Túrin and Aragorn: Evading and Embracing Fate

J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S WORKS CAN BE DESCRIBED, AMONG MANY OTHER WAYS, as fractal. Like artworks generated by fractal equations, the same themes repeat over and over again, level after level; any place you slice through, you find the same structure, the same motifs, reinforced through repetition and variation, down to the very heart of the work. One subject we find treated this way in Tolkien is the complex one of fate and free will; the ultimate hopeless futility of fighting one's wyrd and the tao of the world are contrasted with the virtues of willingly working in harmony with the destiny of the wider universe. We find this theme repeated at many levels, from overarching concepts common to Tolkien's entire oeuvre to the level of genre, plot, character, setting, and recurring motif; from the cosmic conflicts of the Valar down to the mortal affairs of Men. Aragorn and Turin, two of the greatest warriors and most important protagonists in Tolkien's legendarium, represent these opposing reactions to destiny, doom, hope, and the forces of fate. Aragorn, descendant of kings, exhibits a willing and unwavering acceptance of the decades of hard work and self-denial he will have to undertake to claim his foretold place as the king who will unite the free people of Middle-earth. Turin, heir to a great House of Men in the First Age of Middle-earth, is also heir to Morgoth's curse on his father, and he attempts to escape, by almost any means possible, the tragedy which always dogs his footsteps. The deeper we go, the more we find these themes embedded in their lives and characters, and in their similarities and differences, just as in fractal images. There are a number of parallel incidents in the lives of these heroes; for example, both are humans foster-fathered by elven-lords who rule hidden kingdoms, both inherit a famous sword that is reforged and renamed, and both are loved by elf-women. There are also great differences that are reflected in both their characters and the genres of their stories--a form of repetition with variation. Because Turin's story is a tragic and episodic romance and Turin's character is hot-tempered and hubristic, he betrays the trust of Thingol by causing the death of one of his trusted advisors, and his counsels of aggression lead to the fall of Nargothrond to the dragon Glaurung. And because his ego is so centered on himself, his wrongs, and his antagonism towards the world at large, he is unaware of the love of both Nellas and Finduilas, in the latter case with tragic results. Because Aragorn's story is an epic quest with a clear goal and Aragorn's character is steady, confident, and not over-proud, he treats the women who love him with great sensitivity, listens closely to the advice of his friends and military advisors, maintains an attitude of stewardship towards the world, and understands and honors Elrond's conditions for his marriage to Arwen. Undergirding these basic differences, as Jesse Mitchell points out, are their differing styles of heroic ethos: Christian, living by "principles of enduring hope" for Aragorn, and pagan for Turin, "preoccupied with aspirations of immediate lof and dom," or fame and reputation (90). To pull back to the level of motif, we find that both characters are also notable for accumulating a great number of different names in the course of their careers. In keeping with the fractal nature of Tolkien's art, this is not merely a shallow coincidence--names are important signifiers of character, plot, social position, and relative power--and additionally, as we peel back the fractal layers, we will see that their relationships to their multiple names also tell the stories of their relationships to fate. At yet another level, that of source-study, we find that in Tolkien's source literature, especially medieval romances and folklore, name-giving, name-changing, polyonomy (having multiple names), and namelessness are all deeply meaningful. In this paper I want to look closely at how the name-stories of these two heroes both echo and drive the stories of their relationships with fate. …