[Diamond18]

Actually I don't think Tolkien thought that far into the matter for it to be an issue in his writing. I mean, roughly 3,000 years not just without sex, but without romance or any kind of boy/girl relationship? What did they do all that time? (Remember, Arwen was old by the time she met Aragorn, so she didn't have him to look forward to all those years.)

Of course, the point has been made that Elves are immortal so maybe there's no urgency to get hitched, have children to ensure posterity, so on.

But, they did mate, so we must assume they had some sex drive. Or not?

As I said before, from the quotes Helen provided it sounds very "ideal" in the sense of "unrealistic". I mean, it reads as if this permanent union never to be dissolved marraige was not just the way it would be in a perfect world, but the way it was. Now, we know that in our world the proscribed customs are not always followed and not everyone believes in the same truths. Our world isn't a perfect place where what is good and pure reigns. And neither was Middle-earth, ever since Melkor got his hands on it.

What I'm saying is that Middle-earth seems to be represented as a fallen world in every aspect except sex. I mean, so far the worst scenario has been unhappy and loveless marraiges. But since Middle-earth isn't a perfect world, why don't we have playboy elves or loose she-elves? Or are they just "loser-elves" who didn't deserve to be mentioned in the great tales? Should we assume that they were present in the world but not mentioned in the books because of the chaste nature of Tolkien's writings, or did they really not exist in Arda?

Elves were not above greed and murder, so why should we think they were above lust?

Though I can't really picture Tolkien sitting at his desk thinking "How long can they endure without sex before they snap?"

That's Lush's department. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[ February 15, 2003: Message edited by: Diamond18 ]