Q: 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’s The Hobbit, as are many other characters in both “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movies. It is a natural part of film adaptation to add, delete, or change characters. Fans of books that are made into movies often take exception with the character changes made by film-makers.
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.
In an exchange between Thranduil and Tauriel in the movie, Thranduil implies that he will never allow Legolas to take a wife of Silvan Elf blood. This appears to be an acknowledgement 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 his father had written which attempted to provide further detail about the kings of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlorien. In these private essays Thranduil turned out to be the son of Oropher, who was the original “adventurer” who established a kingdom among the Silvan Elves of southern Greenwood the Great.
Oropher’s capital was situated upon the hill Amon Lanc, which later was seized by Sauron and used as the foundation for the fortress that the Elves named Dol Guldur. Oropher was slain in the War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and Thranduil inherited his father’s kingdom. It was Oropher who gradually led his people to northern Greenwood/Mirkwood in one essay after the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria) became powerful and engaged with the Elves of Lothlorien. In another essay, it is said that it was Thranduil who led his people northward after Sauron rose again and established Dol Guldur as the seat of his power (then known only as the Necromancer).
There is no indication in Tolkien’s published writings of who the wives of Oropher and Thranduil may have been. That Oropher probably had a Sindarin wife is most likely believed by most people. Thranduil is not associated with any particular prejudice toward the Silvan Elves, with whom Legolas identified himself in “The Ring Goes South” in The Fellowship of the Ring.
That Legolas might have fallen in love with a Silvan Elf does not contradict anything Tolkien said about the Sindarin adventurers who settled among the Silvan Elves. In fact, because they willfully adopted Silvan Elf names and culture, it seems almost very likely that Legolas might have been raised as a Silvan Elf, hardly aware of his Sindarin heritage. But this is all purely speculative.
That Tauriel is a capable warrior is not inconsistent with Tolkien’s depiction of Elf-women, some of whom traveled alone through dangerous lands without apparent fear. Luthien and Aredhel are two such examples, although both were 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 the men; although Tolkien’s reasoning for this distinction was that being a warrior and a taker of life interfered with or diminished one’s ability to heal. The “glowing” spiritual aura that Tauriel exhibits, which many people have compared to Arwen’s aura in “The Fellowship of the Ring”, strikes me as a cinematic element intended to convey to the audience that Elves have very powerful spirits that reveal themselves during moments of great (magical) exertion. (Note: For some reason unknown to me, many fans of the movies incorrectly identify this spiritual aura as “the light of Valinor”.)
This is not necessarily inconsistent with Tolkien’s depiction of Elves, although the only such “bright spirits” the reader encounters in either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings appear when Glorfindel attacks the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen and Frodo, by then almost completely transformed into a wraith by his Morgul-wound, sees Glorfindel’s spirit; and Sam later sees Frodo in a similar spiritual state when he and Frodo are attacked by Gollum on the slopes of Mount Doom. Hence the “glowing spirit” motif appears to be a characteristic of enhanced spiritual expression that requires “other vision” (or near complete integration into “the other world”) and is not necessarily something that every typical observer (among Men or Dwarves) would be able to detect.
Peter Jackson has been quoted as saying that he wanted to add a female character to the story since there are none in the book. The apparent “love triangle” involving Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili has struck many viewers as far beyond any Tolkienish relationship, but I’m not so sure. Tauriel did not explicitly share her feelings toward anyone in the movie but even in the books Gimli is so totally devoted to Galadriel that he does indeed love her in a non-romantic way. He is nonetheless open about his admiration for her beauty as well as her character. That another Dwarf might express similar fascination with a female Elf does not strike me as implausible; but if Kili and Tauriel do develop romantic feelings for each other, that would be an extrapolation neither supported by nor contested by the books.
See also
Kingdoms Are Won in the Battle of the Five Armies (movie review)
How Much Padding Is There In Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” Trilogy?
What Is the History of Dol Guldur?
Why Did Thranduil Refuse to Help the Dwarves of Erebor?
Review of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
Why Does Tolkien’s World Lack Women?
Why Is the Hobbit Movie So Different from the Book?
How Does Galadriel Get to Rivendell in “The Hobbit”?
Why Did Peter Jackson Change “The Hobbit”?
Why Did Peter Jackson Change Azog from the Book?
On Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” – Richard Armitage Defines Thorin Oakenshield
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On the possibility of an elf/dwarf romance, the only real objection I can see is moral, and even then, debatable. While they’re both “people”, they’re very different species. Elves, Men, and Hobbits are all “human”, in the sense of being variations of Homo sapiens. Dwarves are totally unrelated, genetically, to other primates, and are certainly not “humans”. Obviously their biochemistry is the same as other animals, or they couldn’t eat the same foods, but they come from an independent creation.
Some would argue that as people, and members of the Free Peoples, there’s nothing wrong with such a relationship. I tend to take that view. Others could argue that a mixed species relationship is akin to bestiality, and therefore unacceptable. I have no idea how Tolkien would have argued it. If the Maiar could marry Elves, species couldn’t be the only consideration.
Everybody including PJ seems to overlook the major problem an elf-dwarf-relationship would have apart from all other consideration (race, species, culture, interracial hate etc.). As an elf, Tauriel is immortal; Kili, though he may become much older than a human, is not. This was a major problem for Arwen and Aragorn and I really don’t understand why it is not made an issue in this love-triangle-storyline in the Desolation of Smaug.
Yes, that is a problem, but if Elves would consider marriages with Men, given our short lives, a Dwarf doesn’t sound any worse. And, since a romance doesn’t have to include marriage, or sex, the life span difference wouldn’t be major issue. If they decided to get serious, on the other hand, there would probably be a lot advice against it from both sides.
Maybe that’s why the Dwarven birthrate was so low. The males all fell in love with Elves…
“…but if Elves would consider marriages with Men, given our short lives, a Dwarf doesn’t sound any worse.”
Remember, though, that an Elf/Human marriage is so rare that in only happened three times in the entire history of Middle Earth: it is far from the norm. And at least both Elves and Men are both Children of Illuvatar. Dwarves, as Illuvatar-approved Children of Aule, are so much further removed… It just doesn’t fit the characterization of either Elves or Dwarves, to my mind.
Actually, there were more than 3 marriages between Men and Elves but there were only “3 unions of the Eldar and the Edain”.
Still, such unions would have been rare as Tolkien seems to have highlighted the few as examples of unusual marriages.
We really don’t know too much about this developing love interest at this point anyway — the best we’re left with by film’s end is a tentative expression on Tauriel’s face, that still leaves us unsure of what her true feelings for Kili are. If this race question is really set to become an ‘issue’, it’s for sure going to occur (or not) in the next film; the ‘bridge to cross’ is yet before the two ‘lovers’. We have at best, definitively at this point, a one-sided infatuation of Kili with Tuariel. The filmmakers may indeed touch upon the race-compatibility problem in TABA, if indeed the relationship progresses to the point where its inevitability must finally be confronted. Patience and faith in the filmmakers, I’m sure, will bring some resolution to this potential problem. I have a feeling, though, based on how the book turns out with elements of Kili’s destiny that things may somehow get cut short, making the whole ‘race’ question a mute point anyway.
Obviously Tauriel has deep feelings for Legolas and vice versa. Her feelings for Kili seem to be respect and a sisterly type love. She is an unusually complicated Silvan elf who seems to care about the other species on middle earth instead of just her own kind. I predict that this will get her killed in the next film.
Which will break Legolas’ heart and make him hate dwarves even more.
She is a beautiful compassionate addition to The Hobbit.
I have read all of Tolkiens Middle Earth books including Silmarillion and wouldn’t for the world have changed or adapted any part of them. But I also love what PJ has done with The Hobbit.
Silmarillion next Please.
Everyone worries too much. Movies always change aspects of books that they’re based on. Legolas was immortal, so it makes sense that he would appear in The Hobbit movies. As for Tauriel, it’s quite possible that Legolas and her, or another female elf, had a relationship. Just because she wasn’t mentioned in The Lord Of The Rings, doesn’t mean that she wasn’t waiting for him back in Mirkwood. Also, maybe she died in The Hobbit, and that’s why no mention of her is made in The Lord Of The Rings. Who really cares, I enjoyed all the movies immensely.
I like the post before mine, by angelamac.
I think that both Kili and Tauriel will perish in the next film.( I totally understand why PJ invented Tauriel and this romance) after all, legolas never mentioned her in LOTR.
May I point out that Kili, in the books DIES in the battle of the five armies at the end of the Hobbit. If they hold to that, then whatever they put together with these relationships is affected by that event.
Jar Jar Elf
I will admit to being probably the only Star Wars fan who actually liked Jar Jar. Sue me. 🙂
Who, indeed, is Tauriel? You’re not the only one wondering that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z7oZB7onK4
Someone needs to re-read “Letters.” Tolkien described female elves as followers of Yavanna, nurturers and healers, not cold-blooded warriors. But I’ll concede the point if the author can name one, just one, female elf who served in an army. And no, fighting to protect one’s own life ala Galadriel in “the Flight of the Noldor” doesn’t count.
Tolkien was a meticulous writer, as shown in HOME. If he had wanted a female elven warrior in his Hobbit, he had ample opportunity to add one when he revised it in 1965. Tauriel is nothing more than padding needed to strrrrrrrrretch the book into a blotted three-part movie. Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching.
“But I’ll concede the point if the author can name one, just one, female elf who served in an army.”
That’s hardly fair, though, given that Tolkien did not publish rosters even for small companies (much less armies, which is entirely impractical, obviously).
“And no, fighting to protect one’s own life ala Galadriel in ‘the Flight of the Noldor’ doesn’t count.”
I don’t think Tolkien would have agreed with you. In “Laws and Customs Among the Eldar” he wrote:
So basically Elf-women don’t fight, except when they fight. Elf-men don’t heal, except when they heal.
In “The Fall of Gondolin” (which is pre-Middle-earth) Idril puts on mail when the city is finally attacked by Melko’s forces.
Of course, Peter Jackson’s Tauriel is a Wood elf, and Tolkien wrote so little about their society you just cannot find any textual basis for saying what she should be like. This is an area where creative adaptation is not contradicted by the books, so why not accept it?