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Child, First, I suspect that For Tolkien 'Faerie' (as we see in 'Niggle') is 'the best introduction to the 'Mountains', if we understand 'faerie' in the way Tolkien himself understood it.
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An extremely interesting point.
I do not think we have ever seen a serious discussion in regards to Faerie as way-station to heaven.
Also I think we need to keep the 'embalming' trait balanced with the incredible depth and profundity of the Eldar. The embalming tendency seemed to war constantly with the changefullness of their speech, dwellings [ you often see entire communities move: Oropher/Thranduil's - Celeborn and Galadriel - the Green Elves - The Vanyar from Tirion, etc.] It was the inertial component of all created things and Elves were not immune to it.
As far as Embalmers go, the Hobbits and Dunedain seem equal offenders, though the Hobbits of course seem to go about it in a rather semi-concious way compared to the Dunedain and Eldar.
Curiously enough I suppose the Avari wee the first embalmers.