There are several interesting points here that merit exploration. Squatter brings up the idea that Arwen could have had a role beyond "lover of Aragorn." I agree, in spirit, that it would be very nice to see her break out of the mold of passive female for a while. The assumption, however, is that she would be capable of such a things, and this is where Rimbaud's idea that only a strong force kept her in ME at all.
As a student of psychology and human development, I want Arwen to be able to move on with her life and move through the grief of losing someone dear to her. As a lover of mythology and story, however, I see the need for symmetry in their deaths and the acknowledgment that as a half-elf living as an immortal that loss would have been far more significant for her than for a human.
Upon rereading the story of Beren and Luthien, I found this passage.
Quote:
|
This doom she chose, forsaking the Blessed Realm and putting aside all claim to kinship with those that dwell there; that thus whatever grief might lie in wait, the fates of Beren and Luthien might be joined, and their paths lead together beyond the confines of the world.
|
The implication is that the original decision to die took the choice to live on afterward away from Luthien, and presumably Arwen as well. Not that the choice was not possible in the abstract, but that the pain of loss and reality of death would make it impossible in reality. We do not know how long Luthien lived after Beren died, though I always imagined it was quite a short time. She, too, had a ruling son who could have used her counsel.
As for Bethberry's question about Gimli, I have no real answer besides the fact that the trip to the Undying Lands was reserved for those whose lives were changed and who did not fit with the world anymore. A dwarf who loves elves is unusual, and we do not know how the other dwarves reacted to Gimli's continued friendship with the son of the man who imprisoned his own father years before. Perhaps there was an unspoken tension there, a need for release from the world. Also to be considered is the reality (in my estimation) that for most non-elves of ME, the Undying Lands would not be a great reward. The virtue of the lands is in their connection with the old ways, their timelessness. While some, like Faramir, would have appreciated this, the majority of peoples left in ME would have balked at the unchanging nature of things. For most hobbits the longing for the Shire would have overwhelmed them before the end. It was only after Sam had lived a full life there that he was probably able to appreciate it.