Faith and Choices

[radagastly]

I hope you forgive the length of this, but it is one of the most moving passages Tolkien ever set to paper:

Originally posted by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, Appendix A (v) "Here Follows a part of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen":

'"Lady Undomiel," said Aragorn, "the hour is indeed hard, yet it was made even in that day when we met under the white birches in the garden of Elrond where none now walk. And on the hill of Cerin Amroth when we forsook both the Shadow and the Twilight this doom we accepted. Take counsel with yourself, beloved, and ask whether you would indeed have me wait until I wither and fall from my high seat unmanned and witless. Nay, Lady, I am the last of the Numenoreans and the latest King of the Eldar Days; and to me has been given not only a span thrice that of Men of Middle Earth, but also the grace to go at my will, and give back the gift. Now, therefore, I will sleep."
'"I speak no comfort to you, for there is no comfort for such pain within the circles of the world. The uttermost choice is before you: to repent and go to the Havens and bear away into the West the memory of our days together that shall there be evergreen but never more than memory; or else to abide the Doom of Men"
'"Nay, dear lord," she said, "that choice is long over. There is now no ship that would bear me hence, and I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill: the loss and the silence. But I say to you, King of the Numenoreans, not till now have I understood the tale of your people and their fall. As wicked fools I scorned them, but I pity them at last. For if this is indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive."
'"So it seems," he said. "But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring. In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory, Farewell!"
'"Estel! Estel!" she cried, and with that even as he took her hand and kissed it, he fell into sleep. Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so the grace of his youth, and the valour of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were blended together. And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.
'But Arwen went forth from the House, and the light of her eyes was quenched, and it seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lorien, and dwellt there alone under the fading trees until winter came. Galadriel had passed away and Celeborn also was gone, and the land was silent.
'There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not yet come, she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elenor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.
'Here ends this tale, as it has come to us from the South; and with the passing of Evenstar no more is said in this book of the days of old.'

Obviously, Aragorn is on his death-bed, by his own choice, and Arwen is in despair. Yet, he seem to have an insight beyond that of the Eldar, or at least beyond that of the half-elven. He seems to believe, even at the moment of his death, that Arwen still has a choice, to embrace the immortality of the Eldar, or to be mortal and join him beyond the veils of the world. Granted, she says, "There is now no ship that would bear me hence." but the tale of years says:

In this year on March 1st came at last the Passing of King Elessar. It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set beside the bed of the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring."

Certainly, there was at least that one ship, the one yet to be built by Legolas. After all her trials, and her lineage, she must have had enough forsight to know that the choice was yet before her. She could have sailed across the Sea, even to Valinor, climbed the summit of Tanequetil and paid homage to Manwe, and still have made that choice (maybe I'm pushing it here!).

Now, I realize that the fact that she even had a choice in the matter at all is a large part of what makes this so moving, but Aragorn, whose only choice was in scheduling the date of his demise and not at all whether it would happen or not, seems to have the stronger conviction of faith, at least at the actual moment of his death. Yet, it seems to me that she did not hesitate to follow him into what to her, must have been a Frightening UNKNOWN!.

I'm curious about Tolkien's view of the inherent conflict between love of God and Romantic love. Perhaps "conflict" is not quite the right word. "Difference" might be a better choice. His own love of Edith is as legendary as any of the tales he told, but so is his devotion to Catholicism. He did not seem to be conflicted personally between the two. Do his stories seem to value one above the other, equate them, substitute them for each other, treat them differently from one another or reflections of the same thing?

Please note that I do not (NOT, NOT, NOT) want to spark a religious debate. I've made my religious choices and I have no interest in yours (at least, not in this particular venue). I am, however, very interested in your views and especially your insights on Tolkien's artistic expressions concerning these matters.

I thank you and look forward to your replies.