’s return to Dor-lómin begins on the very path he took as a child leaving for Doriath. The sadness he felt on that day years ago is strong enough to return to him in full strength, which reinforces with the inescapability of the past.

“‘If the wife of Húrin can go forth against all counsel at the call of kindred,’ said Niënor, ‘then so also can Húrin’s daughter. Mourning you named me, but I will not mourn alone, for father, brother, and mother. But of these you only have I known, and above all do I love. And nothing that you fear not do I fear.’”

Niënor is characterized by her headstrong quality, which she demonstrates in her first proper appearance in the narrative. She also suggests the sadness that has marked her life, invoking the name that she was given at birth, which means “mourning.” Niënor does not fear losing her joy, since she has never really known it; she has been surrounded by her mother’s mourning.

“[A]nd there came a great flash of lightning, so that the Haudh-en-Elleth was lit as with a white flame. Then Turambar who led the men started back and covered his eyes, and trembled; for it seemed that he saw the wraith of a slain maiden that lay on the grave of Finduilas.”

Tolkien uses a dramatic image to portray the first meeting of Túrin and Niënor. The white flame over Niënor’s figure at the grave of Finduilas creates an eerie mood and terrifies Túrin as soon as he beholds it. The strength of this image also forms a strong impression on him, leading him to think about it repeatedly as some kind of omen in the days to come. The association between Finduilas and Niënor implies that Túrin’s attraction to Niënor stems partly from his sense of having failed Finduilas, but it also suggests that despite Túrin’s best efforts, Niënor will share Finduilas’s tragic fate.