the general perception of the silmarillion as mostly as an inaccessible, dry text of elvish history isn’t entirely wrong and most likely the experience of reading the first time (or ever) won’t be visceral for the individual, yet i don’t agree about the characters not having motivations or depth. it’s a situation where the more you parse through it and become familiar with the larger picture of the myths, the more emotional and impactful the tales of the characters become- and tbh i would say “accessible” to contemporary audiences once one gets past the initial difficulty.








