If you have time or feel like answering, I’d like to hear your thoughts on how much of Turin’s tragic life issues are the result from the curse, versus how much from the consequences of his actions, and how much does his belief that he is cursed play a part?
a very good question that I don’t really have a solid answer for. ultimately I think that the curse was deliberately written to be somewhat ambiguous.
looking at Túrin’s mistakes, some of the awful things he did were definitely more accidental than others. Túrin had never actually met Niënor before finding an amnesiac Níniel. how was he supposed to know that this was his long-lost sister, who was supposed to be in Doriath?
Túrin stabbed Beleg because it was dark and stormy outside and he was suddenly awoken by a blade cutting his foot. when you’re stabbed in your sleep while you’re imprisoned at a torture camp, I don’t think your first thought is going to be “oh good my friend is here to save me. by stabbing me.”
these sorts of events can easily be chalked up to the curse or the actions of Glaurung. Glaurung wiped Niënor’s memories and sent her in Túrin’s direction. and killing Beleg definitely wasn’t Túrin’s intention. in the latter case, the narrator supports the reading that this was the fault of the curse; see the wording of “but fate was that day more strong”, implying that the curse caused Beleg’s knife to slip and cut Túrin
(side note: I question if Túrin and Niënor fell in love naturally and it was all just a really unfortunate and unintentional coincidence, or if their marriage was designed as part of Morgoth’s plan. we already know that Glaurung can influence minds psychically, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that his skill set includes love spells. Glaurung is cancelled for shipping incest.)
yet there are other events that feel much less ambiguous. Túrin killed Brandir. this wasn’t self defense, nor was it a case of mistaken identity. just straight up murder. Túrin also disregarded Aerin’s claims that killing Brodda would only bring about more trouble—basically claiming that he knew more about his aunt’s abuse than she did—and this results in her suicide. Túrin was told by elves who had received direct messages from the gods that Nargothrond would only stand if it were to remain hidden, and he still stubbornly insisted that Nargothrond must reveal itself.
this is where the “Túrin’s fault vs the curse’s fault” argument gets murky. did Morgoth force Túrin to kill Brandir? if he did, does that mean Túrin ever actually had free will? let’s look at how Morgoth himself describes the curse:
But upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them down into darkness and despair. Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death.
Morgoth actually does influence Túrin’s actions. I disagree with the idea that Túrin has no free will since everything was actually Morgoth’s doing, and that none of his actions could be considered his fault, yet Tolkien does outright tell us that Túrin really wasn’t the only person influencing Túrin’s worst mistakes. and we know that Glaurung too can directly influence Túrin’s mind, seeing how Glaurung made Túrin run away from the battle of Nargothrond by overpowering his mind and convincing him that his mother and sister needed his help more than Finduilas.
the “Túrin’s fault vs the curse’s fault” argument can lead to two very different opinions. on one side, you can argue that Brandir’s death wasn’t Túrin’s fault because Morgoth forced him to do it. on the other side, you can argue that Túrin is a cruel man who uses the idea of a curse as an excuse for his selfish actions.
both sides have their poor-pissing pitfalls. if nothing was ever really Túrin’s fault, then that honestly makes Túrin a rather boring character, more of a puppet being pulled along Morgoth’s string than a multi-dimensional character capable of thinking for himself. he wouldn’t be a character who does things, he’d just be a character that things happen to. and if you think the curse isn’t real and just an excuse, then, well that’s just stupid because we the readers are literally present in the scene where Morgoth lays his curse on him. like this is a fantasy world where a dinosaur can factory reset a woman, but you draw the line at the idea that curses exist in this story.
I think the influence of the curse was more of an urge than a compelling force upon Túrin. Morgoth was a force in Túrin’s mind, a sort of anti-conscience or a gut feeling. Túrin was never forced against his will to do anything awful, but his immediate gut reaction to certain situations came from Morgoth’s malice. Túrin doesn’t have to do anything Morgoth wants him to do, it’s just very hard to resist. I’m imagining it being kind of like the dark urge in bg3, or the cartoon trope of the devil on your shoulder.
the answer lies somewhere in the middle of the fate vs free will question. but what does “the middle” mean? how much does the curse really influence Túrin’s mind? can Túrin be blamed for some actions more than others? did the curse affect Túrin’s personality? was the curse a mental illness? it’s up to the reader to decide.
(having read some takes in this fandom, I could just take the cheap route and say that everything that my blorbo supposedly did wrong was actually just that dastardly Pengolodh slandering my precious pookie bear. um akshually we don’t know if Túrin really killed Saeros or if it’s just in-universe propaganda☝️🤓)
