The path to ruin

Abstract

This study explores the psychological progression from ambition to obsession and ultimately to the death drive in the characters of Fëanor and Sauron in The Silmarillion (1977) and Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (1980) by J.R.R. Tolkien through a Freudian psychoanalytic framework. The study argues that despite their different moral positions, both characters are governed by similar unconscious drives in which ambition gradually transforms into obsession and self- destruction. Drawing on Sigmund Freud’s concepts of Eros, fixation, repetition compulsion, and Thanatos, the research adopts a qualitative comparative textual analysis of selected passages from both works alongside secondary scholarly sources. The findings reveal that Fëanor represents an impulsive and emotionally driven manifestation of the Death Drive, while Sauron embodies a calculated and systematic form of destructive compulsion, ultimately demonstrating Tolkien’s profound psychological exploration of desire, power, and annihilation