Woven in Darkness: Gender Oppression and the Inheritance of Morgoth’s Curse in The Children of Húrin

The Children of Húrin constructs a tragic story about fate and free will tainted by the curse of Morgoth. The main attention is drawn to the sad life development of Túrin Turambar and his sister Nienor. However, gendered dynamics are not disregarded within the storyline. In this way, by focusing on the mother of Nienor and on women in Middle-earth, one can see how the limitation of women’s possibilities is specific to Tolkien’s world yet is a reflection of our reality while being created. This paper uses textual analysis methodology to investigate the curse of Morgoth and gender subordination. Focusing on female characters in The Children of Húrin, the analysis of women is conducted to focus on the patriarchal structures and their influences. Eventually, the paper examines various events in Children of Húrin side by side with feminist literary criticism exploring Nienor and Morwen in the text. The paper also examines gender-based violence as an additional tool of the Morgoth’s curse. The discussion is focussed on gender oppression which is entwined with the destinies of female characters that cannot be removed from Morgoth's curse. Nienor’s degrading defeat and Morwen’s quiet pain lend emphasis to the anguish and defeat of women that arise from the oppression of men and the curse that determines their fate. However, The Children of Húrin is a harsh indictment of patriarchal relations which shows that the inheritance of Morgoth’s curse is not limited to the male heroes only but is distributed to the women as well in a most negative way.

Keywords: Gender-Based Violence, Oppression, Anguish, Destinies, Fate, Gender.