Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitchwife
Exactly. The invitation/summons of the Valar for the Elves to come to Aman was extended to all of them, wasn't it, and excepting the Ban on the rebellious Noldor in the First Age, I can't remember anything saying that the Straight Road didn't remain open to all Elves who wished to take it, regardless of their ancestry.
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If I recall correctly, Tolkien muddied the waters a bit here with his 'irrevocable choice' in a letter. There are texts which seem to indicate 'all' Elves were invited Oversea after the War of Wrath too, but then again, the question of the Avari seems a bit sticky because I don't think Tolkien ever again speaks
so specifically about their choice.
If every letter necessarily shapes one's Middle-earth that is
In a late text, JRRT has Amroth note to Nimrodel (a Silvan Elf) that the way is open to all those Elves who took up the Great March even if they did not reach the shores of the Sea, but from
The Lord of the Rings itself we already knew that the East-elves of Lorien could pass Oversea, or at least that they are (generally) said to.
Edit: here's the Amroth quote:
'It is said that the grace that the Valar gave to us to pass over the Sea is granted also now to any of those who made the Great Journey, even if they did not come in ages past to the shores and have not yet beheld the Blessed Land.'
What does this imply, if anything, about those who initially refused the Great Journey?