#it's vague yes but would other ppl have jumped in for 'lets avenge our dead king'?

[quixoticanarchy]

turning over some thoughts upon recent silm rereading - so Fëanor's points of emphasis in his speech in Tirion are a) Morgoth killed my dad bc the Valar can't keep us safe, b) the elves ought to be ruling free lands in Middle-earth instead of here while Men supplant them, c) Morgoth also took my silmarils. but the oath, of course, only addresses this last point. while the silmarils will become the driving purpose of the rest of Fëanor's life and legacy, I think in this moment the silmarils and oath are also serving as something of a proxy for all of Fëanor's grievances. after all, they're the most tangible thing he can make a threat about - he could swear to avenge his father, but what's his goal for that? what's the success condition? maybe he would've gotten more takers beyond just his sons if he'd framed an oath around avenging the murdered king, but "take down Morgoth" is still fairly vague. it's also not very specific or achievable to say he'd prevent the coming of Men or declare an eternal race war so they don't inherit Middle-earth, either. the silmarils are rhetorically a good grounding point for his anger and desire for vengeance, and give him something that seems like a tangible place to throw down the gauntlet (which, in some way, is what the oath comes across as). saying "you took my stuff and i'm getting it back" sounds like an actionable threat, even if, as the Valar immediately point out, it's still essentially impossible.

so initially, I think "reclaim the silmarils" as the substance of the oath could be something of a shrewd rhetorical choice as well as a shorthand for Fëanor's broader motivations to go to Middle-earth and to fight Morgoth. and then over time (and without Fëanor there) the other goals fade away. the Noldor do after all secure lands to rule and they do live freely under their ancestral skies and all that, and it turns out Men aren't really so bad, so that whole anxiety is kind of solved. ultimately, avenging Finwë is what really falls by the wayside. and that would seem to demand vengeance against Morgoth specifically, personally, and more comprehensively than just stealing the silmarils. but again, bc the latter once seemed a little more tangible and more achievable, and then bc it's what they made their oath about, it becomes the only aim. but it didn't start that way