: Yes I am using an evolutionary approach, though it might be seen as being merely that of having an organism as being as fit for its environment as possible. Even creationists would admit that God or Eru would create his beings to be as efficient in their environment as possible. That said I'll give another example, David Freitag mentioned that Galadriel and Celeborn seem to have been together for about 7,000 years, in which time they produced 1 undisputed offspring. What is the point in having a pair bond lasting 7,000 years if it was effective for say the 40 years while Celebrian grew to maturity? I'm just guessing how long it might take an elf to mature physically, but I don't think it is stated that it was a matter of centuries. It would be much more efficient if elves lived communal lives but when cued by environmental factors such as low population density (for example) then went into a procreative mode, forming a bond which then lasted for the time of the physical maturation of the offspring.: Having said this it isn't really the illogicality of certain aspects of Elven society in regard to their immortality that irks me, it is the basic difficulty I have with the creation of a mythological past whilst some of its participants are still hanging around.
>>>Well, one point that works in your favor is that the Elves didn't procreate (as much) during times of war. That doesn't explain Celeborn and Galadriel, though. I tend to agree with you on the biological/evolutionary purpose of romantic love. The Elves seem to have procreated heavily early on then slowed down substantially sometime during the Noontide of Valinor. This makes sense from a population perspective. The coupling urge was designed to increase the population of the Elves to an "appropriate" level. What happens afterward doesn't really matter from an evolutionary perspective. These bonds become vestigial but are not a problem or paradox.
As to the mythological perspective, I think you are right. Didn't Tolkien decide that the Silmarillion is a "mannish" history to solve that problem? Having people who've spoken to the gods (for lack of a better word) does create a problem. While the Elves maintained a great deal of lore about Ages past, we don't really know how accessible this information was to men at the end of the Third Age/beginning of the Fourth. As time wore on, it seems that less and less contact occurred between the various races.
Unfortunately, Tolkien died before he could resolve the contradictions and paradoxes he created. The same goes for the creation of the sun and moon. He called his version cosmologically absurd. I guess I don't really have a conclusion here, but the power of the narrative is important. The image of Fingolfin blowing his silver trumpets as he arrives in Middle-Earth and the sun rises for the first time (or was it the moon?) is a powerful one. One of my favorites. The same goes for the sorrow created by the swift passing of time for the Elves in Middle-Earth. The narrative is so interwoven with these concepts that Tolkien seems to have backed himself into a corner.
