The interactions of Elves and men are central to the plot of Tolkien’s Legendarium and drive the development of the story. However, while they are both the children of Eru, the divergent fates of the two races also resulted in the pain and the Fall of men who sought to acquire immortality that is not granted to them. Specifically, it is the separation of one’s fea (soul) and hroa (body) caused by death that deeply troubled generations of the humankind. The suffering of humans therefore leads to two essential questions about Tolkien’s Legendarium: Is Eru wrong to create humans as Incarnates with physical bodies and what is the significance of the encounter of Elves and men? In “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth,” Tolkien uses the conversation between Finrod, an Elven lord, and Andreth, a wise human lady, to explicate the nature of their divergent fates and shed some light on the meaning of the encounter between Elves and men. In this blog post, I will analyze this conversation and other related works of Tolkien to reveal that the author viewed death as a potentially rewarding but highly uncertain experience that would divide one’s fea and hroa temporarily. Meanwhile, Tolkien uses his Legendarium to propose that such uncertainty must be overcome by the power of religion and love which can grant humankind the necessary hope and companionship to face their fate.
In “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth,” Andreth’s one major discontent with death is its destruction of the union of soul and body (“Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” 317). According to Andreth, the body of a human is essentially an “inn” rather than a “house” like the body of Elves which forever contains the Elven soul (317). In her mind, such separation of soul and body is “unnatural” for Incarnates and responsible for the pain of her people (317). Indeed, the separation of body and soul is considered by many theologians as an unnatural state, and we talked in class about how Catholics would believe in the resurrection of human bodies during the Last Judgement. However, is Eru wrong for creating his human as mortal Incarnates that must suffer this separation of body and soul? In the conversation, Finrod argues that, in Eru’s design, the fea of a human has the power to revive his or her hroa, and these two components would join each other forever and beyond the confines of the earthly world and time (318). In his explanation, the fact that human beings are Incarnates with perishable bodies is not a punishment to this race, since Eru intends the soul to join with the body after death in the heavenly world implied by Tolkien. Similarly, the death that causes such separation of body and soul should not be regarded as entirely evil. Finrod points out that death is viewed by men as evil due to the lies of Melkor (310), while the separation of soul and body caused by death can potentially result in the eternal reunion of the two in the heavenly world. Thus, using Finrod’s voice, Tolkien justifies the design of Eru who did not create human beings as mortal Incarnates as their punishment. Instead, the death grants human beings the possibility to achieve another form of eternity, which the immortality of Elves is finite and will eventually terminate with the end of Arda.
However, why are human beings described in Tolkien’s Legendarium still so afraid of death? The answer is the uncertainty associated with death. In the conversation, there are multiple occasions when Andreth complained about the immense uncertainty faced by the human race as they did not have direct connections with the Valar and Eru as the Elves did. She was frustrated that she and her kinsmen could know their fate after death for certain, since such “Vision of Eru” is only within his own mind (318). Because humans did not even have the connection with the Valar as the Elves did (313), they faced the darkness of uncertainty which posed a huge challenge for them and greatly disrupted their ability to properly perceive the design of Eru.
This difficulty caused by the unperceivable nature of human fate leads us to the second question that I intend to answer, which is the purpose of Elves in Tolkien’s Legendarium. In my opinion, the existence of Elves helps humankind to develop hope and love which are two forces that can help people to conquer their fear of uncertainty. In our previous discussions, we agreed that the Elf-friend figures in Tolkien’s Legendarium essentially function as mediators between our primary world and the fairy world. To a certain extent, the Elves in Tolkien’s novels also serve as mediators between human beings and the One, as well as his agents in Valinor. Like the Elf-friend figures who connects our world with the fairy world by participating in fairy stories, Elves also directly interacted with godly powers to prove to human beings the existence of the Valar and the One. For instance, figures like Luthien could plead to Mandos who eventually revived Beren, and such Valar-Elf interactions served as the justification for the existence of higher powers. Therefore, although human beings did not have the intimate relationship with Valar and Eru as Elves might have, their connection to Elves allowed them to witness the power of the Creator and his agents. As a result, they should be able to develop the Hope described by Finrod (320). In fact, in his Legendarium, we can observe that it was the Elf-friend figures with frequent interactions with Elves who are the most faithful to Eru. In terms of the real world implication, I think Tolkien would recommend us to connect to God by developing close bonds with the pious and religious figures around us in our communities. Even this kind of indirect relationship with the Creator can help us to develop hope and endure the fear engendered by uncertainty, thereby properly accepting the fate assigned to us human beings.
Besides revealing the significance of hope in reducing the fear of death, the Elf-man interaction portrayed by Tolkien also informs us the importance of marriage in combating the uncertain darkness of fate. In the love story of Beren and Luthien, the Elven lady eventually gave up her immortality and chose to live with Beren as a mortal being (Silmarillion 222). Tolkien describes that it was their mutual love which compelled the couple willingly accepted their uncertain fate as mortals and eventually transcended “beyond the confines of the world” (Silmarillion 222). My reading of this romance and Tolkien’s own marriage is that Tolkien considers love to be another major power that heals human beings’ fear of uncertainty. In his letter to Christopher, he explicitly states that he identifies his marriage as the same as the union of Beren and Luthien, and it is indeed this love between him and Edith that supported him “to escape the shadow of imminent death” (Letter 340). While it is impossible to fall in love with an Elf in the real world, I would interpret this Elf-man union in a figurative way. The Elven figure represents a devoted partner who is willing to make sacrifices to overcome the distance between the two souls in order to form a union, just like Luthien and Arwen’s decision to forsake immortality. Tolkien certainly found himself an “Elven” partner in his own life.
In conclusion, Tolkien believes that the interaction of Elves and men is essential for human beings’ acceptance of their fate, since the Elven characters symbolize the figures who can mediate human beings with the divine power and serve as their partners who can support them to overcome the fear of death. Ultimately, by understanding how this relationship between Elves and human beings enables humankind to face death, we can better comprehend the significance of Elves’ participation in his story and why Eru designed human beings as Incarnates. As I intend to show, it is the guidance and support of Elves that assisted human beings in Tolkien’s Legendarium realize that their existence as Incarnates will not end through their deaths but rather persist according to the design of Eru. Thus, just like Tolkien did at the end of his life, the human race can finally acknowledge the benign nature of the Creator’s design and peacefully accept their assigned destiny.
-R C
In “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth,” Andreth’s one major discontent with death is its destruction of the union of soul and body (“Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” 317). According to Andreth, the body of a human is essentially an “inn” rather than a “house” like the body of Elves which forever contains the Elven soul (317). In her mind, such separation of soul and body is “unnatural” for Incarnates and responsible for the pain of her people (317). Indeed, the separation of body and soul is considered by many theologians as an unnatural state, and we talked in class about how Catholics would believe in the resurrection of human bodies during the Last Judgement. However, is Eru wrong for creating his human as mortal Incarnates that must suffer this separation of body and soul? In the conversation, Finrod argues that, in Eru’s design, the fea of a human has the power to revive his or her hroa, and these two components would join each other forever and beyond the confines of the earthly world and time (318). In his explanation, the fact that human beings are Incarnates with perishable bodies is not a punishment to this race, since Eru intends the soul to join with the body after death in the heavenly world implied by Tolkien. Similarly, the death that causes such separation of body and soul should not be regarded as entirely evil. Finrod points out that death is viewed by men as evil due to the lies of Melkor (310), while the separation of soul and body caused by death can potentially result in the eternal reunion of the two in the heavenly world. Thus, using Finrod’s voice, Tolkien justifies the design of Eru who did not create human beings as mortal Incarnates as their punishment. Instead, the death grants human beings the possibility to achieve another form of eternity, which the immortality of Elves is finite and will eventually terminate with the end of Arda.
However, why are human beings described in Tolkien’s Legendarium still so afraid of death? The answer is the uncertainty associated with death. In the conversation, there are multiple occasions when Andreth complained about the immense uncertainty faced by the human race as they did not have direct connections with the Valar and Eru as the Elves did. She was frustrated that she and her kinsmen could know their fate after death for certain, since such “Vision of Eru” is only within his own mind (318). Because humans did not even have the connection with the Valar as the Elves did (313), they faced the darkness of uncertainty which posed a huge challenge for them and greatly disrupted their ability to properly perceive the design of Eru.
This difficulty caused by the unperceivable nature of human fate leads us to the second question that I intend to answer, which is the purpose of Elves in Tolkien’s Legendarium. In my opinion, the existence of Elves helps humankind to develop hope and love which are two forces that can help people to conquer their fear of uncertainty. In our previous discussions, we agreed that the Elf-friend figures in Tolkien’s Legendarium essentially function as mediators between our primary world and the fairy world. To a certain extent, the Elves in Tolkien’s novels also serve as mediators between human beings and the One, as well as his agents in Valinor. Like the Elf-friend figures who connects our world with the fairy world by participating in fairy stories, Elves also directly interacted with godly powers to prove to human beings the existence of the Valar and the One. For instance, figures like Luthien could plead to Mandos who eventually revived Beren, and such Valar-Elf interactions served as the justification for the existence of higher powers. Therefore, although human beings did not have the intimate relationship with Valar and Eru as Elves might have, their connection to Elves allowed them to witness the power of the Creator and his agents. As a result, they should be able to develop the Hope described by Finrod (320). In fact, in his Legendarium, we can observe that it was the Elf-friend figures with frequent interactions with Elves who are the most faithful to Eru. In terms of the real world implication, I think Tolkien would recommend us to connect to God by developing close bonds with the pious and religious figures around us in our communities. Even this kind of indirect relationship with the Creator can help us to develop hope and endure the fear engendered by uncertainty, thereby properly accepting the fate assigned to us human beings.
Besides revealing the significance of hope in reducing the fear of death, the Elf-man interaction portrayed by Tolkien also informs us the importance of marriage in combating the uncertain darkness of fate. In the love story of Beren and Luthien, the Elven lady eventually gave up her immortality and chose to live with Beren as a mortal being (Silmarillion 222). Tolkien describes that it was their mutual love which compelled the couple willingly accepted their uncertain fate as mortals and eventually transcended “beyond the confines of the world” (Silmarillion 222). My reading of this romance and Tolkien’s own marriage is that Tolkien considers love to be another major power that heals human beings’ fear of uncertainty. In his letter to Christopher, he explicitly states that he identifies his marriage as the same as the union of Beren and Luthien, and it is indeed this love between him and Edith that supported him “to escape the shadow of imminent death” (Letter 340). While it is impossible to fall in love with an Elf in the real world, I would interpret this Elf-man union in a figurative way. The Elven figure represents a devoted partner who is willing to make sacrifices to overcome the distance between the two souls in order to form a union, just like Luthien and Arwen’s decision to forsake immortality. Tolkien certainly found himself an “Elven” partner in his own life.
In conclusion, Tolkien believes that the interaction of Elves and men is essential for human beings’ acceptance of their fate, since the Elven characters symbolize the figures who can mediate human beings with the divine power and serve as their partners who can support them to overcome the fear of death. Ultimately, by understanding how this relationship between Elves and human beings enables humankind to face death, we can better comprehend the significance of Elves’ participation in his story and why Eru designed human beings as Incarnates. As I intend to show, it is the guidance and support of Elves that assisted human beings in Tolkien’s Legendarium realize that their existence as Incarnates will not end through their deaths but rather persist according to the design of Eru. Thus, just like Tolkien did at the end of his life, the human race can finally acknowledge the benign nature of the Creator’s design and peacefully accept their assigned destiny.
-R C
Sources:
J. R. R. Tolkien Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth
J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion
Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
2 comments:
This is really beautiful! It is certainly interesting to compare Tolkien's words on marriage as essentially a sacrificial renunciation in Letter 43 with the great Elf/Man couples of his legendarium. It strikes me as accurate to say that the greatness of these romances lie in how high the Men must strive to win their brides and how much the Elves must give up to be with their lovers. In this way they contain the classic chivalric theme he describes, of men striving to be worthy of their beloveds, without the dehumanizing idealization of women. The Elf-Maidens remain full and heroic characters because of their choice to share in the Doom of Men and escape the circles of the world. It would be interesting to compare this as a literary motif with other examples, such as Dante's love of Beatrice guiding him through Heaven.
~LJF
I like the way you reincorporated our discussion of Elf-friends into your meditation on the way in which Elves serve as friends for Men in introducing them to the Valar. I wonder that you emphasize the Elves' experience as fundamentally comforting for Men, however. Surely one of the lessons the Elves teach about the desire for Immortality is how sorrowful even immortality can be. How would this fit with the Elves' roles as Man-Friends? RLFB
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