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Originally Posted by Eomer of the Rohirrim
The diminishing of things is one aspect of Tolkien's stories that has always fascinated me. The idea that things generally get worse or weaker over time certainly makes for less happy endings. It adds to the tragedy. There are numerous examples: the decline of Middle-earth in general; the Elves; Numenor; the race of Men; the Hobbits and the Dwarves. The zenith of their greatness was reached fairly swiftly - maybe Numenor was more complex - and the descent to the (perhaps illusionary) nadir took a much longer time.
I would particularly like to know if this theme is ultimately religious. I know almost nothing about Catholicism, Christianity or religion in general. Is it anything to do with the Garden of Eden?
What it does do is go against a staple of Romanticism or the Enlightenment, namely that human achievment, wisdom and greatness keeps increasing.
Any thoughts? As I suggested, I can hardly bear to imagine a Middle-earth with lots of happy and glorious endings. It wouldn't be right.
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While it might be lots of fun, it is always problematic to posit psychological or biographical reasons for authors' point of view or particular stance in novels. Yet, it is so tempting! With all the references to death, including that of Aragorn and Arwen in the Appendices, I wonder if we can't say that the greatest affect of time, death, was something Tolkien felt keenly. And with loss comes remembrance, usually of the finest aspects lost rather than of the worst.
He lost his father while still a toddler (and then the land where he played) and then his mother in his early teens. That experience of death came sooner, earlier for Tolkien than it does for most other human beings. This is not necessarily an experience of things getter worse or weaker, but it is a profound experience of change and of loss.
Life is short, art is long.