Hi Robin, this is Renée Vink. Like Marcel Búlles, I wrote an article about Berúthiel in 2018, but in Dutch. (I was unaware of the interview by Daphne Castell, but Humphrey Carpenter used it in "The Inklings" (1978), which is where I found it.)
Just in case you're interested: here's a story about Berúthiel in which she is not childless: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/852227/1/Unbroken (the author, Kielle, died in 2005 from cancer).
Hi Robin, I'm afraid I don't have the file of the article (which turned out to be from 2019, not 2018) anymore. The guy who layouts the fanzine may still have it, but he's very busy with the next Lembas Extra, and as I'm one of the editors I don't want to distract him right now.
As I wrote, the article contains mostly the same information as Bülles', except that I didn't know about the interview and base myself on Carpenter's Inklings book. In addition, I wonder what Tolkien meant by the "makings" Berúthiel hated so much (UT 401), because there's a lot of stuff that is man-made. I speculate about the meaning of her name (probably "angry queen": Bereth+rúth+the female suffix -iel), assuming it isn't her original name, as it is Sindarin and the Black Númenóreans spoke Adûnaic. Finally, I wonder how she could communicate so well with cats; is Tolkien saying they're sentient beings, like the cats in "The Tale of Tinúviel" from BoLT II? "Because apparently Berúthiel has succeeded in doing what most mortals are incapable of: training cats and making them work for her in other capacities than mouser." Was she really human, that she achieved things otherwise usually ascribed to Valar, Maiar and Elves? "What's more, is the story actually based on facts? Where does all this information come from, if Tarannon struck her from the Book of Kings? Part of the story was preserved as a popular saying, but what is the source of the rest?" My conclusion is that the story seems more legendary than historical, and that Berúthiel remains as mysterious as Tom Bombadil.
Hopefully this is of some use to you. In case you want to refer to the article: it's in Lembas, a publication of the Dutch Tolkien Society Unquendor, Year 38, No. 187, June 2019, pp. 4-6.
There's a little bit more about Beruthiel in Unfinished Tales, footnote 7 in the section on the Istari. Not an endearing portrait of either her or her cats. Hard to qualify it as canon as it's only a footnote by Christopher mentioning some scribblings, not all of which he could make out. I suspect Tolkien wasn't much of a cat person, because while he mentions dogs and wolves several times in his works, this may be the only reference by him to cats.
The only other sort of reference is Tevildo (as a friend or two pointed out to me elsewhere on the internet), though I'm not sure sentient evil cat who morphed into Sauron really counts as a "cat," but yes, it's another indication that Tolkien did not seem to like cats.
And I think the various "canon" sources (minimal as they are) tend toward a negative perspective -- but given Tolkien's conceit that the "silmarillion" materials were written by different chroniclers and scribes at different times from different places, it would be easy to argue that all those Official Writers of the Chronicles (all of whom are no doubt male Elves, or, later on male Humans) tended toward negative characterizations of female characters who did not conform to a patriarchal standard of submission (i.e. Childless Cat Ladies who are still criticized by some today!). I did find it interesting to read that Beruthiel had ten cats -- while my partner and I were in Texas, our high count during our animal rescue years was thirteen indoor cats (and four outdoor dogs)!
Please tell me you left Texas on a ship from Galveston harbor with your cats on board and one sitting on the prow. I always assumed you left with class and elan ;)
Hi Robin, thank you so much for mentioning my post on Her Majesty, the Cat Queen :)
If anybody ever hears or reads on this - I seem to remember someone mentioned that the Tolkiens actually HAD a cat and/ or took care of one for a very long time. It was an off-hand remark in a book from an author who had Tolkien as a secondary or even tertiary character (probably a book on CSL?) and I cannot, for the life of me, find it again. I was absolutely delighted to find this and then...
Hi Robin, this is Renée Vink. Like Marcel Búlles, I wrote an article about Berúthiel in 2018, but in Dutch. (I was unaware of the interview by Daphne Castell, but Humphrey Carpenter used it in "The Inklings" (1978), which is where I found it.)
DeviantArt has an illustration by Irkhal of the scene he wants to see, though not quite like he envisages it: https://www.deviantart.com/irkhal/art/Queen-Beruthiel-and-her-cats-590481050
Just in case you're interested: here's a story about Berúthiel in which she is not childless: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/852227/1/Unbroken (the author, Kielle, died in 2005 from cancer).
This Berúthiel story is written from the perspective of her white cat and hints at abortion: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3223565/1/Dark-in-the-Moonlight
Best,
Renée
Hi Renée: Wow, thank you for the additional sources! I should mouse around more over on fanfiction.net.
I'd enjoy seeing your aricle, though I'd have to run it through Google translate to get a rough sense of what you're saying.
Yours,
Robin
Hi Robin, I'm afraid I don't have the file of the article (which turned out to be from 2019, not 2018) anymore. The guy who layouts the fanzine may still have it, but he's very busy with the next Lembas Extra, and as I'm one of the editors I don't want to distract him right now.
As I wrote, the article contains mostly the same information as Bülles', except that I didn't know about the interview and base myself on Carpenter's Inklings book. In addition, I wonder what Tolkien meant by the "makings" Berúthiel hated so much (UT 401), because there's a lot of stuff that is man-made. I speculate about the meaning of her name (probably "angry queen": Bereth+rúth+the female suffix -iel), assuming it isn't her original name, as it is Sindarin and the Black Númenóreans spoke Adûnaic. Finally, I wonder how she could communicate so well with cats; is Tolkien saying they're sentient beings, like the cats in "The Tale of Tinúviel" from BoLT II? "Because apparently Berúthiel has succeeded in doing what most mortals are incapable of: training cats and making them work for her in other capacities than mouser." Was she really human, that she achieved things otherwise usually ascribed to Valar, Maiar and Elves? "What's more, is the story actually based on facts? Where does all this information come from, if Tarannon struck her from the Book of Kings? Part of the story was preserved as a popular saying, but what is the source of the rest?" My conclusion is that the story seems more legendary than historical, and that Berúthiel remains as mysterious as Tom Bombadil.
Hopefully this is of some use to you. In case you want to refer to the article: it's in Lembas, a publication of the Dutch Tolkien Society Unquendor, Year 38, No. 187, June 2019, pp. 4-6.
There's a little bit more about Beruthiel in Unfinished Tales, footnote 7 in the section on the Istari. Not an endearing portrait of either her or her cats. Hard to qualify it as canon as it's only a footnote by Christopher mentioning some scribblings, not all of which he could make out. I suspect Tolkien wasn't much of a cat person, because while he mentions dogs and wolves several times in his works, this may be the only reference by him to cats.
The only other sort of reference is Tevildo (as a friend or two pointed out to me elsewhere on the internet), though I'm not sure sentient evil cat who morphed into Sauron really counts as a "cat," but yes, it's another indication that Tolkien did not seem to like cats.
And I think the various "canon" sources (minimal as they are) tend toward a negative perspective -- but given Tolkien's conceit that the "silmarillion" materials were written by different chroniclers and scribes at different times from different places, it would be easy to argue that all those Official Writers of the Chronicles (all of whom are no doubt male Elves, or, later on male Humans) tended toward negative characterizations of female characters who did not conform to a patriarchal standard of submission (i.e. Childless Cat Ladies who are still criticized by some today!). I did find it interesting to read that Beruthiel had ten cats -- while my partner and I were in Texas, our high count during our animal rescue years was thirteen indoor cats (and four outdoor dogs)!
Please tell me you left Texas on a ship from Galveston harbor with your cats on board and one sitting on the prow. I always assumed you left with class and elan ;)
Hi Robin, thank you so much for mentioning my post on Her Majesty, the Cat Queen :)
If anybody ever hears or reads on this - I seem to remember someone mentioned that the Tolkiens actually HAD a cat and/ or took care of one for a very long time. It was an off-hand remark in a book from an author who had Tolkien as a secondary or even tertiary character (probably a book on CSL?) and I cannot, for the life of me, find it again. I was absolutely delighted to find this and then...
Forgot about writing on it.