Tolkien's Silvan Elves and Racial Coding
- diversetolkien
- Aug 15, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 7, 2019
This meta is adapted from question I received on my blog about a year ago.
The question read:
Answer:
Their skin color is never mentioned aside from a description on Tolkien gateway, which to my understanding has no proper source. I used to think of it as law, but it is wikipedia so anyone can edit it. I’ve also tried to find the exact passage where Silvan elf skin color is actually described, but I’ve come up with nothing.
That said, the coding comes from contextual evidence as well as how they’re narratives are written within the books.
I think the first obvious bit is the aspects of colonization introduced in the Silvan elves narrative that mirrors European colonization very, very acutely. Colonization is a prominent theme, especially in elven areas such as Loth Lorien (even before Galadriel and Celeborn ruled the realm).
The Sindar elves introduced colonization into Loth Lorien, and following that, Galadriel and Celeborn continued it (though to be fair, it was more of cultural sharing with Amrod, but Nimrodel was still uncomfortable, which I thin is indication enough that not all was well with the Silvan and the Sindar).
And here’s the bit about the Sindar Colonization (and keep in mind it continues with Thingol and Melian keeping Silvan in a girdle).
That all together, it’s evident to see how deeply colonization is immersed within the narrative of the Silvan elves.
And while it’s true that people of color weren’t the only ones colonized, the narrative mirrors english colonization very closely. Tolkien himself was an Englishman who was born in South Africa, which was heavily colonized, and who also comes from a culture which colonized indigenous Americans.
Also keep in mind that the Sindar and Noldor are heavily coded to be white and European. Galadriel is Noldor, who are white, and she has blond hair. Galadriel herself conjures up images of the photo, Manifest Destiny by John Gast. If you’re unfamiliar with the term manifest destiny, it was basically westward expansion, which is some of the most brutal forms of colonization.
And I mean, the description of the piece ties in the colonist aspects:
This painting was done 1872, The Silmarillion came out way after that. I don’t believe the similarities between Galadriel and the Manifest destiny was a mistake.
The Sindar themselves are silver haired with blue eyes, which doesn’t exactly conjure up images of people of color (at least Olwe, whom is related to both Galadriel and Celeborn).
So already, we have a narrative focussed around colonization, where said colonisers are coded to be white European, and the author himself was born in a colony that was the direct result of colonization. Also, Tolkien is notoriously racist within his works.
Also, I think it’s important to pay attention to the ambiguity of their skin color. Tolkien goes out of his way to specify that white elves are white. But for elves of color, it’s always been implied with contextual evidence. Even for Eol, a lot of his coding heavily relies on his narrative and the trope that he’s written into. Of course it’s easier believe that he’s supposed to be black, given that we have Maeglin’s skin color to give evidence, but aside from that Tolkien his very ambiguous.
But the narrative essentially tells it how it is.
Also it’s no mistake that the Noldor and Teleri come from lands where there are fortresses, and that the Silvan come from a land where there are trees (that’s their kingdom). I mean the allusions are there. And i’m not saying that coming from the trees necessarily makes you indigenous African or American, but i’m saying that in this context, it’s just all disturbingly falls into place.
Consider that the silvan elves, who live in the wood, are considered dangerous and less wise. Said elves are specifically Mirkwood elves, who preserve their culture (uncolonized), while the same is not said for elves of Lothlorien, who have Noldor and Sindarain culture imposed on them.
And misc while I also stan Thranduil and Oropher with a burning passion, they marched the Silvan elves into a battle that they had no business in, and often times it wasn’t uncommon for colonizers to make indigenous people’s fight their battles. I mean there’s a long history of white people making poc fight for them.
The only saving grace for for Thranduil and Oropher is that they immersed themselves in the Silvan culture.
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