LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 06 - Lothlórien

[Aiwendil]

Bethberry wrote:

I think I must be a reader like Aiwendil and Lalwendë, for I too am circumspect about the elves and Lorien. I think it is because of the elves' lack of interest in other races and their nostagia for their own past; these features tinge them with a wistful blemish on the face of their beauty, despite, I hate to say it, Tolkien's words that Lorien was without blemish. Something in me makes me cautious about a people who seem to want to preserve things unchanged.

I agree, to an extent. I certainly think that nostalgia was a problem for the Elves (and for some more than others). But I don't think I blame them for this. I rather share their malady - nostalgia and the desire to preserve things unchanged are perhaps two of my chief features.

But I think the relation of mortals to Elves is a distinct (though obviously related) issue. Throughout the Legendarium, whenver mortals come into contact with Elves, it brings forth longings and desires that are, at least for mortals, insatiable. Look at Numenor.