Beating Fate by Paul Williams  

| | |

Fanwork Notes

I need to thank J.R.R Tolkien.

Not for the stories. They are good. For his inability to convey people, emotion and character. For his inability to separate myth from story. He called the original poetic form of the tale of Beren and Lúthien, the Lay of Leithian - the Release from Bondage, then never managed to release her. She remained bound. A promise broken.

I believe, his telling of Lúthien, though he himself never published it (and I believe much as he wanted to, he never could have), is seriously flawed. I spend 40 years railing against the injustices done to her. This addition to the story came to me when I realised that she had seen her fate coming way before defeating Morgoth in Angband (see The Problem of Ros) and when I saw that Huan was a better partner to Lúthien than Beren ever was, or ever could be (as written by Tolkien). Huan saw her. Truly saw her. Never tried to own her, or possess her. He did not care for the beauty of her face, he cared for the beauty of her spirit.

Every male in her life, save one, seeks to own her, direct her, define her. She, like Melian, is ignored when men are present. When they are not, her agency blooms. For all his professed love of her, Tolkien treats her like a plot device. After her return from death … nothing. She vanishes. He has nothing to say. Give me Dior, pass the Silmaril on, and exit stage right …

Lúthien planted the seed for this story 40 years ago. She is patient is Lúthien. Good for her. Now, her tree has blossomed. And the fruit? The fruit is below.

Enjoy your peace and thank you, Lúthien! You deserve it. Say hello to Huan …

The Problem of Ros

Quote:

But it was told in the legend of Beren and Lúthien that Lúthien learned Beren's native tongue during their long journeys together and ever after used it in their speech together.

Not long before they came at last back to the borders of Doriath he asked her why she did so, since her own tongue was richer and more beautiful.

Then she became silent and her eyes seemed to look far away before she answered: 'Why? Because I must forsake thee, or else forsake my own people and become one of the children of Men. Since I will never forsake thee, I must learn the speech of thy kin, and mine.'


 

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Lúthien, a woman who has spent her entire existence being acted upon — desired, directed, possessed, mourned, celebrated, but never truly seen — reaches the end of her borrowed life and discovers that death is not an ending but the first free choice she has ever been permitted to make.
 

Major Characters: Lúthien Tinúviel

Major Relationships:

Genre:

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 2 Word Count: 2, 058
Posted on Updated on

This fanwork is complete.

Show all chapters on a single page

Table of Contents

Beating Fate
Appendix

Comments on Beating Fate

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and your story!

I suppose it may have become more difficult for Tolkien to write about Luthien as a character, as time went on.

I thought your idea was interesting that she was fighting to get free of Fate much longer and more thoroughly than becomes evident.

And I like the idea that she continued to have Huan's companionship, wherever she was going.

Hello :) 

and thank you for both taking the time to read my short addition to Lúthien's tale, and for responding. I agree with your supposition that Tolkien found it harder to write about Lúthien as time went on. What I find fascinating is his continued elevation of her, and his reduction of Beren. That is the real tragedy, that Beren really does not deserve Lúthien. He offers her nothing, does not really get to know HER he just loves her from seeing her. Well .. yes. Of course he would. She is like Aphrodite. Beren becomes such a tragic figure that he, like Jonah, damns everyone around him. He is not even allowed to be the hero (or one of them) in his own story. 

I want the story to be a great love story. It can be fixed to make it just that, without destroying any of the beauty of the tale. But that is/was Tolkien's job, not mine. What I am left with is not a love story. It is a story of a woman who fate makes do certain things (because she would not love Beren as he is - and still be credible in her wisdom and insight). 

The tragedy for me is that she is, without doubt, the greatest female character ever written, or she should be. But Tolkien hobbles her by making her love someone not worthy and making her sacrifice all for what? The fact that she loves a being who has never shown us (or her) why she loves him. How can a man who loves her decide that a second Silmaril is what he wants when she is next to him and has risked so much to be there? 

Anyway ... rant over :) She gets a chance to decide her own path .. to Beren, with Beren .. or not. And, as I say, maybe the real Beren is not what the story shows us. Maybe that is who she loves and who is now, also free. 

Once again, thank you. 

Paul