Gifts or Curses: the nature of being in Middle-E

[Andorinha]

This topic has grown out of an initially quite manageable-sized post to the Orgulas Silmarillion study. But once I answered one of Desi's questions for chapter one, I found myself drawn into a deeper consideration of just how Tolkien defines the spiritual nature of his creatures.

How can we contrast and compare the spiritual natures that Tolkien has given his various Middle-earth entities -- Elves, Trolls, Orcs, Dwarves, Men, Ents, beasts of the field, sentient vegetations etc.?

[Andorinha]

Curses and Gifts: Men vrs Elves

1) The Fate of Men -- Men, in their final end, will be gathered together with their creator, Eru, and they will help sing a new universe into existence. (Sil. pb. p. 39). But, the Fate of the Elves is something more ambiguous -- I do not think "The Silmarillion" specifies just what will happen to the Elves when the world of Ea/ Arda, created by the First Song, finally totters to its end. The Valar do not themselves know what will happen to the Elves. Will they vanish utterly, die away completely with the loss of their world; or will they too join the music of the second creation? Will they be re-incarnated in the next physical world largely as they were in the first? Or will they have no role to play in the new creation at all?

Don't know.

But I do not think that Tolkien was any sort of an "anihilationist." Creatures with "souls," hroa in the case of the Elves, creatures so close to the Ainur, and bound up with them, surely would not be consigned to a total oblivion? For a gent who wrote that even Orcs must have some sort of spirit/ pneuma or pysche, and therefore must be viewed as "redeemable" (Letters), the Elves would not be left out entirely -- would they?

2) The Gift of Death -- Both Elves and Men are granted the gift of death. The natural life-span of the Elves just happens to be coequal with the existence of the first Ea/ Arda, the flawed, or "marred" world brought "haphazardly" into being through the device of the First Music."

But, in one sense, Men have life-spans that are the equal of those "enjoyed" by the Elves, in that a span of 70 odd years (210 for the "rewarded" Numenoreans) is exactly suited to their human needs, and the purposes for which Eru created them. From Elvish eyes, the lives of Men seem ephemeral, but to Men, 70 years (or 210) should be quite sufficient to get done whatever one is destined to do, or whatever one has the drive to accomplish.

I can see several ways in which death would indeed be a gift for the Men of Tolkien's Middle-earth -- once Morgoth corrupted the First Song. Their bodies are weak, subject to diseases, cripplings, insanities, and they carry a built in wasting/ fading/ aging that can, toward the end, make death a releasing pleasure.

Consequently, long life, measured in thousands of years, is absolutely no good to one whose body would be unhealthy, and pain-wracked. Long life must carry with it some provisions for mental stability, the preservation of layer upon layer of memory, and a measure of physical well-being. The Elves have these gifts to make their long lives bearable. They cannot be poisoned, cannot become diseased, and in extreme cases they can slip into the Gardens of Lorien for some long, deep-sleep therapy; or even go for longer to the deeper quiet found in the Halls of Mandos. For those who died untimely deaths, there may even have been some sort of re-incarnation to heal bodies that were crippled by chance or warfare. (see Glorfindel)

So, I suppose Men seeking such life spans as those of the Eldar, would also have to have the other gifts of Elven nature in order to survive in a reasonably effective shape for thousands of years -- and then, of course, they would no longer be Men, they would have become Elves. That would defeat the initial purpose(s) Eru had for creating the two distinct kindreds.

So, Men, in order to be Men, must be different from the Elves, and it is the great gift to Men that they can live only a short while (relative to the Elven life-span) before leaving the circles of Ea/ Arda, before transcending all physicality and experiencing what many religions consider the highest of all goods, the greatest of all joys -- reunion with the Creating Being.

The original gift of death to Men, as chapter one in the Silmarillion makes clear, was at first a very positive thing, not a punishment. It was only through the perversions of Morgoth that mankind's fear of death came into existence. Had Morgoth not rebelled against Eru, had Morgoth not corrupted all of Ea/ Arda, Men would quite willingly die when their natural spans had ended, and they would simply slip easily and without anxiety from life to death.

The Elves, (and even the Valar/ Maiar who entered Arda) like it or not, must wait until all the long ages of the universe are spent. The Elves must live through the fading of Middle-earth and see all that they once loved so deeply, fall into a shabby old age and pass away. Without the Three Rings of Power, the last remaining islands of physical splendor that resemble the Elder Days will quickly fade, and most Elves will no longer find much comfort or joy in wandering the dying lands.

In Valinor, the brightness and the graces of the first days will (no doubt) linger longer, but I think Tolkien gives us the feeling that even in the Blessed Lands, the Valar/ Maiar and the Elves will eventually tire of their long lives, will grow weary and perhaps despair. But, for the Ainur and the Elves, even when there is no joy left in their lives, they are still bound to Ea/ Arda and must persist in their existences until the universe itself is remade. That sort of enforced continuance could make life quite hellish. I would personally, I think, rather die sooner, than live to be completely bored with existence, to have done everything possible a hundred thousand times, and know that I was doomed to merely repeat the same old, worn out patterns.

3. The oft over-looked gifts to Men -- Few readers of the Silmarillion on the 3 or 4 forums where I occasionally post, have mentioned any other "gift" to Men save death. But, I think, there are two more listed on p. 38 (Ballantine Book, paperback version "Silmarillion" 1979). Both of these gifts come before the "lesser gift" of death in Tolkien's narrative, so did he actually consider them to be even more important?

A. "Therefore he willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest therein..."

I take this to mean that Men will have an innate understanding that life in the physical realm of the world is but a shadow of a more real reality that lies elsewhere. And Men shall ever strive to find the Absolute Truth of that more real reality, that final existence that does not depend upon mere flesh, and earth. The Elves know that there is an Absolute Truth, an Eru, I suppose, only because they are in contact with the Valar, and receive this knowledge as a revealed truth, a matter of intellectual convention, an academic lesson. But Men, courtesy of Eru's first gift, will KNOW internally that there is a God, and they will have an inherent desire to seek that God, a driving restlessness that impels then to some "higher" union.

B. "...they [Men] should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else..." (Silmarillion, 'Of The Beginning of Days," p. 38)

Here, Tolkien works into his foundation myth his own notions of Fate, the pre-destined working out of history; and the religious notion of Freewill. Apparently, The Valar, Maiar, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Trolls, Ents, Dragons, trees, fish, beasts, and fowl of the world have set destinies. These destinies are clouded even in the minds of the Valar who cannot entirely see the future until it has almost come about (see Ainulindale, pp 9 -10 and Sil. chpt 1, p 32). Only Men, so far as I can tell from what I've read of Tolkien's comments, will have the gift of Freewill, the ability to shape their own destinies beyond the Fate that was sung out in the First Music.

Gift or Curse? -- I think that Tolkien, motivated by his Christian training, juxtaposes the very different lives of Men and Elves quite on purpose. All thinking humans have, I am sure, at one time or another, pondered just what their existences would be like if only they could live forever. Tolkien -- like a stern-faced Rod Serling, narrating another monitory episode of the Twilight Zone -- tells us not to wish too strongly for the immortality of the Elves -- it just may be more of a Curse than a Gift...

Well Gee, look at it this way: Men get to know God intuitively, get to help shape their own destinies, and get to go relatively quickly into some "other-world" bliss to become united with their Creator-God. Put into that sort of religious context, Men do seem more gifted than cursed, don't they?

Hmmm, I'm largely agnostic, so maybe I'd better opt out for the Elven package?

[Fangorn]

It would be wonderful to think that Tolkien had such a complex metaphysical and existentialist background that his races were imbued with traits and characteristics that he wished to exemplify such. However, what limited knowledge I have of his biography, leads me to believe that our extrapolations are pushing the envelope on this. While I can whole-heartedly say he was no slouch in exploring in-depth religious and emotional motives and axioms, to think he empowered his main story "LOTR" with that intent I believe would be premature.

Knowing however, that the root of it was formed years earlier in his creation myths, I am at once both awed and vexed. Did he purposefully take complex religious ideals and musings and rewrite them into something palatable for the masses? Perhaps the innate depth and richness of his thoughts informed his more popular work subconsciously and without intent? I tend to stand by the latter, as I think most spiritual truths ( call it magic if you must) are exposed by their own nature rather than purposefully put forward. Oh well, the passing of such genius I suppose will leave this to permanent conjecture.

[Fangorn]

The nature of BEING in Middle-earth. OK..........are we simply existing there, or what state of being are we actually talking about. LOL....sorry...I cannot resist this topic. I think I know someone else who probably can't either. I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Desi Baggins]

I am not sure if we just changed the meanign of this topic, but to go along with actually being in ME would it be a gift or a curse is interesting....I am reading the Ink Trilogy right now, I am on book 2, 3 hasn't been released yet. It is about someone that can read characters out of books and then learns to read real people into a story. I am curious to find out at the end of the book if anyone likes being in the story and chooses to stay or if they all go back to their normal lives. It would be very amazing to actually go to ME, it such an amazing sounding place....but would I like it so much I would want to stay........hmmmmmmmmm..........

[Stormrider]

I would love to visit Middle Earth! I would have to say all the actors and actresses and other people who helped PJ make the movies were the closest anyone could come to actually being there. Although as exciting as that must have been for those involved, I don't think it was as spectacular doing it as seeing the final product on screen after all the special effects etc. were added.

For instance, the Ride of the Rohirrim: while being one of the riders in the scene would have been fun and exciting and give them a feel for actually being one of the Rohirrim, that scene was not as spectacular until the rest of the special effects, sound effects, etc. were added. However, I would have given my eyeteeth to have been in that scene or any of the Rohirrim scenes! Then seeing how it turned out in the end would have been even more fun.

[Andorinha]

Ah, this old topic has come to life in some very interesting ways! I'm almost through with school, so I'll soon be able to re-read all the posts here, find a bunch of books with some appropriate quotes, and jump in with my half-farthings worth.

Meanwhile, I like the turn toward investigating just what it would be like to actually live in ME...

[Fangorn]

The cable channel here is having a LOTR weekend and running all 3 parts back to back constantly. And YES.....you would love Middle-earth.......or did it slip your mind why we are all here???

Here are joys that pierce like cold iron.....good BEYOND hope.

Don

[Desi Baggins]

Another question or two....do you think ME is more dangerous than the world we live in? DO you think life is harder in ME or here?

[Stormrider]

Well, there are orcs in ME and even orcs in RL so that is the same danger-wise. The Sauron's of this world are sending their orcs out to destroy the peaceful people of the world and take over just as in ME.

We have many conveniences to make the daily life easier--but is it? In RL, even though we have more time because of the conveniences, we hustle and bustle around, hurrying to get here and there, and do this and that, and have forgotten to take time to care for others. We have become more concerned for our own selves instead of helping each other as we used to do back in the 1800's and 1900's of our RL world.

Simpler means and ways seem to make life more peaceful and less hurried. People gathered together to help each other more when there weren't modern conveniences. I miss the simpler more uncomplicated life. The Shire is really a nice place to live and I wish the RL world was more like that.

I do not want to forsake other ME places such as Rivendell, Lothlorien, Rohan, Bree, The Lonely Mountain, and Gondor to name a few. They all seem like nice places. The Elven homes already are peaceful and comfy and Rohan and Gondor would be that way as well once the threat of Sauron and Saruman were gone. The Dwarves seem to have a nice existence in the Mountain, too, at least since (and before) Smaug--even Moria must have been nice in its own homey way. Bree could be more like the Shire with its mix of little and big people even though there is more traffic through that town.