Reincarnation

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Nukapei

So, does this mean that all Elves are reincarnated? The way you worded this makes it sound like the Valar only do this some of the time! And if so, are they reincarned into Valinore? What happens after The Undying Lands fill with reincarned Elves? Does anyone know this, or is it just something Tolkien never touched on?

I was talking about this just the other day! Presumably, many Elves died and passed to the Halls of Mandos, where they are given the choice to be 'reborn'; yet not all are given this choice, it should be noted.

Of those who are reborn, I wonder whether they 'reappear' in Valinor or Middle Earth? Do they have a choice? The example of Glorfindel means that either they can be reborn in Middle Earth, and therefore have a choice, or that there is a Straight Road out of Valinor.

The idea that there could be a choice got me thinking a little more. Obviously we only see a small proportion if the Elves who ever lived in Middle Earth, but a fairly significant number of those die, so it might be expected that we would have seen many more names than Glorfindel's appearing again after their deaths. So why don't we see this? I came up with two answers.

Firstly, it could be that an Elf who is reborn either simply cannot or must choose to return to Middle Earth. Perhaps their experience in Valinor affects them so that they wish to remain and not return to Middle Earth. Or the experience of death may be intensely troubling so that they prefer to remain in the Undying Lands until such a time as their kin return to them there. I do wonder if Osanwe works across the sea (maybe not since the breaking of the world), as if it did then physical separation might not be quite so hard to bear.

My second answer is quite a haunting thought. Those who die and pass to the Halls of Mandos may learn something once there, and they may choose not to be reborn in a physical body. Obviously they can never pass beyond the confines of the world like Men, but this is the closest they could come to that, and it may be a welcome experience for some (and Elves do tire of life and retire from it) to forsake physical existence.

They may indeed learn that to be reborn can be a troubling thing in itself - having to take up a life where it left off, coupled with regaining a family and partner who might have grieved for them - after all, they would not know if a person would be granted the gift of being reborn or even if they would accept it.

It fascinates me to think that Elves may learn something in the Halls of Mandos, something about their nature which is so profound that they are likely to choose not to return to Middle Earth or even to be reborn at all. That's one of Tolkien's 'wow' moments to me.