Any Lord of the Rings fan knows that for all of the inspiring and fantastical creatures that exist in Middle-earth, there are just as many ugly and terrifying ones. The most important part of this fact is that the ugly and terrifying creatures are also the ones that serve the darkness. Nearly all of the visuals in these films are intended to reflect the message of Tolkien’s stories and the beautiful and the ugly are no different in this way. The beautiful or adorable creatures are meant to be the most virtuous and noble people, while all of the ugly creatures are those that choose to live in darkness. The story distinctly sets up the line between beauty and being ugly as a decision.

The corruption of both the good and the beautiful of the world was entirely essential to the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stories. It created balance in the world. There cannot be good without bad, light without dark, or beauty without ugliness. In a sense, they complement each other but mostly keep each other relevant.

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Partly, it was through the influence of the Valar that the creatures of darkness became so terrifying. When Morgoth and Sauron turned on the Valar, the Valar took away their beauty and light and their ability to cloak themselves in it. As a result, all of the creatures that then chose Sauron’s darkness over the light of the Valar, also were choosing a form that reflected their darkness.

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In the beginning, before Morgoth’s evil began tainting things, all creatures were believed to be beautiful and living in harmony among each other. As the hunger for power spread among the earliest beings, their appearances began to reflect their monster-like hunger.

Many of the ugliest creatures of Middle-earth are those that made a decision to embrace evil but there are a few that were born into darkness-- not choosing it-- that are ugly. One example is the Orcs who originated by Morgoth enslaving a race of elves and breeding them to take this form. Though they do not make the decision to be ugly, someone else makes it for them. Some fans believe that the Orcs are meant to be ugly because they embody what it’s like for someone to not have free will.

Additionally, a lot of the ugly creatures of Middle-earth are just the corrupted forms of normal creatures. Again, in this case, their transition to being ugly is meant to represent their decision to choose darkness. Some examples of these types of creatures are the Nazgul who are corrupted men, Balrogs that are corrupted Maiar, and even Gollum is the corrupted form of his Hobbit self, Smeagol.

Sauron himself was once a beautiful angel until the power of evil tempted him to turn his back on goodness for the sake of obtaining more control. He slowly became ugly as his rotting soul spread to his body and then onto those that associate with him. For a while, he was still able to assume a false identity that appeared beautiful-- like putting on a mask-- but even that ability faded as his darkness grew.

In many ways, hygiene goes along with beauty and this is no different in Middle-earth, as those creatures that choose good, and have the ability to choose in the first place, are often depicted as clean and glowing. The uglier creatures, like Orcs, Trolls, and Gollum, however, are often dirty and don’t live in the civilized housing conditions that men, dwarves, elves, and more do. Those that are good live in conditions that make hygiene very accessible while those who choose darkness or don’t have the ability to choose don’t prioritize being clean. In part, this is reflective of the privilege of certain classes in this world but is also partly used to display the fact that being good (or clean) is a choice and requires effort.

Ugly_Gollum_Lord of the Rings

Again, the theme of balance is brought up in the Lord of the Rings as the ugly and the beautiful both oppose each other and complete each other. Because the evil of Sauron’s power directly contradicts the good of the Valar, their looks must reflect that. Likewise, just as the Valar have beauty that illuminates their goodness, Sauron and his followers have ugliness that displays their evil to the world.

Tolkien was very thorough in his creation of the Lord of the Rings world, and his attention to beauty standards (despite abiding by European beauty standards) was meant to create clear visual contrast between the forces of good and evil. While Tolkien likely didn’t believe that this rule carried over into real life, he was able to use it successfully and thoroughly as a tool to represent balance in the world. He showed that, ultimately, the ring’s power did not cause the ugliness of the creatures that sought it, but instead, it reflected the ugliness of their souls.

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