TOLKIEN'S INFLUENCES - PART 1 - KALEVALA

The Kalevala is a Finnish epic poem.It is held to be the national epic of Finland and is traditionally thought as one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. Kalevala seems to have played a very significant role to the way Tolkien displayed the tragic fate of Turin Turumbar in the "Silmarillion". In fact, Turin reminds a lot of Kullervo, son of Kallervo of the finnish poem. Kullervo is doomed and has a really ill fate since he happens to seduce his sister without knowing the relationship between them and, when she found out the truth, she was so full of shame that she jumped into rapids and drown herself. Kullervo, after commiting some murders upon his embarassement, rage and sorrow, talks to his sword and tells that after it has drunk too much innocent blood it is finally time to split the blood of a really guilty man. After saying that, he thrusts himself upon the blade.

His counterpart in "Silmarillion", Turin Turumbar has a very doomed life as well. It happens that he has a long-gone sister of whom he knew the existence but not the appearance or any other details. So, one day he met a woman, involved with her and was in love with her as she was in love with him. She did not recognise him becasue she was under a spell and was deprived of all her memories. When her memory returned, she was so ashamed of what had happened and she finally jumped into a river and drown. Turin, after a burst of sorrow and fury, talks to his sword telling how, by really malicious means, it had taken innocent people's life. He said it was time for it to extinguish a really troublesome existence and kills himself with the sword.

The similarity is very obvious although Tolkien adds his personal tone and works things out with greater detail and art. He was aware of his influence by this Finnish masterpiece and the influence was obvious in his work though he did not just copy a hero-model. He was just based on a character and structured his hero including some clues from the Kalevala.Nevertheless,Kalevala offers to the eager reader a better understanding of Tolkien's work!