The intriguing origin story of the Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings links with the very origins of good and evil in this scenario. Ainur, Elves, Men and Hobbits arose from the One Eru Ilúvatar, God of Middle-earth. While The Silmarillion states that Eru created Elves and Men, Hobbits are believed to be related to Men. However, the Ents were created by Valier Yavanna and the Dwarves were created by her husband, Aulë. The orcs, in turn, were created by Morgoth, the first villain of Middle-earth. However, any life form not created by Eru required Eru’s own Secret Fire of life, which only Eru could bestow.
In the end, Vala Aulë and Yavanna gained Eru’s approval for their creations, and Eru blessed Dwarves and Ents with the Secret Fire. Morgoth sought this Imperishable Flame, but his insolence grew worse until he neither apologized nor made peace with Eru. So when he started creating the Orcs, he had to distort the life forms that Eru had already created (Elves), to start his own race. But Aulë’s path to creating the Dwarves was tenselike Morgoth’s. Furthermore, Aulë and his rebellious streak are more closely linked to The Lord of the Rings villains than it might seem at first glance.
Aulë’s dwarven creation was rebellious, for he could never bestow the secret fire of life
Aulë was playing with fire when making dwarves, and not the secretive kind
Morgoth rebelliously sought the Secret Fire in the void long before Middle-earth or his world was created, and Aulë had a similarly taboo interest in creating new life forms. The two were members of the 15 Valar, the 15 strongest Ainur, the first created by Eru. Morgoth wanted to make his own life, foreshadowing his downfall, but his real mistakes were refusing to heed Eru’s warnings over and over again. Sins like pride were understandable to Eru, as long as the mistake was seen and corrected.
About that, Aulë knew he was wrong in creating the Dwarves, so he worked behind the backs of the Valar. However, when Eru discovered the Dwarves of Aulë, Aulë immediately apologized and Eru granted the Dwarves forgiveness and life. This proved that there was always a way back if it could be seen, and constitutes the greatest distinction between the Dark Lord’s actions and those of the ambitious Aulë. Despite this, Aulë remains an intriguing and morally gray figure in the history of Middle-earth.
Sauron and Saruman were originally servants of Aulë in The Lord of the Rings
Morgoth and Aulë had a lot in common
When Aulë’s actions and characterization are tenuously linked to corruption, it’s interesting to know that the characters linked to him have become the series’ biggest evils. According to The Silmarillionof the Valar,”Aulë was more similar [Morgoth] in thought and in powers.“Aulë and Morgoth have much in common, including Sauron and Saruman, who were both Maiar of Aulë before falling into darkness. Morgoth seduced Sauron into loyalty; after Morgoth was defeated, Sauron went his way, although he preferred to believe otherwise. ‘t. Saruman, in turn, fell to Sauron.
On a deeper level, Saruman rejects even Sauron’s leadership, following Morgoth’s example in his cynical attitude, and mirroring Sauron’s supposed separation from his predecessor. The further away from Eru any creation was, the more vulnerable it was to corruption. While the Valar subcreated nature and species, Elves and Men subcreated a level below them, creating machines and technologies such as hammers, Silmarils, and the Rings of Power. Aulë and his Maiar were blacksmiths, forging from the elements, increasing their vulnerability to corruption. Machines, the artificial and industrialization are all linked to evil in The Lord of the Rings.