I Really Hecking Like Science

Oh.

exile as punishment and healing in tolkien

the fine line between escapism and exile in tolkien’s legendarium 

themes of escape and exile in tolkien

maedhros and elwing are foils

self-destruction and risk in tolkien: the contrast of despair, hope, and defiance

feanor’s legacy in the lord of the rings

reading between the lines: the important but marginal characters in tolkien (celebrimbor)

reading between the lines: how tolkien establishes well-developed characters in hints and allusions

character series: what we know and what we can infer

building and burning bridges in the Silmarillion: exploration of in-text prejudice and tolerance 

gender dynamics among elves (if we ignore tolkien’s bias against women and take the skewed gender ratio as random chance instead of minor sexism)

love and sexuality in the silmarillion: in-depth analysis of defining relationship 

relationship dynamics in the silmarillion 

strange, tragic, and/or forbidden love in the silmarillion (“ill chances and strange fates”) 

views of mortality among elves 

the “athrabeth finrod ah andreth” as a defining character snapshot, a philosophical text, and a major example of elf-human conflict and interaction in the legendarium 

theories on frodo’s life in aman 

the scope of the tragedy of celebrimbor and sauron: the destruction of eregion, celebrimbor’s torture and death, and the crossing of sauron’s moral event horizon

moral event horizons in the silmarillion

the personal is political: how the complicated and messy dynamics of the house of finwe shaped the first age

Part 1/2 of all the sketches I did during this year’s LOTR marathon!