Quote:
Originally Posted by Mithalwen
As for the children of Elros not being given the choice, well while they of course had majority mortal blood and married mortals, I think it was more of a case of the Gift of Iluvatar being too precious to be denied anyone who was remotely entitled to it.
|
Well, if the gift is regarded so precios, then it's a little odd that Elrond and his progeny get the choice in the first place; seems to me that under that logic, the true reward would be to make both brothers and all of their spawn mortal, whether they wanted to be or not. I don't see that giving them the choice denies them the gift; it just gives them the option of not accepting it if they don't want to.
To me, it almost seems as if they are implying that choosing mortality is always the "right" choice, and immortality, always the "wrong". Make the "wrong" and you descendent's are given another chance to make the "right" one. On the other hand, make the "right" one, and you children are freed from having to make the decsion themselves; your choice already saved them. There may be a strain of Tolkein's Catholicism in this, i.e. the concept that death is not only a blessing, but the greatest blessing of all, and the sooner it happens, the greater that blessing is. Conversely, immortality on this earth is actually a curse, since living forever denies you your heavenly rewards forever (i.e. the root of the legend of the Wandering Jew).