The Silmarils are not MacGuffins

lintamande:

I think, on a first readthrough of the Silmarillion, there were a lot of things I accepted as happening because the plot required it, not because, you know, it actually made any sense. Like the departure of the Noldor from Aman, or Morgoth stealing the Silmarils, or Thingol wanting a Silmaril, or Celegorm and Curufin turning evil in Nargothrond. 

But I think that’s selling Tolkien short, and selling the story short. I’ve made the case in detail for why some of these apparently-plot-motivated decisions made sense, and today I’m going to tackle another one by exploring the Silmarils: why they deserve the reverence they’re treated with by the text and by the characters, why the determination of everyone to steal them or hold onto them isn’t as stupid as it looks, and generally why I think we sell the story short by behaving as if they have only sentimental value. 

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