Editing Finwë and Míriel (section)

=== "A strange case" ===

{{further|Christianity in Middle-earth#Fall of man}}

Tolkien mentions in a letter "a strange case of an Elf (Míriel mother of Fëanor) that tried to ''die'', which had disastrous results, leading to the 'Fall' of the High-elves"; he discusses it in the [[Christianity in Middle-earth|context of the Fall of Man]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=''Letters'' #212 to Rhona Beare, unsent draft continuation of #211 of 14 October 1958 }}</ref> Dickerson writes that while Fëanor is held responsible by the Valar, "neither Finwë nor Míriel is blameless".{{sfn|Dickerson|2013|pp=212–213}} He states that no reason is given in ''The Silmarillion'' for Míriel's decision, beyond the enormous amount of energy, "enough for many children", that she put into Fëanor. However, he notes that Morgoth had already worked his evil on the Elves when they were still at Cuiviénen, where they first awakened, in the east of Middle-earth, sowing "the seeds of despair"; this might, he suggests, have contributed to Míriel's loss of hope.{{sfn|Dickerson|2013|pp=212–213}} Tolkien wrote in ''[[Laws and Customs Among the Eldar]]'' that "Niënna came to Manwë, and she said: 'Lord of Aman, it is now made clear that the death of Míriel was an evil of Arda Marred, for with the coming hither of the Eldar the Shadow hath found an entrance even into Aman.'"<ref name="Laws and Customs among the Eldar" group=T/>

Fontenot notes that Tolkien's drafts differ widely in how long Míriel lives after Fëanor's birth, and hence in whether she can influence his ill humour directly. This in turn affects the issue of how far Finwë and Míriel can be blamed for the consequences of Fëanor's actions. It is a question that the Valar debate amongst themselves.{{sfn|Fontenot|2019a}}{{sfn|Fontenot|2019b}}