burrahobbit, you have brought up an interesting topic. I'm sure,
Telchar, that Tolkien would never have mentioned it, since it was highly improper for public discussion in his day, especially so in the male society he enjoyed most. However, in today's society, it is an acceptable topic, less offensive than many things openly spoken of on daily talk shows!
Of course, without a definitive statement by JRRT, we can only speculate. But what the heck?! We've speculated on so many topics here on the Barrow-Downs, why not on this one?! [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]
Since elves and humans could mate and have children, the basic reproductive processes must have been the same. I would assume, as
burrahobbit does, that the female cycle would be less frequent, also not for as large a portion of their earthly sojourn (can't say lifetime for immortals! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ). In keeping with
Mhoram's quote that
Quote:
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their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies
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I suggest that they could perhaps influence fertility, a natural family-planning ability in their genetics, maybe.
I wonder about the gestation period - how long would an elven pregnancy be? Again, mixed-race children would indicate that the development before birth was similar and probably for approximately the same length of time.