[davem]

Originally Posted by Fordim

It makes sense that Elves don't have tombs or graves or anything, since they are immortal. Seems to me that they would be rather ill-equipped to deal with death, or even to understand it really

Well, some of them at least have tombs, but they seem only to be mentioned where they are significant to the tale:

Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin in the abyss. But the eagles coming stooped upon the Orcs, and drove them shrieking back; and all were slain or cast into the deeps, so that rumour of the escape from Gondolin came not until long after to Morgoth's ears.Then Thorondor bore up Glorfindel's body out of the abyss, and they buried him in a mound of stones beside the pass; and a green turf came there, and yellow flowers bloomed upon it amid the barrenness of stone, until the world was changed. 'The Fall of Gondolin'

This makes me wonder whether the same is the case with hobbits - they have graveyards & maybe even family tombs, but they are simply not signicant to the story being told. No major hobbit character dies throughout the events of LotR, so why mention burials. When Tolkien did plan the demise of a major character - Bilbo - there was a mention of a funeral. Hobbits died, so something must have been done with the bodies, whether funerals or graveyards are mentioned or not. We don't hear much of Hobbit 'industry' generally. But we know they had books, umbrellas, clocks, etc.

I can't see, either, that Elves were 'out of touch' with nature - its simply that their own nature was different to that of others. Yes, they sought to 'remake the world in their own image' - but their desire was that their world reflect their own nature. Their motivation was to 'embalm', yes, but in the sense of wishing to turn life into 'art'. That's simply what they do - in other words, its not a 'vice' they've fallen into, something against their nature. They take it too far in the end, but its not unnatural for them to think the way they do.

Originally Posted by LmP

In fact, it is only Men who have had contact with deathless Elves, who become obsessed with death. For all other free races, death is a part of life.

Is this so? Have we had contact with the 'deathless Elves' ourselves? Well, I haven't. Yet one of the things that draws me to the Legendarium is this exploration of death & deathlessness. I wouldn't say it was an 'obesssion', mark you! Perhaps one could say that if the 'deathless Elves' didn't exist men would have to invent them. Death is always a tragedy. It is always a part of life, but that doesn't make it acceptable. Bilbo's grief at the death of Thorin for example - two members of mortal races - shows that while mortality is a known & accepted 'fact' it is not one that anyone merely shrugs their shoulders at.