hi! There's a wide range in how people interpret Maedhros' character. I'm curious to know what you think though. Do you think he's a tragic hero or a villain near the end of his life? I just cannot see him as a complete villain because of the remorse and regret he shows over his mistakes. But I know some peeps interpret his character to be darker after Nirnaeth Arnoediad. What do you think?
Ooh, thanks for the question! My first instinct was to say Maedhros is obviously a villain by the end of the Silmarillion, but then I thought it through a bit more and I really think he’s more of a classic tragic hero.
He’s got many of the elements of a tragic hero with that tension between fate and freewill. It’s very reminiscent of the Greek tragic heros. On the fate side, we have this excellent quote that’s been going around:
“the eldest, whose ardour yet more eager burnt
than his father’s flame, than Fëanor’s wrath;
him fate awaited with fell purpose.”
But he also has freewill. Maedhros chose to swear the Oath, he didn’t have to attack Doriath, he didn’t have to attack Sirion, and he didn’t have to slay the guards and steal the Silmaril; there’s blood on his hands and it’s his fault both on a personal level and as the leader for the Feanorians.
By the end of the Silmarillion, I personally would describe him as evil (and I think many characters whose loved ones were slain by him would agree with me!) — that’s why the Silmaril burns him: “the right to the work of their father, which the sons of Fëanor formerly possessed, had now perished, because of their many and merciless deeds, being blinded by their oath, and most of all because of their slaying of Dior and the assault upon the Havens.” The fact that he’s fallen so far though is incredibly tragic because we see his regret along the way and his attempts to reclaim the Silmarils by working with his allies. He also makes many good decisions, especially with how he makes peace with Fingolfin and spends his time gathering allies throughout much of the Silm. Adding to the tragedy is his terrible luck — everything that can go wrong does go wrong. It’s not his fault he was captured by Morgoth, It’s not his fault Celegorm and Curufin decide to alienate all of Nargothrond AND Doriath (Doriath already didn’t like them, but after the Luthien incident there was no way they were going to help), and it’s not his fault Ulfang betrays him at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
Maedhros is an excellent tragic hero because there are so many reasons to root for him, and yet he falls so far that by the end he has more blood on his hands than other characters that are set up narratively as villains.
That’s all textual analysis stuff — in terms of headcanons, I like to imagine a slightly crazed Maedhros post-Nirnaeth, and if I were to write him I would write him as frightening and despairing, but not cruel. I also enjoy the headcanon/fanon that Maedhros has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility (classic oldest child problem). I wrote above that I hold him responsible for his actions at Doriath, Sirion, etc with an extra dollop of responsibility considering his status as a leader, but I think that Maedhros also feels responsible for the things he couldn’t control, like his capture, his batshit brothers, and his betrayal.
Thanks again for the question! It was enjoyable writing out all the Maedhros thoughts I’ve had brewing for a while, and it will be very helpful for future writing projects :)
