Many thanks for the links Voronwe, I have not read these before, but am glad that the core questions have been pondered by wiser scholars than I!
My desire for questioning the content of 'Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth' stemmed from my first reading of the work, of which I discussed the content with my colleague Maedhros
here. As you can see, I clearly find the same amazement many before me have felt when reading this unique work. More recently, while reading Humphrey Carpenter's Tolkien Biography, I was struck by a small line regarding his childhood, 'If the world were unfallen and man were not sinful, he himself would have spent an undisturbed childhood with his mother in a paradise such as Sarehole had in memory become to him.' Something in this invoked a sense of wonder as to the 'Fall' of Man, especially the first fall described in 'Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth' and Tolkiens own conflicting reasons for its inclusion. However, I am glad that my own muddled thoughts are not unique and others mull and labour over the same 'great' mysteries in Tolkiens work.