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Newly Deceased
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Re: .....
In
Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10), "Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth",
Note 3 there is a discussion of the fate of those
fëa who obeyed the summons:<blockquote>
Quote:<hr> ****They 'normally remained in Aman'. Simply because they were, when rehoused, again in actual physcial bodies, and return to Middle-earth was therefore very difficult and perilous. Also during the period of the Exile of the Noldor the Valar had for the time being cut all communications (by physical means) between Aman and Middle-earth. The Valar could of course have arranged for the transference, if there was sufficiently grave reason. Bereavement of friends and kin was, apparently, not considered a sufficient reason. Probably under instruction of Eru.<hr></blockquote>This, of course, refers to the period of the War of the Jewels, but there must have been Avari who died during that period and 'normally remained in Aman'.
If the same rules applied in later days, then presumably any Elves who wished might have returned to Middle-earth if they wished to dare the perils of the Sea, which might not then have been over-great. They do not seem feared by those who go West from the Havens. Yet the only Elf recorded to have probably returned is Glorfindel.
But the situation
has changed. The time of the dominion of Men is approaching, and Eönwë at the end of the First Age had summoned
all Elves, Eldar and Avari alike, to come to the West. The Valar may have been wrong originally to invite all the Elves to Valinor so soon after their awakening, but now Elves must either go West and retain their full vigor and power or remain and fade, eventually becoming wraiths. In this new situation it is quite likely that a trip to Aman, whether by the high road or low road, would be one way, for Eldar or for Avari.
It would not make sense to normally re-embody Avari in Aman and then send them back to Middle-earth to either fade under the Dominion of Men or return again to Aman, perhaps immediately. (Of course, possibly, a few might choose to return, if it were allowed them, being in love with Middle-earth or some part of it.)
In some ways Valinor has become the Elvish Heaven, but Elves have a choice on how to get there. They can go by ship alive, or they can die and answer the summons, which means spending some time in Mandos. If it is indeed normally a one-way trip (possibly especially so since the Changing of the World), one can see why many Elves linger in Middle-earth. They can always go later, alive by ship, or by the low road if they meet a violent death or death by grief. And when they do go it is expected to be irrevocable; they willl never return to Middle-earth. So while they are happy in Middle-earth there is no reason to rush into the journey. Aman always awaits.
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Edited by: <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000212>jallanit e</A> at: 5/27/01 10:59:00 pm