What do we Know About Radagast?

[denethorthefirst]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

But Radagast certainly never became a villain and didn't earn "spirit of malice gnawing itself forever in the dark" status, so we would have to assume that Radagast simply defaulted to base-Maia status, an incorporeal being with the ability to don or doff physical forms at will.

I do not think that it matters if he became a villain or not. Gandalf the Grey certainly did not become a villain, but he still was not able to reembody or reincarnate himself (after the death of his body) without outside help (from Eru). The Istari were fully incarnate. If they were slain or would die of "natural causes" (after millennia), they would not be powerful enough to rehouse themselves. Tolkien clearly wrote that the destruction of the form of a clothed Ainu had a negative effect, that such a destruction diminished the power of the Ainu, and that that effect was even more pronounced if the being was not merely clothed but fully incarnated.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I think villainy makes all the difference- not in the power to re-embody himself, but in whether his spirit would be admitted to Valinor where the Valar would restore his previous status.

Gandalf isn't an especially helpful example because Eru intervened and short-circuited matters

[denethorthefirst]

Then we are in agreement. But the question remains if Radagast would be able to reach Valinor and/or if the Valar would allow his return. Tolkien wrote that only Gandalf stayed true to the mission. What does that mean for Radagast? I find it hard to imagine that the Valar would judge him as harshly as Saruman and deny him re-entry, but who knows.

[Galadriel55]

I wonder if Radagast would even want re-entry, at least unless some major change happens to the world. I thought he was quite happy just doing his own thing in Middle-earth. So before asking the terms on which he would be allowed back in, I wonder if he would even try to go back.

[denethorthefirst]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I wonder if Radagast would even want re-entry, at least unless some major change happens to the world. I thought he was quite happy just doing his own thing in Middle-earth. So before asking the terms on which he would be allowed back in, I wonder if he would even try to go back.

Yes, he was quite happy. But we are talking about the hypothetical case of a bodyless Radagast after the eventual death of his body. Why would he not be willing to return? He cant really "do" anything in Middle-earth without a body, can he?

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by denethorthefirst

Yes, he was quite happy. But we are talking about the hypothetical case of a bodyless Radagast after the eventual death of his body. Why would he not be willing to return? He cant really "do" anything in Middle-earth without a body, can he?

I don't know. He might still be pretty happy to hang out among the nature he loves even in bodiless form. I think it's a possibility. Though on the flip side the loss of a physical body could indeed be the wake up call that reminds him of his initial purpose there and of the land that may be awaiting his return.

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I don't know. He might still be pretty happy to hang out among the nature he loves even in bodiless form. I think it's a possibility. Though on the flip side the loss of a physical body could indeed be the wake up call that reminds him of his initial purpose there and of the land that may be awaiting his return.

The most parallel case I can think of is Melian, who forsook the Undying Land and seemingly bound herself into corporeal form. She ended up returning to Valinor when Thingol died, because the thing she had fallen in love with and stayed for was now gone.

In the case of Radagast, he loved the natural world, and that was not gone. Assuming he even could 'die of old age' (denethorthefirst, you assert that he must, but I don't know what you're basing that on), I'm inclined to the view that he would stay because of that love. He may not be able to create a new body, but so what? He could still linger over the things he adored, in the same manner as Tolkien originally saw the elves doing.

Of course, part of the reason I think this is that I remain convinced he's supposed to be someone or -thing from mythology. Like how Numenor is the source of the Atlantis story, or Frodo's song became 'the cow jumped over the moon', the passing-mention wizard whose name ends in 'gast' - and how close is that to 'ghost'? - really seems like a character from the primary world sneaking his way into the Legendarium. There's even a thread on the Downs about that...