Two important characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Legendarium are pivotal to a Germanic narrative of the Eldar: Fëanor and Galadriel. Fëanor pivots the narrative of the Eldar to one resembling the Germanic heroic epic by invoking a wyrd, through his free choice [on the Silmarils], against himself and the Noldor who followed him, which leads to their doom. Galadriel, on the other hand, as the last of the Noldorin rebels and a penitent, pivots the fatalistic and heroic Elvish narrative to eucatastrophe through own her free will and choice.
This article examines First Age themes of free will, banishment and exile, doom and providence through textual cue such as the spatial imagery, tonality, and character action. In doing so, themes and motifs become clearer and interweave together to form a rich tapestry of the Eldar’s Germanic narrative. This tapestry of Germanic heroism, or ‘Northern courage’ as Tolkien called it, comes to an end with Galadriel’s eucatastrophe as she resists the temptation of the One Ring as well as ancient desires. The eucatastrophe allows the penitent Galadriel to not only redeem herself but also the remnant Noldor in Middle-earth. Galadriel, through her own redemption and consequently the redemption of the remnant Noldor, ends the Germanic narrative in the Lord of the Rings.
…In her wisdom, with the help of Frodo (and perhaps providence) and the salient symbol of high hope, her choice of free will ‘corrects’ the wyrd invoked by Fëanor’s similar, but unwise choice to refuse Yavanna [to destroy the Silmarils for healing the greater glory of the Two Trees]. Wyrd is indeed conjured by the Noldor through Fëanor’s choice, and it seems that “what is done is done, with which there is no arguing.” Unless, as Galadriel has shown, “one should discover the way out of the exile of this world and into eternal life” (2006, 53). The way out of exile, of course, was another choice of free will that corrected and satisfied the Germanic wyrd. Galadriel, with her own redemption and consequently the redemption of the remnant Noldor, ends that Germanic narrative in the Lord of the Rings. On the cusp of the Fourth Age, the fatalistic Germanic ethos of Northern courage and the Germanic narrative that began with the Noldor prince Fëanor fades into the mist with the Noldor’s redemption and emancipation from exile. No one character personifies this transition more than the Elven Lady Galadriel.