Is Fëanor the most pivotal character in Tolkien's legendarium?
I've recently started reading The Silmarillion to enjoy my summer and fill my free time with this amazing masterpiece. The other day I was randomly thinking about the events and characters in this book, and suddenly I realized something interesting. If we remove Fëanor from the story, there wouldn't be much to talk about. Imagine if there were no Fëanor in the story:
There would have been no Silmarils.
The Noldor would never have fled, and there would have been no exiled Elves.
There wouldn't have been any alliance between Men and Elves to defeat Morgoth, and the Valar would never have rewarded Men with the isle of Númenor. Thus, there would have been no Númenoreans.
So, there would have been no Ar-Pharazôn to sail to Aman.
Additionally, if there were no Fëanor, there would also be no Curufin and thus no Celebrimbor. So,
There wouldn't have been any friendship/relationship between Sauron and Celebrimbor, and no ring would have been forged by the Dark Lord.
Bilbo Baggins would have never found Gollum's precious.
And ultimately, The Lord of the Rings tale would have never existed.
Obviously, Tolkien's books/stories are based on the consequences of the actions of his various characters. For example, we can imagine how drastically different the story might have been if there were no Aragorn, Gandalf, or Sauron. Even Farmer Maggot has a crucial role in the tale! But, in my humble opinion, Fëanor still has the greatest impact on all of Tolkien's works. I mean, he brought many things with him.