The Second Age Read Along - Part 3 - Week 11: HoMe9: The Drowning of Anadûnê - The final form of The Drowning of Anadûnê / The theory of the work

#What we’re reading today

Today we are reading the final form of The Drowning of Anadûnê and the theory of the work, found in HoMe IX - Sauron Defeated, “The Drowning of Anadûnê”, ‘(iv) The final form of The Drowning of Anadune’ and ‘(v) The theory of the work’.

#Before you read

The text provides the changes made to the previous weeks’ readings to reach the final form of The Drowning of Anadûnê and notes and includes some anecdotes of Christopher’s youth in relation to the texts. The second half, the ‘theory of the work’, is an attempt by Christopher to explain the significance of the transformations of, and omissions from, the existing legends in the development of the Drowning of Anadûnê, and how it relates to the Fall of Numenor.

It is quite important to have read at least the second text of the Drowning of Anadûnê and is certainly beneficial to have read the notes.

#After you read

The first part again demonstrates how the text approaches the final form of the story as seen in the Akallabêth, and further shows various textual evidence that the development of the work and the writing of Part Two of the Notion Club Papers were very closely intertwined.

In the theory of the work, Christopher first outlines three essays (called a ‘Sketch’, due to the hastiness in which they were written) which describe the “rapidly evolving conceptions that would underlie the new version of the Numenorean legend”. An idea is introduced of the differences between the different versions of the Numenorean legend and the viewpoints from which they were written. The Drowning of Anadûnê being the Mannish tradition of the legend and The Fall of Numenor is the Elvish tradition.

#Discussion questions

• Christopher does not give us the third and fourth versions of The Drowning of Anadûnê in full, but rather just lists the changes that were made. Do you think this method of presentation is preferable, or would you have rather seen the complete texts, regardless of how similar they may be.
• Do you agree with Christopher’s theory of the different versions of the tale being different in-universe traditions?