Maeglin - Tragic hero?

[Morris]

Originally Posted by Curufin

Which three? If you're talking about Doriath, Nargothrond and Gondolin, the last two would never have existed in the first place without Fëanor, the fall of Nargothrond was completely due to Túrin's arrogance, and Maeglin was responsible for the fall of Gondolin. The fall of Doriath was at least as much due to Thingol's greed and xenophobia as it was anything to do with Fëanor or his sons.

Aqualonde, Doriath, and the Havens of Sirion are the three I'm thinking of. I suppose technically Aqualonde didn't fall and it's a bit debatable wether the Havens should be considered a city, but my point is really that Feanor's arrogance and inflexibility (and that of his sons) are the root cause of most of the suffering described in the Silmarillion.

I'm threadjacking my own thread a bit here, but really the point I'm trying to make is that Tolkien was very fond of using characters who, even with the best of initial intentions, have fatal character flaws that lead to destruction and ruin. I'd argue that Turin, Maeglin, and Feanor himself all fall into this category as do Feanor's sons.