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The Children of Húrin
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Character Analysis
Túrin Turambar
Content Warning: The source material features depictions of violence, unintended incest, and of death by suicide during a period of grief.
Túrin Turambar is the primary protagonist and tragic hero of The Children of Húrin. As Húrin Thalion’s firstborn son, he is heir to the lordship of the House of Hador. His mother, Morwen Eledhwen, is also descended from nobility, hailing from the House of Bëor. Túrin has two sisters: Urwen Lalaith, who dies from illness as a child, and Niënor Níniel, who later becomes his wife.
Túrin is primarily characterized by his serious nature. He is said to resemble his mother in both appearance and behavior since she also reserves her emotions out of pride and often presents as being stern. As a child, Túrin receives comparatively little affection since his parents seem to prefer Urwen, even calling her “Lalaith” for her laughter. When Urwen dies, Túrin experiences grief for the first time and reflects on The Frail Nature of Humanity. As he grows older, his serious nature is compounded by his pride and his short temper, which those around him often provoke.
Nevertheless, Túrin’s nobility and charisma consistently win him strong friendships, even in unlikely places; as a child, he bestows gifts of love on the outcast Sador and he later enjoys the respect of Mîm the Dwarf despite the role one of his own men played in the death of Mîm’s son. Túrin grows up to become a legendary warrior, earning himself several nicknames, the most important of which is Mormegil, the Black Sword. He uses his prowess in combat to resist the invading forces of Morgoth in each of the places he inhabits, and his cunning as a warrior allows him to slay Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, toward the end of the novel.
However, Túrin’s military endeavors do not always go according to plan, whether due to his own rashness or to the curse Morgoth has laid upon his family, which renders them susceptible to bad fortune, poor counsel, and betrayal. These issues recur across Túrin’s life, as he is often antagonized by those who either look down upon him for his human nature or are jealous of the love he inspires in other people. He is forced to leave Doriath, for instance, when he is implicated in the accidental death of Saeros, a counselor of Thingol. In other cases, his misfortune directly results in the death of close friends like Beleg Strongbow and Finduilas, an Elf who falls in love with him.
Túrin believes that by changing his identity he can escape the curse on his family. He thus assumes several aliases throughout the course of the novel, though the Elf warrior Gwindor reminds him that the curse has less to do with his name than with who he is. Nevertheless, Túrin continues to forsake his name, even renouncing it at Brethil to assume a new identity under the name Turambar, which means Master of Doom. Ominously, this is the same title that Morgoth gives to himself, and Túrin does ultimately end up fulfilling Morgoth’s curse, discovering that his wife, Níniel, was also his sister. Alternatively, one can read Túrin’s own pride as causing his downfall, functioning as a tragic flaw. For example, his pride prompts him to prematurely remove his sword from Glaurung’s wound, exposing him to Glaurung’s poison and setting off the chain of events that results in Níniel’s discovery of who she is. Túrin ultimately dies by suicide, throwing himself upon the blade of his sword Gurthang after he discovers Níniel’s true identity and fate.
Niënor Níniel
Niënor Níniel is the secondary protagonist of The Children of Húrin, having been born to Morwen Eledhwen and Húrin Thalion after the departure of her brother Túrin Turambar from Dor-lómin. She comes of age in the protected Elf city of Doriath, which her mother, Morwen, decides to leave after hearing of Túrin’s involvement in the fall of Nargothrond. Niënor resembles her father with her fair hair and strong stature. As such, she blends well with Mablung’s guard when they follow Morwen during her journey to Nargothrond. She proves to be headstrong when Morwen commands her to return to Doriath. This is a recurring character trait, as Níniel later repeatedly refuses the counsel of Brandir, the leader of Brethil. That stubbornness is her tragic flaw, leading her not only to a fateful encounter with Glaurung but also to the revelation that results in her death.
Niënor is not exempt from the curse that Morgoth places on Húrin and his family. However, her misfortunes are deeply tied to her direct interactions with Glaurung, a Dragon whom Morgoth sends to conquer the Elf city of Nargothrond. After Niënor unwittingly reveals her relation to Húrin, Glaurung maliciously obscures her memories, causing her to forget her life and name, as well as her faculty for speech. She runs into the forest and comes upon Turambar, who takes her appearance for a sign since they meet near the grave of Finduilas.
Though she cannot recall the details of her life, Niënor is moved to tears whenever she is asked for her name and family. This prompts Turambar to call her Níniel, which means the Maid of Tears. After she regains her ability to speak, she and Turambar marry and conceive a child. She is still pregnant by the time Glaurung turns his attention to Brethil, and the Dragon uses the last of his strength to return Níniel’s memory to her. The revelation that she has married her brother greatly distresses her, causing her to throw herself off a gorge.
Morgoth
Morgoth is the primary antagonist of The Children of Húrin. Originally called Melkor, he was the oldest and strongest of the Valar, gods with great powers who come into Arda during its creation. Following his theft of the Silmarilli, enchanted Elven jewels, Melkor is renamed Morgoth, and he establishes his worldly realm at Angband, a fortress built near the mountains of Thangorodrim. The creator of the Silmarilli, Fëanor, leaves Aman to pursue Morgoth and win back the jewels, resulting in a prolonged war.
The Children of Húrin begins at a turning point in this broader conflict: Despite the great alliance formed by the sons of Fëanor, the rest of the Noldor (the clan of Elves to which Fëanor belonged), and various houses of Men, Morgoth proves himself the victor at a battle that is soon known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, or the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. One of his prisoners is Húrin Thalion of the House of Hador, who is one of the only Men known to have visited the secret Elf city of Gondolin. Morgoth leverages this knowledge to his advantage because he fears Turgon, the leader of Gondolin and now the leader of the Noldor in general. When Húrin resists Morgoth’s threats, Morgoth places a powerful curse upon him and his family: Not only will all his family come to ruin and hopeless death, but Húrin must watch as this happens.
In the clash of Fate Versus Free Will, the curse that Morgoth places on Húrin’s family functions largely as fate; it drives the central conflict and narrative arc of the novel, especially as the two protagonists, Túrin and Niënor, struggle to evade and resist the effects of the curse. It is only after they die that Morgoth releases Húrin from his prison. Húrin then visits the grave of his children, where he encounters his wife, Morwen Eledhwen, one last time. When Morwen asks Húrin if he knows how Niënor and Túrin found each other, Húrin refuses to answer, knowing that the truth is too terrible to reveal to his wife. With that, Morgoth succeeds in his quest to break the spirit of Húrin Thalion.
Glaurung
As a secondary antagonist in The Children of Húrin, Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, serves Morgoth as a henchman, destroying cities at the will of his master. Glaurung briefly appears early in the narrative, having been waylaid by Dwarves at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. His image is also described as being part of the defiant crest of the Dragon-helm of Hador, which Túrin wears to battle when he comes of age in Doriath.
However, it is not until the fall of Nargothrond that Glaurung becomes a prominent player in the narrative. He breathes fire to break open the gates of the city and turns Nargothrond into a ruin that he claims for himself. Glaurung is described as possessing an evil spirit, which Turambar says is the true source of his power, rather than the Dragon’s mighty body. Glaurung has the ability to petrify enemies with his stare, which he uses on Túrin during the fall of Nargothrond. He can also throw his enemies’ minds into darkness, obscuring their memories, which he deploys with malice on Niënor during their encounter. Finally, Glaurung is a skilled liar and causes Túrin to believe that his mother and his sister have been enslaved at Dor-lómin. Turambar reveals that Glaurung’s primary weakness is his soft belly, which the Dwarves exploited to rout him at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Near the end of the novel, Turambar sneaks up to Glaurung and uses his sword to pierce the Dragon’s belly. This mortally wounds Glaurung, but he musters enough strength before he dies to reveal Níniel and Turambar’s true identities, thus fulfilling the curse of bad fortune that Morgoth placed upon Húrin and his family.
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By J. R. R. Tolkien
