What do we Know About Radagast?

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I don't know. He might still be pretty happy to hang out among the nature he loves even in bodiless form. I think it's a possibility. Though on the flip side the loss of a physical body could indeed be the wake up call that reminds him of his initial purpose there and of the land that may be awaiting his return.

The most parallel case I can think of is Melian, who forsook the Undying Land and seemingly bound herself into corporeal form. She ended up returning to Valinor when Thingol died, because the thing she had fallen in love with and stayed for was now gone.

In the case of Radagast, he loved the natural world, and that was not gone. Assuming he even could 'die of old age' (denethorthefirst, you assert that he must, but I don't know what you're basing that on), I'm inclined to the view that he would stay because of that love. He may not be able to create a new body, but so what? He could still linger over the things he adored, in the same manner as Tolkien originally saw the elves doing.

Of course, part of the reason I think this is that I remain convinced he's supposed to be someone or -thing from mythology. Like how Numenor is the source of the Atlantis story, or Frodo's song became 'the cow jumped over the moon', the passing-mention wizard whose name ends in 'gast' - and how close is that to 'ghost'? - really seems like a character from the primary world sneaking his way into the Legendarium. There's even a thread on the Downs about that...