Morte Darwen

[Galin]

Somewhat recently I stumbled across the following, and I wondered what others might think of it.

(...) 'Arwen's fate is tragic, because she is one of the 'half-elven' who may choose whether to become Man or Elf; she chooses to become mortal in order to marry Aragorn and share his fate. However, her resolve to accept mortality at the proper time is undermined by her 'lack of faith' in Man's destiny of life after death. In the appendix, she is portrayed as regretting becoming a mortal instead of an Elf; and as having succumbed to the sin of clinging to mortal life rather than accepting mortality and trusting that there is life after death.

'…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 than comes without a star.' [8]

The half-elven Arwen has failed to embrace the mortal need for courage to underpin all other virtues; and one possible interpretation of this passage is that this has consequences for her fate in the next world.'

In full context...

http://charltonteaching.blogspot.com...ng-of-men.html

Hmmm.

[Inziladun]

Well, I don't see how Arwen can be seen as "having succumbed to the sin of clinging to mortal life rather than accepting mortality and trusting that there is life after death."

She refused to continue with life because she found no further joy in it after Aragorn's death. Contrast that to the Númenóreans, who resisted mortality due to the bliss they did feel, and a desire to not lose it.

Arwen's fate is rather comparable to that Rían, Tuor's mother, who lay down and died on the Haudh-en-Ndengin out of grief; to Melian, who exercised her angelic freedom to return to Aman after the death of Thingol, again out of grief; or Arwen's own mother, Celebrían, who left Middle-earth after being wounded by Orcs.

[Morthoron]

What you say is true, Inzil, but I think it's also fair to say that Arwen really didn't understand or perhaps ignored all the ramifications of mortality until Aragorn chose to die with dignity, in the manner of the earliest Numenorean kings. The immediacy of mortal death did not concern her up until that point. "Lesser" folks like the Hobbits and even Gondorions and Rohirrim may have died along the way, but Aragorn remained constant, as a man of truer blood than those around him (and he certainly aged less rapidly). Once he died, the thought of mortality hit her like a ton of bricks, and she didn't handle it gracefully.

[Inziladun]

I see what you're saying, Morth, and you're right.

It's notable though that Arwen did apparently desire for Aragorn to "cling to life", but would not do that herself for the sake of her remaining family.

I wonder if Elrond ever discussed with his daughter the matter of her uncle choosing mortality. And what effect did Arwen giving up on life have upon her brothers, if they had yet to make their own decisions about their life-potential?