Twilight, Child of: Comparisons Between Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel by JazTheBard  

Introduction

In the Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, three characters share the same stated or implied name etymology, “twilight + child,” in their secondary names: Lúthien, Arwen, and Maeglin. While the parallels between Lúthien and Arwen are outright stated in the text of The Lord of the Rings, Maeglin’s position as an antagonist sees him left out of the analysis of parallels between characters of the same name.

Information is taken from The Silmarillion, The Fall of Gondolin, The Lays of Beleriand (History of Middle-earth 3), and The Lord of the Rings, with some etymologies sourced from Parf Edhellen (elfdict.com) for ease of research.

Parallels

Names

As mentioned in the title, the three share a name root, though Tolkien provides a different gloss for each. Lúthien is called Tinúviel (tinnu + iel), which means “nightingale” (Silmarillion 165) but can also be taken literally as “twilight daughter.” Maeglin is called Lómion (lómë + ion), and is translated as “child of twilight” (Silmarillion 133) where lómë typically means “night” as opposed to twilight; it is most notably used to mean night in “auta i lómë.” Arwen’s name is Undómiel (undómë + él), meaning “twilight star,” but the spelling seems to imply undómë + iel, or twilight daughter (Parf Edhellen).

Physical Appearance

Arwen and Lúthien’s physical resemblance is remarked upon in the text, saying that Arwen is “the likeness of Lúthien” (FotR 221) but Maeglin, at least in the published Silmarillion, shares some key features. He has the same black hair, pale skin, and bright eyes as Arwen and Lúthien, but his eyes are “dark,” not gray (Silmarillion 134, FotR 221). Earlier drafts aren’t consistent with this comparison (TFoG 61).

Similarly, the poetic language used to describe them creates parallels. Aragorn’s song of Lúthien uses the word shadow four times, three of them in reference to Lúthien’s hair, and two of those in the same stanza (FotR 187-189):

As Beren looked into her eyes
Within the shadows of her hair,
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored shimmering.
Tinúviel the elven-fair,
Immortal maiden elven-wise,
About him cast her shadowy hair,
And arms like silver glimmering.

The starlight and shadow imagery found throughout the poem also brings to mind Nan Elmoth, “valley of starry dusk,” where Lúthien’s parents met and Maeglin was born.

In the Lays of Beleriand, the Lay of Leithian gives a similar account (HoME 3, 175):

He gazed, and as he gazed her hair
Within its cloudy web did snare
The silver moonbeams sifting white...

The idea of shadowy hair entangling is repeated in a fragment of The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin (HoME 3, 146) when describing Maeglin:

And dark he was and secret, and his hair was as the strands of night
That are tangled in Taur Fuin the forest without light.

Family and Culture

Lúthien is half-Maia and half-elf, and as her descendant, Arwen is likewise part Maia, but is also part-Man. The only one of the three who is solely elven is Maeglin, but even he comes from two cultures.

Both Arwen and Maeglin make the choice of which side of their heritage to belong with, but Arwen’s choice is more metaphysical than Maeglin’s. While Arwen chooses freely to live a mortal life, knowing it will sunder her from her family (as does Lúthien), Maeglin is first denied all Noldorin culture (Silmarillion 134, “You are... not of the Golodhrim”) and then cut off from his previous life entirely by Gondolin.

Lúthien’s choice to become mortal is described not only as choosing a limited lifespan, but “putting aside all claim to kinship with those that dwell [in the Blessed Realm]” (Silmarillion 187), implying both a choice of fate and of culture. Likewise, the choice made by Elros and Elrond, and therefore extending later to Arwen, is given in terms of “be counted among” and “abide with” (Silmarillion 254), choosing both mortality/immortality and which kindred they would be part of societally. Arwen does the same, becoming mortal so as to live a life with Aragorn in Gondor among other Men. Maeglin is given a similar but much less pleasant choice upon arriving in Gondolin, particularly embodied in the argument over him that Eöl and Turgon have over him: Eöl demanding that Maeglin leave with him, while also denying the familial connection between Maeglin and Turgon, and Turgon giving the ultimatum to “abide here, or to die here” (Silmarillion 137). It is worth noting that, while before this point Maeglin has enthusiastically chosen Aredhel and her culture, he never makes an answer to Turgon’s choice at all; Aredhel’s death and then Eöl’s end up making the decision for him, and he is specifically described as saying nothing at either of these points (Silmarillion 138).

Another familial similarity for Lúthien and Maeglin is their respective parents, who met in Nan Elmoth. When Thingol met Melian there, “a spell was laid on him” (Silmarillion 55), and Eöl “set his enchantments about [Aredhel]” (Silmarillion 133). The passive voice leaves it unclear whether the spell occurred or was laid by Melian on purpose, whereas the active voice credits Eöl’s action to himself, but both of these meetings can be considered dubious depending on interpretation of the former quote, and magic is involved in both. It is Thingol, however, who later parallels Eöl for Lúthien: he places Lúthien in Hírilorn and prevents her from leaving (Silmarillion 172), as Eöl threatens to “set [Maeglin] in bonds” and ceases allowing Maeglin to accompany him out of Nan Elmoth (Silmarillion 134). Both of these instances of control and imprisonment serve to cut Lúthien and Maeglin off from the culture they end up choosing (or that is chosen for them), Lúthien kept away from Beren and Maeglin unable to meet any of the Noldor. But Arwen, who goes freely between Rivendell and Lothlórien and presumably wherever else she pleases, is at no point forbidden from her choice, although the parallel to Lúthien and Beren is brought up (LotR Appendix A 1034-1035).

All three also, in one way or another, lose their mothers. Celebrían does not die, but sails West after receiving a poisoned wound (LotR Appendix A 1-62), and Aredhel likewise is wounded by a poisoned javelin and dies (Silmarillion 138). Melian leaves Middle-earth as well after Thingol’s death (Silmarillion 234), but is not herself physically harmed. Arwen and Lúthien are at these points both adults, Arwen over two thousand years old and Lúthien’s age several hundred to several thousand depending on Tree Years, but Maeglin is only eighty (dates from Tolkien Gateway).

Plot Beats

The plotlines of Lúthien, Arwen, and Maeglin can all be reductively summarized as “an immortal of mixed ancestry, living in a realm in some way cut off from its surroundings, meets a human from the wilderness in that realm and proceeds to die because of that human.”

Doriath and Nan Elmoth are both forests associated with enchantment, and Gondolin and Rivendell are both hidden-valley realms. Doriath is the only one that never admits mortals, but it isn’t a common occurrence in Gondolin, either; both Beren and Tuor’s entries to their respective locations are notable. Beren should not be able to enter Doriath, but does, as “a great doom lay upon him” (Silmarillion 165), and Tuor is sent there by a Vala. Aragorn, by contrast, is fostered by Elrond as were many of his forebears, and while Rivendell is hidden, it admits travelers readily.

As a side note, Arwen is the only one who never enters Angband. Lúthien goes there in order to win a Silmaril, and Maeglin is brought there after his capture, but by the time Arwen is born it no longer exists. Lúthien also is imprisoned by those who mean her ill, in this case Celegorm and Curufin, after running away from home, just as Maeglin is on his excursion from Gondolin.

Lúthien falls for Beren when she meets him in her hidden kingdom. and eventually dies of grief for him, and then dies again of old age. Arwen likewise falls in love with Aragorn and chooses a mortal life, proceeding to die. Maeglin instead gets himself killed by Tuor after being his enemy for years, but “falling” would still be an apt descriptor.

Analysis

While these three share a great deal, they serve different purposes in the narrative. Where Lúthien is an active and heroic force in her story, Arwen has little direct influence on the plot, exercising agency instead on her own life in choosing mortality. Maeglin is instead cast as a villain from his first few mentions as foreshadowing of his later deeds. However, given the symmetries present in their stories, it is possible to place them in one another's narratives, and thereby observe how their characters fit their respective niches.

Lúthien and Arwen can take one another’s roles somewhat successfully. While not much is known about the extent of Arwen’s magical ability, her strength of character (steadfastness and wisdom) should carry her through most of Lúthien’s emotional difficulties. Her more even temper and considered choices might even introduce a voice of reason and sidestep some of the problems brought on by rash action, which are nearly all of them. This, however, would ruin the plot of “Of Beren and Lúthien.” Lúthien in Arwen’s story would be assumed to appear more in the course of the plot, but in order to actually fulfill Arwen’s role as a herald of safety and healing (as Arwen appears in the safety of Rivendell to indicate these to Frodo, and in Minas Tirith to represent them to Middle-earth, as well as giving Frodo the ability to go to Valinor for the same) she might, instead of appearing during the quest of the Fellowship, instead take on movie-Arwen’s niche of helping to heal Frodo from his wounds, as Lúthien possesses healing ability. While she could fulfill this role, she wouldn’t be showing her character as clearly, and if she did show her character better by, perhaps, sneaking into Orthanc and defeating Saruman to save Merry and Pippin, this would not be Arwen’s narrative role.

Arwen and Maeglin have a more complicated swap. Having both the habit of thinking things through and the plot armor of the more pedestalized female characters that prevents her from ever being wrong, Arwen can be relied upon to heed Ulmo’s advice, thereby avoiding being captured. However, she may also fall for Idril, as Aragorn, too, is her heir-to-a-throne cousin. How, exactly, the love triangle would go upon her later falling in love with this story’s designated wilderness human is anyone’s guess. It’s also difficult to estimate how she would fare in Nan Elmoth and the escape to Gondolin, as she hasn’t been in a comparable situation. Maeglin, in Arwen’s place, would probably join Elladan and Elrohir in hunting orcs after Celebrían’s suffering, and would be a terrible symbol of safety and healing. Given his scorn towards Húrin and Huor, the hobbits would not find themselves particularly welcomed by him. It’s also difficult to imagine him choosing mortality, but wanting to marry Aragorn less so, given the aforementioned parallel.

But, of all of them, Lúthien and Maeglin are the worst for taking one another’s places. Both are provably capture-able, and get trapped in forests by their fathers, but have very different track records. Lúthien, in Maeglin’s place, would be able to avoid getting cursed, probably by successfully convincing Turgon not to execute Eöl. It’s unlikely that she would fall for Idril, take up any power, or attend the Nirnaeth, but she would fall in love with Tuor. She would also go out and get captured and brought to Angband, where the real trouble lies. If the rules of the character take precedence -- that Lúthien can do no wrong and can’t be more than inconvenienced on a physical level -- she will escape without trouble. Either someone comes to rescue her, she uses her magic to send everyone to sleep and escapes, or someone in Angband helps her get out. However, if the narrative wins out, no one will help her. Thankfully, revealing information under torment is “Schrödinger’s moral failing” in Tolkien’s works, in that it’s only unforgivable if the character has already been assigned the role of complete villain. Even Gollum gets some grace for telling Sauron about the hobbits, and Gorlim is condemned hardly at all for betraying Barahir. Under these circumstances, Lúthien would likely be forgiven. Maeglin in Lúthien’s story is much less likely to ask permission for anything, or allow Beren to do so, but would certainly escape if placed under guard. However, he has less magical ability (it’s hard to say how much less, given Eöl’s magic), and will find his challenges more difficult, but he does generally think things through and is persuasive, which may mitigate that. Of course, if the character takes precedence, he will end up marrying Celegorm, which is a terrible ending for everyone in the story, but if narrative takes precedence, Huan would help him despite his less-pleasant-than-Lúthien personality. For these two, dealing with capture and/or Angband comes down to having or not having external support: Lúthien is well-loved by many, and even when her own strength is insufficient she is aided; Maeglin has no such help.

As another note on parallels: the Tolkien fandom, in exploring close relationships that are not statedly romantic, parallels to Beren and Lúthien are used as evidence favoring a romantic interpretation, specifically in the instances of Sam and Frodo and Maedhros and Fingon. By this measure, any degree of canonicity that the Sam/Frodo and Maedhros/Fingon relationships possess can likewise be attributed to Maeglin/Tuor, by virtue of the parallels to both Beren and Lúthien and Arwen and Aragorn, providing a new lens through which to analyze the Gondolin storyline.

Conclusion

Analyzing the characters of Lúthien, Arwen, and Maeglin with a view to their narrative symmetries can bring new insight to their characters and their places within the story. Tindómiel would also be a good addition to this group, but there is too little information on her to know how she fits into the “twilight + child” pattern.

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