Posted: February 10, 1999 at 19:01:47: by Michael Martinez
: Did Tolkien ever give your second question in the form of a
: statement? i.e. Did he say that it was *goodness* that got
: elves back from The Halls of Mandos? Beren & Luthien's
: 'resurrection' seemed to be due not necessarily to their
: goodness but the Luthien's Song of Power before Mandos. And
: since we had already seen her pull one over on Morgoth with
: song and dance, it isn't incredible to believe she could do it
: to Mandos. Actually, Namo really had nothing to do with it. The decision to let Beren and Luthien go back was due to a choice that Iluvatar gave to Luthien: to become a full Ainu and live with the Valar and Maiar, or to return to Middle-earth with Beren, there to become Mortal and eventually to die and pass from the circles of the world. The purpose of keeping the Elven spirits in Mandos was give them healing, of a sort. Some of the Elves were so marred (such as Feanor) that they would probably never be released. Finwe was indeed eventually asked if he wished to be restored to life, but by that time Miriel had changed her mind, so he decided to stay in Mandos and let her live again. He could not be restored to life with Miriel, however, because it was deemed unnatural that an Elf should have two spouses.
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Parma Endorion: Essays on Middle-earth, Revised Edition
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