Symmetry and Symbolism from The Argonath to The Falls

[Eljorahir]

Rauros Falls & The Tindrock, Illustration by JRR Tolkien

Questions first:
Why did Tolkien create this place with such symmetry?
Did he have any symbolisms in mind associating the terrain features with characters or events or anything else?
Even if we can’t confirm what was in Tolkien’s mind, what symbolic connections make for interesting speculations?

The visual (bilateral) symmetry is readily evident:
Isildur and Anarion are on opposite sides of the center line (also representing the moon and the sun).
Amon Lhaw and Amon Hen are on opposite sides of the center line (associated with hearing and seeing).
Tol Brandir is on the center line. (The name in Sindarin means Isle of the Great Steeples.)

One example of a symbolic speculation:
Tolkien YouTuber Matt on his Dork Lords channel mentioned a speculation of his that Amon Lhaw and Amon Hen are symbolic representations of Varda and Manwe. He bases this on the lines in The Silmarillion:

“…When Manwe there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwe is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth.”

So, Manwe and Amon Hen are both associated with seeing. Varda and Amon Lhaw are both associated with hearing.

Then, I’ll take it a step further and suggest that the tallest feature, Tol Brandir, Isle of The Great Steeples (sounds quite cathedral-like), taller than both the Amons, would be associated with Iluvatar.

 

[Vardarianna]

One example of a symbolic speculation:
Tolkien YouTuber Matt on his Dork Lords channel mentioned a speculation of his that Amon Lhaw and Amon Hen are symbolic representations of Varda and Manwe. He bases this on the lines in The Silmarillion:

“…When Manwe there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwe is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth.”

So, Manwe and Amon Hen are both associated with seeing. Varda and Amon Lhaw are both associated with hearing.

Wow! I never considered that before, but now that I read it, it does make total sense! Thanks for this!

 

[Eljorahir]

Looking at the image and imagining Iluvatar (Tol Brandir), Manwe (Amon Hen), and Varda (Amon Lhaw) standing at the brink of the falls, then I'd imagine all the little bumps of the hills of the Emyn Muil as some sort of population gathered around.

Usually we associate the flowing waters with Ulmo, but in this case I'm leaning toward the river as a representation of the flow of Time. And the Big Three are standing guard just before The End (the falls).

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Yes, they speculate on the flow of time in Lothlorien, but not until they're on the Great River.

 

[Eljorahir]

Yes, they speculate on the flow of time in Lothlorien, but not until they're on the Great River.

I see Legolas even uses the "time is a river" analogy...

'The passing seasons are but ripples ever repeated in the long long stream.'

This goes well with my previous post.

 

[Eljorahir]

I can’t think how it might be applied to my original questions regarding the territory from The Argonath to Rauros, but the mention of symmetry here caught my eye:

This section from The Silmarillion--Of the Beginning of Days suggests symmetry is associated with the "unmarred" (original, more beautiful) world:

“…overthrow of the mighty pillars…lands were broken and seas arose in tumult…the shape of Arda and the symmetry of its waters and its lands was marred in that time…”.

Tolkien’s drawing of the lands and seas of Arda after the fall of the Two Lamps and before the War of the Gods. Here, it seems most of the geologic symmetry from the “unmarred” world survives past the destruction of the Great Lamps.