Is Tauriel in the Book, the Hobbit? - Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien Blog

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p: is tauriel in the book, the hobbit?

answer: no. Tauriel is a character created by Peter Jackson specifically for his film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien is the hobbit, as are many other characters in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movies. it’s a natural part of film adaptation to add, remove, or change characters. fans of books being made into movies often object to character changes made by the filmmakers.

Evangeline Lilly played Tauriel in two ‘Hobbit’ movies. The character was invented by Peter Jackson to make the story more inclusive and to add a romantic triangle to the plot.

Introduced to audiences in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”, Tauriel (her name means “forest maiden”) is presented as a native Silvan Elf who has risen high in the service and trust of Thranduil, king of the Wood-elves of northern Mirkwood. She appears (to me) to have the authority of a captain.

You are reading: Is tauriel in the books

In an exchange between thranduil and tauriel in the film, thranduil hints that he will never allow legolas to marry a woman of sylvan elven blood. this appears to be an acknowledgment of j.r.r. tolkien’s various descriptions of thranduil as a sindarin elf (originally from doriath in beleriand) who in the second age migrated east with a few followers to establish a kingdom among the less sophisticated but more numerous wood elves.

In the book Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien published some private essays written by his father that attempted to provide more details about the Sylvan Elven Kings of Black Forest and Lothlorien. In these private trials, Thranduil turned out to be the son of Oropher, who was the original “adventurer” who established a kingdom among the southern Wood Elves of Greenwood the Great.

Oropher’s capital was situated on Amon Lanc Hill, which was later taken by Sauron and used as a base for the fortress the Elves called Dol Guldur. Oropher was slain in the war of the last alliance of Elves and Men and Thranduil inherited the kingdom of his father. It was Oropher who gradually led his people north of Greenwood/Mirkwood in a trial after the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria) grew powerful and betrothed to the Elves of Lothlorien. in another essay, it is said that it was thranduil who led his people north after sauron rose again and established dol guldur as the seat of his (then known only as the necromancer) power. p>

There is no hint in Tolkien’s published writings as to who the wives of Oropher and Thranduil might have been. most people believe that oropher probably had a Sindarin wife. thranduil is not associated with any particular prejudice towards the wood elves, with whom Legolas identified in “The Ring Goes South” in the Fellowship of the Ring.

that legolas fell in love with a wood elf does not contradict anything tolkien said about sindarin adventurers who settled among the wood elves. In fact, because they deliberately adopted the names and culture of the Wood Elves, it seems almost highly likely that Legolas was raised as a Wood Elf, barely aware of his Sindarin heritage. but this is all purely speculative.

Tauriel’s being a capable warrior is not incompatible with Tolkien’s depiction of elven women, some of whom traveled alone through dangerous lands with no apparent fear. Luthien and Aredhel are two such examples, although they were both royal princesses and Luthien was the daughter of a Maia named Melian.

the scene where tauriel heals kili is also consistent with tolkien’s depiction of elven women, who were more likely to be healers than men; although tolkien’s reasoning for this distinction was that being a warrior and a lifeguard interfered with or diminished the ability to heal. the “bright” spiritual aura exhibited by tauriel, which many people have compared to arwen’s aura in “the fellowship of the ring”, strikes me as a cinematic element meant to convey to the audience that elves have very powerful spirits that reveal themselves in moments of great effort (magic). (note: for some unknown reason, many movie fans incorrectly identify this spiritual aura as “the light of valinor”.)

this is not necessarily inconsistent with tolkien’s depiction of elves, although the only “bright spirits” the reader encounters in the hobbit or lord of the rings appear when glorfindel attacks the nazgul at bruinen’s ford and Frodo, by then, almost completely transformed into a wraith by his Morgul wound, sees the spirit of Glorfindel; And Sam later sees Frodo in a similar spiritual state when he and Frodo are attacked by Gollum on the slopes of Mount Doom. thus, the “glow spirit” motif appears to be a characteristic of enhanced spiritual expression that requires “another view” (or almost complete integration into “the other world”) and is not necessarily something that every typical observer (among others). men or dwarfs) would. be able to detect.

Peter Jackson has been quoted as saying that he wanted to add a female character to the story as there is none in the book. The apparent “love triangle” involving Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili has impressed many viewers beyond any Tolkienian relationship, but I’m not so sure. Tauriel didn’t explicitly share her feelings for anyone in the movie, but even in the books, Gimli is so totally devoted to Galadriel that he, in fact, loves her in a non-romantic way. however, he is open about his admiration for her beauty and her character. That another dwarf might express a similar fascination with an elf doesn’t seem implausible to me; but if kili and tauriel develop romantic feelings for each other, that would be an extrapolation that the books neither support nor question.

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Is Tauriel in the Book, the Hobbit? – Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien Blog

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