Why did Legolas set sail for the Grey Havens only after Aragorn's death?

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

How does Legolas' heritage affect his departal from ME? He doesn't need to be one of the Eldar to leave, or to hear the call of the Sea

Exactly. The invitation/summons of the Valar for the Elves to come to Aman was extended to all of them, wasn't it, and excepting the Ban on the rebellious Noldor in the First Age, I can't remember anything saying that the Straight Road didn't remain open to all Elves who wished to take it, regardless of their ancestry.

As for why Legolas didn't set sail earlier, I agree that he most probably tarried for the sake of his companions from the Fellowship. The first thing coming to my mind here was this dialogue:

Originally Posted by LotR Book V, The Last Debate

[Legolas:]"Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm."
"Say not so!" said Gimli. "There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do. But if all the fair folk teake to the Havens, it will be a duller world for those who are doomed to stay."
"Dull and dreary indeed!" said Merry. "You must not go to the Havens, Legolas. There will always be some folk, big or little, and even a few wise dwarves like Gimli, who need you."

It would seem that Legolas felt bound by this admonition and only felt free to leave when the last of his friends were dead or nearing death.

Thanks by the way to Ang for eloquently restoring the original image of Tolkien's Legolas, which I must admit had been eclipsed in my mind by PJ's shield-surfing superhero for a while. As for Galadriel's warning of death, I read Leggy's words to Gimli ("Would you have her speak openly to you of your death?") just the same way the first time around and didn't really get where that came from; only at the second or third reading did it occur to me that he must have been referring to the Lady's message to Aragorn about the Paths of the Dead, and not to his own at all.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Exactly. The invitation/summons of the Valar for the Elves to come to Aman was extended to all of them, wasn't it, and excepting the Ban on the rebellious Noldor in the First Age, I can't remember anything saying that the Straight Road didn't remain open to all Elves who wished to take it, regardless of their ancestry.

If I recall correctly, Tolkien muddied the waters a bit here with his 'irrevocable choice' in a letter. There are texts which seem to indicate 'all' Elves were invited Oversea after the War of Wrath too, but then again, the question of the Avari seems a bit sticky because I don't think Tolkien ever again speaks so specifically about their choice.

If every letter necessarily shapes one's Middle-earth that is


In a late text, JRRT has Amroth note to Nimrodel (a Silvan Elf) that the way is open to all those Elves who took up the Great March even if they did not reach the shores of the Sea, but from The Lord of the Rings itself we already knew that the East-elves of Lorien could pass Oversea, or at least that they are (generally) said to.


Edit: here's the Amroth quote: 'It is said that the grace that the Valar gave to us to pass over the Sea is granted also now to any of those who made the Great Journey, even if they did not come in ages past to the shores and have not yet beheld the Blessed Land.'

What does this imply, if anything, about those who initially refused the Great Journey?