Mortality: Irrevocable?

[Tar-Elenion]

In Letter 153 JRRT writes:
"In the primary story of Lúthien and Beren, Lúthien is allowed as an absolute exception to divest herself of 'immortality' and become 'mortal'...".
As an "absolute exception" Lúthien is the only 'Elf' who was allowed a change in fate.
JRRT goes onto write:
"Túor weds Idril the daughter of Turgon King of Gondolin; and 'it is supposed' (not stated) that he as an unique exception receives the Elvish limited 'immortality': an exception either way."
Thus no other Men were allowed to change their fate.
JRRT also wrote:
"Immortality and Mortality being the special gifts of God to the Eruhini (in whose conception and creation the Valar had no part at all) it must be assumed that no alteration of their fundamental kind could be effected by the Valar even in one case: the cases of Lúthien (and Túor) and the position of their descendants was a direct act of God."
Eru alone could allow a change in fate, and he allowed it only in those two cases.

 

[Elfarmari]

I just found
this thread which is pretty much the same subject. . .

 

[Elfarmari]

This is a question I still think about occasionally; does anyone know if Tolkien explained why Arwen and her brothers were allowed to choose which race to belong to? This doesn't seem logical to me; I understand the choice of whether to stay in Middle-earth or sail to the West, but why do the children of an Elf and another who for all intents and purposes is now an Elf get to choose?

 

[Gothmog]

There is some information in Tolkien's Letters. Letter 153 To Peter Hastings (draft) has the following:

Eärendil is Túor's son & father of Elros (First King of Númenor) and Elrond, their mother being Elwing daughter of Dior, son of Beren and Lúthien: so the problem of the Half-elven becomes united in one line. The view is that the Half-elven have a power of (irrevocable) choice, which may be delayed but not permanently, which kin's fate they will share. Elros chose to be a King and 'longaevus' but mortal, so all his descendants are mortal, and of a specially noble race, but with dwindling longevity: so Aragorn (who, however, has a greater life-span than his contemporaries, double, though not the original Númenórean treble, that of Men). Elrond chose to be among the Elves. His children – with a renewed Elvish strain, since their mother was Celebrían dtr. of Galadriel – have to make their choices. Arwen is not a 're-incarnation' of Lúthien (that in the view of this mythical history would be impossible, since Lúthien has died like a mortal and left the world of time) but a descendant very like her in looks, character, and fate. When she weds Aragorn (whose love-story elsewhere recounted is not here central and only occasionally referred to) she 'makes the choice of Lúthien', so the grief at her parting from Elrond is specially poignant. Elrond passes Over Sea. The end of his sons, Elladan and Elrohir, is not told: they delay their choice, and remain for a while.

So it seems that although Elrond chose to be numbered among the Eldar this did not automatically make his children Eldar but rather they too were Half-Elven. We do not know if this would have continued through the generations as after Elrond left Middle-earth the time of the Eldar had ended and his children either stayed in M-e and married Men or went to the West (possibly Elrohir and Elladan) and could only be numbered among the Eldar.

 

[Elfarmari]

I'm really just bumping this thread because it's rather interesting to re-read what I posted seven years ago . . .

I'm inclined to think that Tolkien gave Arwen the choice of immortality, to create obvious parallels with Beren and Luthien and reunite the two half-Elven lines, and then realized that this choice would also have to be given to her brothers (and then never had time to elaborate on the results). If I remember correctly, Elrond existed as the son of Earendil and brother of Elros before the Hobbit was written, so at least the idea of their choices was already there. This was probably one of those parts of LotR that then had to be fit back into the larger mythology.

As with most topics, an in-depth essay on this by Tolkien would be fascinating. He almost makes mortality preferable, with the children of any who make the 'wrong' choice given another chance.

Thoughts?