Why does elrond stay

Although there were other examples of mixed blood and half-elven, it was only these two who were given the choice to choose a side. That choice also extended to their direct descendants. They had two sons, Elrond and Elros.

Elrond made the choice to remain immortal among the elves. Elros, however, chose to become mortal instead. He and his people were gifted with longer life-spans, and he became the first King of the Numenoreans thus, Aragorn is a descendant of Elros, and going back further still, Beren and Luthien as well, and even Thingol.

Of course, we are talking about MANY generations. As children of Elrond, Arwen and her brothers Elladan and Elrohir also are given this choice. Arwen, however makes her choice to become mortal, in order to stay and be with Aragorn. It is unclear how much she has aged at the time of her death.

Technically she was almost three-thousand years old, but her mortal life was just over a century they ruled Gondor for years. Her fate was tied to the ring now that she had chosen mortality, just as the fate of all men on middle earth was tied to it.

If the ring was destroyed, then her fate would take a better turn and she could join with Aragorn and become Queen of Gondor. Her dying seems to be a reference to the fact that with the choice she has made, she is in fact dying in the same way all men grow, age, and die.

If Aragorn and the Fellowship do not succeed in their mission, it is very likely that she will die. The good news is that the answers to these questions are more clear in the books. The other pictures are screen grabs from the movies. I was researching to see if anyone has made any sense of Arwen leaving Rivendelll twice during the movies. She left once in The Two Towers when Elrond talked her into it; and she had left again in The Return of the King when she had the vision of Elrond with Eldrarion, and turned back to Rivendell.

When did she return to Rivendell after the first departure, and where was she during the intervening time? You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account.

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Tolkien said the Eldar preferred to remain in Middle-earth, where they were on the top of the social ladder, rather than emigrate to Valinor, where they would be at the bottom.

Elrond lost everything in the War of the Ring. Vilya, his Ring, was stripped of its power. His world at last began to fade. And I have now rambled much more than Elaini.

Last edited: Aug 7, Gothmog Lord of Balrogs. Very good summation except for one point. Alcuin said:. Click to expand I should still be grieved because of the doom that is laid on us.

Elros chose to be … mortal, so all his descendants are mortal… Elrond chose to be among the Elves. The end of his sons, Elladan and Elrohir, is not told: they delay their choice, and remain for a while. But I was not arguing with your comments about Elladan and Elrohir. It may be that they did indeed choose to be joined with the fate of Men or it may have been that one chose Men and the other Eldar as with Elrond and Elros.

We don't know and can only speculate but their choice was deferred until Elrond left. Gothmog said:. At the end of the First Age the Valar gave to the Half-elven an irrevocable choice to which kindred they would belong. Elrond chose to be of Elven-kind, and became a master of wisdom.

To him therefore was granted the same grace as to those of the High Elves that still lingered in Middle-earth : that when weary at last of the mortal lands they could take ship from the Grey Havens and pass into the Uttermost West; and this grace continued after the change of the world.

Then we are now in total agreement. Elaini said:. Elthir Active Member. To toss in some further considerations in question form : when was letter written? And when was Tolkien wholly finished writing the Appendix tale of Aragorn and Arwen?

In any case, in the first edition of The Lord of the Rings , nothing is "told" about Elladan and Elrohir with respect to Elrond sailing into the West.

Yet for the revised Second Edition of the s, roughly a decade after Tolkien wrote letter a letter that JRRT had no way of knowing his readership at large would ever know about , Tolkien adds two references to Elladan and Elrohir remaining in Middle-earth after Elrond sailed. And speculation-scenario alert what if letter is messing with Tolkien's reason for adding a couple references to Elrond's sons remaining in Middle-earth after Elrond sailed, given: "But to the children of Elrond a choice was also appointed: to pass with him from the circles of the world; or if they remained to become mortal and die in Middle-earth" Appendix A And: "What is that doom?

Master Elrond, the years of your abiding run short at last, and the choice must soon be laid upon you and your children, to part either with you or with Middle-earth.

And I'm aware of the counter arguments concerning "with" Elrond and so on, but so far. I'm going with mortal. Last edited: Aug 28, Letter was written in September I think he is implying that the Appendix was assembled after that, but with all the other information, thinks that some of the material may its origins before then. I couldn't pin things down certainly either Alcuin. We might never know the dating for sure unless I'm missing something here , and if so, the question remains.

Also, it seems to water things down in my opinion. In other words, if the idea behind the above conversation between Elrond and Aragorn is really: " soon , yeah Aragorn, but not really when I sail. But still. In any case, I think it's possible that Tolkien , in , didn't intend to tell the fates of Elrond's sons by simply not mentioning whether or not they sailed on the ship with Elrond, Galadriel , Gandalf and so on.

And in the s. You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads. What was Mandos doing? Licky Linguist May 21, "The Silmarillion" mandos. But people have noted that Elrond may have abstained from war because he was a great healer.

And the Eldar deemed that the dealing of death, even when lawful or under necessity, diminished the power of healing, and that the virtue of the nissi in this matter was due rather to their abstaining from hunting or war than to any special power that went with their womanhood.

Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength and speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child than is seen among mortals. On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need….

On the other hand, Aragorn himself practices both war and healing, and it is through his healing powers that he earns the love and trust of the people of Minas Tirith, who acknowledge him as their rightful king.

Tolkien therefore seems to be of two minds on the matter concerning healing and the taking of life.

Hence, Elrond may have faced a greater risk in going out to war as his ability to field armies diminished than Gil-galad might have, had he survived into the Third Age.

So while we cannot provide a definitive answer for why Elrond chose to stay in Rivendell and only send out emissaries such as his sons and Glorfindel, there are certainly plausible explanations.

Elrond was also the chief of the Eldar in Middle-earth. He would not have customarily sought out adventure on the road. Those who remained at home did not do so out of cowardice but they survived many an age by acting prudently. It would have behooved both Elrond and his people for him to behave prudently at the end of the Third Age. Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?