That good night: gift or punishment?

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I wonder if we can look more closely at how this topic is presented in Tolkien. For instance, where in Tolkien's books is it stated that "death brings a man closer to Eru"? Eru is not named in LotR, so where is this idea developed? I had thought that Tolkien does not explicitly establish in his Legendarium where men go after death.

To my knowledge, there is no mention of Eru in Aragorn's death scene. In the Silmarillion (Of the Beginning of Days ?), I know that it's spelled out that Eru gives the Gift of Death to Men and that Melkor perverts this knowledge so that instead of accepting this gift, men fear it. Can't remember any text regarding death drawing men closer to Eru, and think that this is Christian theology bleeding into the text.

And I like the mystery as presented by Tolkien regarding the location of men after they depart the confines of Arda. As it's stated that "even the Powers" will envy the Gift, it seems like a great gift indeed. Unlike all others, we are free, truly free agents bound for elsewhere. Also, this sets up the life of Man, as we are the travelers, the strangers, and we live our lives not content with the status quo. Think that this is a common theme regarding the nature of Man. There's just something in us that wants to know 'what's over there.' Not that that's always a good thing, but we definitely (as a whole) are not embalmers like the elves.

So, in short, with a few statements Tolkien not only sets up the death of Man, but also Life.