Elvish Mortality

[The Saucepan Man]

It seems to me that Elves are actually a lot less natural beings than Men, as a result of their immortality. It is the very essence of nature that living things grow, thrive and then die out, thus making way for the new. But Elves do not experience this cycle of life. They simply grow and thrive and thrive and thrive and so on (unless they are unfortunate enough to die in battle or of grief). The cycle of life allows for flexibility and adaptability to changing conditions, a key weapon in nature's armoury. And adaptability is, in JRRT's world, very much a feature of Man, but most certainly not of Elves.

And this leads me to wonder whether Elves really can be said to be closer to nature. The fact that they are not able to participate in the cycle of life leads them to try to prevent it occurring in other things. They seek to preserve their environment, to prevent change and to maintain it as it is, contrary to the normal laws of nature. The obvious example is Galadriel's use of Nenya to embalm the realm of Lothlorien.

And so I find it difficult to say either that Elves are particularly "natural" or that they are particularly "close to nature". Their existence is out of step with the normal laws of nature and their actions in many ways are directed towards defying those laws.