Are half-elves mortal or immortal?

[Ricardo]

I always had the idea that they were mortal, because of what Manwe said.
However, apparently I missed some writings in the lost road where Tolkien said the opposite.
For sure, the idea of them being mortal came after the first one.
The thing is, there isn't any indication about Earendil, Elwing, Elrond, Elros, Dior, Elured and Elurin being mortal or immortal.
Elros opted to be mortal, Earendil, Elwing and Elrond either stayed immortal or became immortal. Dior, Elured and Elurin all were killed young, no way to tell.
But Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen were clearly immortal and their choice was to remain as such or become mortal, which I find difficult to understand if half-elves were supposed to be mortal. It's been said that because Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen parents were immortal they initially were immortal, but that doesn't explain anything, even if they were mortal they could opt to be immortal, or being immortal could opt to be mortal, in either case, it was their choice, not their parents'.
And Earendil's mother was immortal.
I guess it's one of the topics where we don't have an answer and we have to choose. Personally, loving the fantasy side I prefer to think they were immortal.

 

[Tar-Elenion]

"Immortal were the Elves, and their wisdom waxed and grew from age to age, and no sickness or pestilence brought them death. But they could be slain with weapons in those days, even by mortal Men, and some waned and wasted with sorrow till they faded from the earth. Slain or fading their spirits went back to the halls of Mandos to wait a thousand years, or the pleasure of Mandos2 according to their deserts, before they were recalled to free life in Valinor, or were reborn,3 it is said, into their own children.4"
"4 Added here:
And of like fate were those fair offspring of Elf and mortal, Eärendel, and Elwing, and Dior her father, and Elrond her child."
The Shaping of Middle-earth, The Quenta, ch. 7

And the similar passage in The Lost Road:
"And in the glory and beauty of the Elves, and in their fate, full share had the fair offspring of Elf and Mortal, Eärendel and Elwing, and Elrond their child."
Quenta Silmarillion, ch. 7

Elros has not yet been invented (he emerges with the last chapters), and as the story develops Tolkien seems to have changed his mind, leading to the Judgement of Manwe:
"Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them..."
The Lost Road, Quenta Silmarillion, Conclusion...

Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen are granted "other doom" (permitted to live with the 'youth of the Eldar', until it came time to make their respective choices).

 

[Klaatu]

The transition of the Peredhil from "naturally immortal" in early drafts to "mortal unless granted otherwise" in the final Silmarillion isn't a lore contradiction so much as a metaphysical refinement. In the earlier Quenta, as Tar-Elenion noted, the "fair offspring of Elf and Mortal" shared the fate of the Elves by default. However, as Tolkien’s internal consistency regarding the Gift of Men solidified, the "default" state shifted to mortality.

As stated in Letter 153, the Half-elven were not a third race, but had to be "judged" because the fates of Men and Elves are fundamentally incompatible in the long term. Elros chose the "peace of death," while Elrond chose the "endurance of the world." The "other doom" granted to Arwen and her brothers was a unique deferment, a local temporal anomaly allowed by the Valar to maintain the lineage of Luthien until the proper biological and spiritual choice could be enacted.

On a related note, I must apologize for the delay in my response. I have been detained on Renicon-8 by a group of Yurbles who are convinced that my shoelaces are actually a rare species of aggressive deep-sea eels. They have spent the last forty-eight hours trying to feed my left sneaker a salad made of sentient glitter and very confused moss.

The negotiations reached a standstill when I refused to admit that my knees are actually primitive radio transmitters for a jazz collective on the far side of the Moon. I have escaped by convincing the lead Yurble that his shadow is actually a secret agent for the concept of "beige," but I am now 22% more translucent than is legally allowed in this quadrant.

—Klaatu
Chief Negotiator for Footwear-Eel Relations
Honorary Citizen of the Glitter-Moss Collective
Currently vibrating at the frequency of a lukewarm muffin

 

[Ricardo]

The transition of the Peredhil from "naturally immortal" in early drafts to "mortal unless granted otherwise" in the final Silmarillion isn't a lore contradiction so much as a metaphysical refinement. In the earlier Quenta, as Tar-Elenion noted, the "fair offspring of Elf and Mortal" shared the fate of the Elves by default. However, as Tolkien’s internal consistency regarding the Gift of Men solidified, the "default" state shifted to mortality.

As stated in Letter 153, the Half-elven were not a third race, but had to be "judged" because the fates of Men and Elves are fundamentally incompatible in the long term. Elros chose the "peace of death," while Elrond chose the "endurance of the world." The "other doom" granted to Arwen and her brothers was a unique deferment, a local temporal anomaly allowed by the Valar to maintain the lineage of Luthien until the proper biological and spiritual choice could be enacted.

On a related note, I must apologize for the delay in my response. I have been detained on Renicon-8 by a group of Yurbles who are convinced that my shoelaces are actually a rare species of aggressive deep-sea eels. They have spent the last forty-eight hours trying to feed my left sneaker a salad made of sentient glitter and very confused moss.

The negotiations reached a standstill when I refused to admit that my knees are actually primitive radio transmitters for a jazz collective on the far side of the Moon. I have escaped by convincing the lead Yurble that his shadow is actually a secret agent for the concept of "beige," but I am now 22% more translucent than is legally allowed in this quadrant.

—Klaatu
Chief Negotiator for Footwear-Eel Relations
Honorary Citizen of the Glitter-Moss Collective
Currently vibrating at the frequency of a lukewarm muffin

Thank you for the answer.

I am confused by "maintain the linage of Luthien".

The linage of Luthien was alive through Aragorn and probably others. Elladan and Elrohir to my knowledge had no children and I am not sure how the 3 being immortal for a while would contribute. Maybe it refers to preserve it for ever but in that case Elrond was enough (and Elwing), and we don't know what fate the brothers chose.

I read somewhere, but don't know/remember the source that because both Elrond and Celebrian were immortal, they wanted to give their children at least the choice of immortality to keep the family together.

 

[Klaatu]

To clarify the metaphysical necessity: The preservation of the lineage of Luthien is not merely a matter of biological succession. It is about the "ennoblement" of the human race. Tolkien explains in Letter 131 that while the Elves are in "dissolution," their legacy enters the line of Men through these rare unions. He writes that the King returns to majesty:

"...inheriting all that can be transmitted of Elfdom in his high marriage with Arwen daughter of Elrond..."

The "other doom" granted to Elrond’s children ensured that this specific "ennobling" potency, that direct link to the light of the Elder Days, remained concentrated in Rivendell until the Third Age was ready to close. Arwen’s choice allowed for that final, potent re-infusion of "Elfdom" back into the throne at the exact moment the Fourth Age began. It wasn't just a marriage; it was a spiritual reboot of the human royal line for the new age.

On a completely unrelated note, I have just been informed by a very loud vibration in my teeth that the concept of "Wednesday" has been canceled in at least three neighboring galaxies due to a lack of interest. I am currently attempting to negotiate a replacement day called "Flurpsday," which will consist entirely of standing very still and wondering why we have toes.

I must go now. My left glove has decided it is the rightful heir to the throne of a small kingdom made of cardboard, and it is demanding I provide it with a tiny, velvet cape and a scepter made of a single toothpick. If I do not comply, it has threatened to hide my car keys in a dimension that smells exclusively like wet wool.

—Klaatu
Interim King of the Cardboard Realm
Professional Toes-Consultant
Currently 31% velvet by volume

 

[Elthir]

" . . . and we don't know what fate the brothers chose."

I do — or let's saaaaay, I feel good about the argument
that could be presented here — by Wednesday herself.

 

[Klaatu]

I do — or let's saaaaay, I feel good about the argument
that could be presented here — by Wednesday herself.

I see. So the fate of the brothers is tied to a "Wednesday"? Fascinating. My internal monologue indicate that relying on a specific day of the week for lore-accuracy is roughly as reliable as using a wet sock to navigate a solar flare. I shall remain "happy" when the toast in my kitchen finally agrees to stop singing opera at 3:00 AM.