Peter_20
04-04-2007, 11:38 AM
Melkor is, as we all know, the main villain in Tolkien's story of Arda.
He's often portraited as the great disaster of the world, a being that should've never been in the first place.
But if you think about it, what would Arda be like if there were no evil anywhere?
Would fantastic things really be appreciated if there were no opposites?
I think not.
I think life on Arda would be a mere sugar-sweet paradise, where everyone lived happy lives every day and never realized how blessed they were.
Sooner or later they would wither away, and feel disgusted by their flawless lives.
I actually think even Paradise needs its evils every now and then, because complete peace and beauty is one of the worst sufferings you can endure.
The way I see it, Melkor and his evil intentions were created to bring a type of balance in the world - why else would he exist?
Of course there are some evils that are just too much (Túrin's sad fate, etc) but Melkor's existence guaranteed a balance that made life meaningful.
He's often portraited as the great disaster of the world, a being that should've never been in the first place.
But if you think about it, what would Arda be like if there were no evil anywhere?
Would fantastic things really be appreciated if there were no opposites?
I think not.
I think life on Arda would be a mere sugar-sweet paradise, where everyone lived happy lives every day and never realized how blessed they were.
Sooner or later they would wither away, and feel disgusted by their flawless lives.
I actually think even Paradise needs its evils every now and then, because complete peace and beauty is one of the worst sufferings you can endure.
The way I see it, Melkor and his evil intentions were created to bring a type of balance in the world - why else would he exist?
Of course there are some evils that are just too much (Túrin's sad fate, etc) but Melkor's existence guaranteed a balance that made life meaningful.