Glaurung Character Analysis

Glaurung, one of the first dragons, serves Melkor and bolsters the strength of his orc armies. He leads the orc attack against Nargothrond and meets Túrin, the son of Húrin, whose family Melkor has cursed to misfortune. Glaurung is Melkor’s instrument for enacting the curse; he sets Túrin on the path to ruin by convincing him to go looking for his mother and his sister Nienor. Glaurung is crafty and persuasive—he has the ability to twist the truth and make Túrin believe the worst of himself. When Nienor arrives at Nargothrond looking for her brother, Glaurung places her under a spell that completely wipes out her memory. Several years later, Glaurung travels to the forest of Brethil, where Túrin and Nienor live as a married couple, unaware that they’re siblings. Túrin stabs Glaurung, who reveals the secret of her identity to Nienor before he dies, leading to the suicides of both Nienor and Túrin and fulfilling Melkor’s curse.