"Unless, of course, sex wasn't something the Elves had on a regular basis"
I think that Lush may have a very good point here. Given the immortality of elves (or at any rate, no deaths from old age or natural causes), then I'd conclude that there would be minimal evolutionary pressure to reproduce, and certainly not to reproduce at the same degree of fecundity that is necessary for a shorter-lived race such as humans.
So, JRRT has already covered this by limiting the elven period of fertility to a relatively short space of time after marriage. We might speculate whether this is because reproductive ability (which might perhaps be shown outwardly by the onset of regular menstruation in elven females?? - or maybe not; just a guess, since this subject has been raised earlier on the thread [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]) is triggered by the onset of sexual relations between a troth-plighted couple, or whether fertility is controlled deliberately - either artificially or by body-control - by an individual elvish couple.
My bet is that JRRT's beliefs would preclude any preference for birth control that was artificial - but that's just a hunch, feel free to ignore it!
Sorry if I've offended any creationists by applying theory of evolution here: I have no wish to offend, and apologise if I have upset anyone. We can all enjoy the same books, after all!
:-) Silqeleni
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