The choice of the Half-Elven was given in the
First Age to Earendil and Elwing, and their sons Elrond and Elros, not
to mention the children of Elrond. However, it is possible that,
contrary to its
given name, this choice was not necessarily given because of their
Elven
descent. Rather, it could have been because of their Maia blood.
First, to get some proper background, we must
examine
the Maiar. Maiar are spiritual beings, of the Valar’s order, but
a
lesser degree. Being like the Valar, they too have the ability to
assume
a physical form if they will. And once assuming this form, they
are
also free to shed it. Also, like the Valar, they have a great
deal
of spiritual power. For all important purposes, the Maiar are
divine
beings. (Info from the Sil, Valaquenta, the section marked “Of
the
Maiar”)
Now let us take a look at the Elves. The
Elves
awoke when the stars were the only light east of Aman. Though
bound
to a physical body, they were deathless, so long as it was sickness or
age
that afflicted them. They could, however, be slain, and they
could
die of grief. Their wisdom grew with time, and after many long
years
the fire of their spirits would consume their bodies. (Sil, “Of
Men”)
Yet in the end, it was their doom to fade into the twilight; to lose
their
power and influence in Middle-Earth. This “Twilight of the Elves”
did
not begin until the Third Age, when the Numenoreans came back, and Man
began
to take a more leading role in the guarding of Middle-Earth.
However,
it was their fate to sail West or fade away.
Next, let us look at some history.
Melian the
Maia married Thingol the Elf, and together they ruled Doriath.
After
some time, Melian gave birth to Luthien, who, due to both her lineages
was
half-elf and half-Maia. Though her Elven blood had made it
impossible for her to cast away her body, she did have great power,
power enough to put
even Morgoth himself to sleep. Other than this, there was no
large
issue with the marriage of an Elf and a Maia. Both were immortal,
and
both had a measure of spiritual power. Both were bound by the
Ainulindale.
The issue did not become an issue until Beren married Luthien, and they
had
a son, Dior. Here was a mingling of Mortal and Immortal
Races.
Dior then married Nimloth, another of Elven blood, and they had two
sons,
who were slain by the sons of Feanor, and a daughter, Elwing, who went
on
to marry Earendil.
On the other side of the family tree we start
with
Tuor, who was sent to Gondolin by Ulmo to warn Turgon that his day had
finally
come. Tuor then Married Turgon’s daughter Idril, and she
bore
Earendil. After the fall of Gondolin they came to Nan-Tathren.
After
some time he met Elwing, and they were wed. Elwing bore Elrond
and
Elros.
Now for the argument. Earendil was truly Half-Elven, and
this
no doubt played an important part in his being given the
decision. But
other than him only Elwing had set foot on Aman. Neither Elrond
nor
Elros were anywhere near. This would mean that Earendil is the
exception,
rather than the rule.
For Elwing, Elrond, and Elros, the choice was
given
because of their Maiar descent. Each of these carried the blood
of
3 races: Elf, man, and Ainu (Maia). Because of their Mortal
descent,
they were doomed to die someday. However, because of their Elven
and
Maia blood, this could have been a very long time. It is possible
that
Elros may have lived longer had he not made any choice. Maiar had
great
power, greater than the Elves because the Maiar were divine
beings.
With Luthien it was shown that this power was hereditary. To have
a
line of semi-divine beings walking the Earth with an indefinite
lifespan
would not be feasible. Therefore, when the time came, Manwe
issued
a choice to those of the line of Luthien. Manwe could not offer
another
being a part in the fate of the Ainur, his own kind, because only a
“pure
blood” Ainu could claim this, and only Eru could give that kind of
power.
Instead, he offered them the choices of race of which they were already
the
greater part: Elf or Man.
Elwing and Earendil chose to share the fate of
the
Elves, and so they remained in Aman. Elrond and Elros never set
foot
in Aman, so they were allowed to remain in Middle-Earth. Elrond
chose
to be judged with the Elves. It was not until the Third Age that
this
became a problem again. In about 1000 TA Elrond married
Celebrian,
and she bore him children. Once more, the issue of semi-divine
beings
had arisen, and was no doubt foretold, for in LotR we are told
that
Elrond’s children were also given this choice: to sail with him or to
remain
in Middle-Earth and become mortal(Appen. A. v, tale of Arwen and
Aragorn).
So why didn’t the Line of Elros share in this
problem?
Elros chose the fate of Men, and so chose the fate of all his
lineage.
Many generations of Men live and die in a single Age, even of the Men
of
Numenor. As Men came to power, the Twilight of the Elves drew
nearer.
As the Elves faded, so did their power and influence in
Middle-Earth.
Any Elven power the Line of Elros had would fade not only with the
Elves,
but with the passing of each generation as well. As the line
continued,
the king married mortal women, cutting the Elven blood in half with
even
generation. All that was left within the line was the nobility of
the
blood, with little power. The Maia blood, which was already in a
fairly
small amount by the time Elrond and Elros were born, was also thinned
with
each generation, and with it’s thinning diminished the power of the
line,
though the Ainur (particularly Maiar) were not doomed to a fading as
were
the Elves. By the time Aragorn was born, all that was left to him
was
healing, his foresight, a will strong enough to contest even that of
Sauron,
and the nobility of his blood.
So why was there no problem when Aragorn and
Arwen
were married? Certainly Arwen’s Elven/Maiar blood would cause the same
problem
once more. Well, not really. The marriage between Aragorn
and
Arwen was beneficial for two reasons. First, Arwen chose the Fate
of
Man. So, as the Elves faded, so did her Elven power, leaving
nothing
to her descendants after as little as one or two generations.
True,
because of their marriage, Eldarion had a greater portion of Maia
blood,
but it was not enough to significantly strengthen any Maia power he
had.
Second, the marriage of Arwen and Aragorn reunited the Maia bloodline,
removing
any chances of semi-divine beings sprouting up somewhere. The
Maia
power was limited to a specific line of mortals, and this would be
halved
with each generation as well.
So, we come to the last question: What about
Elladan
and Elrohir, Elrond’s sons? If they chose to be Elves, they
either
passed over the sea or faded with the other Elves. Middle-Earth’s
recorded
history speaks little if any at all of Male Elves marrying Mortal
Women,
so there is little concern there.
I’ve used as many facts possible to show that
the
Maia bloodline may have played an important role in the choice Manwe
gave
to Earendil, Elwing, and their sons. Had it been solely because
of
the Elven blood, as the name given to this choice suggests, the
Dunedain in
Dol Amroth, who are said to carry Elven blood, would have to be given
this
choice as well.
References: Lord of the Rings (LotR), Silmarillion
(Sil)
Translated into Spanish on the site of the Sociedad Tolkien Peruana
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