Nienna
She Who Weeps
Nienna was a Vala associated with mourning and tears and was the sister of the Feanturi, Mandos and Lorien. She was one of only three female Valar among the eight most powerful, known as the Aratar. Nienna was also the only female Vala who was unmarried, similar to Ulmo who was the only unmarried male Vala; both, interestingly, have associations with water/liquid. During the Music of the Ainur her song quickly became one of deep sadness and thus the sound of mourning was woven into the world from the beginning. But it is important to note that she does not mourn for herself, but rather for the suffering of others, especially all those who were affected by Melkor’s rebellion. She is known for her wisdom, pity, patience, and hope, and the Maia Olorin (Gandalf/Mithrandir in Middle-earth) was her greatest student. Despite the time she spent mourning for the pains Melkor brought, her pity caused her to speak on his behalf when he served three ages of captivity. Like Manwe, Nienna was unable to understand that Melkor had become too evil to ever revert back to the side of Illuvatar. Nienna was also involved in the storyline of the Two Trees of Valinor. At the beginning of their creation, she watered the mound Ezellohar with her tears as Yavanna sang them into being. Later, she washed the filth of Ungoliant away with her tears and helped bring forth one last fruit and flower from the trees to become the Sun and Moon. Her association with healing is interesting because it suggests a connection with the Vala Este, the healer of hurts and weariness, who like Nienna is described as wearing grey clothing. She rarely comes to joyful Valimar, preferring instead to comfort and inspire those who are distraught.
Nienna was very different in Tolkien’s earlier drafts, being portrayed more as a grim death and darkness goddess. She was the sister of Manwe and Melkor (which hints at how powerful she truly is) and the wife of Mandos (called Vefantur) and was often known as Fui. She lived in a dark hall with a roof made of bat wings, and she judged the spirits of men while Mandos/Vefantur judged the elves. She was much less merciful and compassionate as her later version, and refused to let the spirits of Turin and Nienor into her halls. She also wasn’t involved in the Two Trees plotline in these stages. Fui-Nienna also had a number of names/titles that help emphasize how different she was in these early drafts from the Nienna that appears in the published Silmarillion. These include Queen of the Dark, Queen of Shadow, One Who Sighs, Winter One, and Mistress of Death.
While Nienna is much less dark in her final drafts, echoes of her earlier version can still be seen. She is now the sister of Mandos instead of his wife, and she lives near him and visits his halls often to comfort the distraught spirits that live there. Her halls, which are close to those of Mandos, are on the farthest western borders of the world and look out onto the Walls of Night. Her association with both death as well as hope and renewal can be seen in Gandalf, her greatest student, who dies while battling a Balrog, only to be brought back to life in a more powerful form.
Olorin/Mithrandir/Gandalf is the only Maia associated with Nienna in the published Silmarillion. At one point in writing the background stories of the Ithryn Luin (Blue Wizards), Tolkien was associating the Maia/Istar Pallando with Mandos and Nienna, implying some sort of association with death. He eventually changed this to make Pallando, like his friend and companion Alatar, a Maia of the Vala Orome, who was knowledgeable about the eastern lands of Middle-earth that the Blue Wizards would eventually be sent to.
Many people who read and/or study Tolkien’s writings note that many of his female characters (Varda, Melian, Galadriel) appear to draw their inspirations from the Virgin Mary in Tolkien’s Catholic faith. Varda is usually cited as the clearest example of this, but Nienna is another good candidate, essentially being Tolkien’s version of the Our Lady of Sorrows form of Mary.
