Quote:
Originally Posted by Nogrod
What I have always thought being the reason for the "annui" has been just the fact that they have lived so long, being involved for so long, seen so much... seen so many a thing recurring, repeating itself.
Every child - or a childish person - wants to live forever but when one gets even a glimpse of what eternity might actually mean one grows up and sees the freedom and meaningfulness of living a limited mortal life. To me that has just been the realisation of the elves... they have grown up, they have realised that another millenia, and another, and another... will be just the same with some minor variations and the struggle between good and bad etc. will go on whatever they do...
And isn't that one of the recurring themes of our mythologies and popular cultures: how immortals envy those who can just live and die?
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It indeed is (and by the way, if you ever get the chance to see/read "The Macropulos Case" by Karel Čapek, I recommend that, as it deals with the topic as well), though with all due respect, I think with the Elves it is not really the case. I would rather agree with
Boro, as it really is that the Elves aren't really fit for M-E because it is changing all the time. And that's why I disagree with what
Nog said: the problem of the Elves is not that they would have seen the sunrise or the spring for million times already, if it was so and they were fed up with immortality, then it would make no sense for them to leave for the Undying Lands, where actually things do not change at all! No, I think that's actually what humans would think (and I have seen even fellow 'Downers expressing similar opinions on the Undying Lands, that it must be "totally boring" there) - but that's just not the way the Elven mentality works. They do not really want things to change and they are fine with it. I think the Undying Lands are something more akin to for example Plato's world of ideas. I think the Elvish destiny is something more into the Neo-Platonic or Gnostic sense, getting away from the ever-changing marred Middle-Earth to a world where everything lasts. (Although, even this is not exactly true, as even Valinor is part of Arda Marred, and there is something else as a vision for the Elves, which is outside the time with the Second Music at the end of the days and the Men will join that also - so there is something "beyond" just this idea of unchanging, but still "earthly" world - I must note here that I appreciate this aspect in Tolkien's works, as Valinor in a way corresponds to the "simple" idea of Heaven which we find in basically all world mythologies, but with the Fate of Men is not
that, Tolkien - to my surprise and delight - keeps the Christian biblical perspective which does not condescent to objectification - and in some way, it contributes to, or makes it easier for me to take Middle-Earth as "real".)