Some thoughts on the timeless halls

[gentleDrift]

He came unto the timeless halls
where shining fall the countless years,
and endless reigns the Elder King
in Ilmarin on mountain sheer.

(FR, Many Meetings)

I was just thinking about these lines in Bilbo's Earendil poem, and the characterization of Aman in particular. I found it very interesting that Valinor is here described not as having something more than mortal lands, but as lacking certain qualities, namely time, count and end. I thought that on the one hand this was quite a remarkable perspective from a mortal - after all this is precisely the mistake the Numenoreans made: thinking they could gain eternally more life in Valinor. But when we see the lifespan of mortals extended by the Rings of Power, this is not actually the case. They don't gain more life, but what they have is drawn out endlessly. Bilbo himself has of course felt stretched, like butter spread over too much bread, so maybe endlessness, timelessness and uncounted years are something on his mind. But still, this description of Valinor in terms of things missing there seems like a very Elvish perspective to me, as Elves at times might envy the Gift of Men and feel drawn to Middle-Earth. And it seems remarkable for a mortal not to think of eternal life in paradise, or rather to possibly consider some downsides to such eternity as well.

On the other hand, characterizing Aman (or parts of it) as timeless, countless, and endless is not strictly speaking correct. Time passes, and even the Valar are effected by it as seen by their changing role throughout the ages. We know that the years in Valinor are actually counted, and as all things even the reign of the Elder King will end with Arda. So maybe this is a very mortal perspective after all, as a mortal would not think in such long timeframes. The halls might not really be timeless, and might slowly change over thousands and thousands of years, but to one living about a hundred years the difference would not really matter.

And then there is of course another possibility: That I am overthinking things and timeless, countless, endless mostly serves poetry and there is no special significance to the negative expressions. What do you think? Is there something to this? In any case I thought it interesting to consider.

 

[Alcuin]

I think you’re onto what Tolkien called his primary theme, gentleDrift: In his 1968 BBC interview, he said that Death was the central theme of his stories. (The Hobbit excluded: its central theme seems to me to be “Home”.) And this is reflected in “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth”, the Debate of Finrod and Andreth, in Morgoth’s Ring, when Finrod points out to Andreth that

Our [the Elves’] hunter [death, end of existence] is slow-footed, but he never loses the trail. Beyond the day when he shall blow the mort, we have no certainty, no knowledge. And no one speaks to us of hope.
​

And in another place, Tolkien points out that the Elves’ existence is bounded by the duration of Arda, a serial longevity, not immortality; nor can they depart from Arda: they are bound to it as long as it exists, and so the Elves are ever more regretful of the decay of the world, and of everything they have ever done that has degraded either it or themselves. Galadriel called it “the long defeat.” It really is a grim view of life, so that Elves came to envy Men who leave Arda at last, while Men envied Elves, who seemed to possess immortality.