Due to all the gifts that the elves are blessed with, some Lord of the Rings fans might view it as unfair. After all, it’s hard for humans in Middle Earth – that is, the Race of Men – to compete. Or is it? Does the Race of Men have any gifts to compare with the elves? To understand the answer to this question, it is crucial to understand the differences between Men and Elves.
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Elves in Lord of the Rings are very long-lived. But they can be killed in battle or die of despair; at least their body can. Their soul or essence would live on in some form and go to the Halls of Waiting, also known as the Halls of Mandos. While there, the elf’s soul is judged. The ideal ending for an elf would be to be reborn in Aman, which means “blessed realm.”
Men, on the other hand, have shorter lifespans than elves. Unfortunately, there is less known about the afterlife of Men. They briefly go to the Halls of Waiting/Halls of Mandos. Yet what happens next is unknown. Not even the Valar seem to have control over the afterlife of Men. They eventually move beyond the circles of the world, at least supposedly. But what happens to the race of Men in the afterlife is unknown.
However, Men do have gifts. Or rather, a gift. Ironically it is the fact that they don’t live forever. Elves can live as long as the world does. They are, in a way, bound to it. Men, on the other hand, seem not to be bound and therefore can possibly choose when they meet their fate, or at least they have a fate to meet. Because the elves are attached to the world, it is possible that if the world were to be destroyed, so would the elves. However, it is not sure that that would happen. And there is not enough information known about what happens to Men in the afterlife, as only Eru Ilúvatar, basically the God of the Lord of the Rings universe, knows.
So do Men have gifts to compare to the wisdom, strength, and beauty of the elves? Many Lord of the Rings fans would probably say no. However, Tolkien might have seen it differently. He was a very religious man, after all. So for him, the fate of the Race of Men might’ve been better than that of the elves. They are not bound to the world and possibly have an eternal afterlife with Eru Ilúvatar, the God of the Lord of the Rings world. Elves and Men are both considered Children of Ilúvatar, but Elves do not have the Gift of Men.
So it is unknown what would happen to the Elves if Arda, or the world, was somehow destroyed. All that is known is that the mortality of Men is meant to be a gift, one given by Eru Ilúvatar. Most human beings would probably rather have the elves’ abilities and near-immortality. However, living for a long time could have its drawbacks. This negative result of immortality is shown in Lord of the Rings through Bilbo feeling the harmful effects of the Ring. Though Bilbo is a Hobbit, Hobbits too do not live forever. Like Men, they eventually pass on.
To live beyond the time one is meant to would be difficult for any Man –or Hobbit. And that is possibly why mortality is seen as a gift. Though it can be hard to deal with for those left behind, as Arwen was after Aragorn passed away, it is also, in a way, good. Aragorn seems to believe, or at least tells Arwen that he believes, that he will go beyond “the circles of the world” and that there is “more than memory.”
Aragorn, of course, would have no way of knowing for sure. No more than any actual human being knows what happens after our life. However, that is where faith comes in. And as a somewhat spiritual man himself, Tolkien would probably believe that faith was essential. That a life without faith in something more, even an eternal one, would eventually grow tiresome.
So in a way, Men’s mortality in Lord of the Rings is a gift. It might not compare to the abilities and immortality of the elves, yet it is a good thing all the same. And perhaps viewing not living forever as a gift is one more message the Lord of the Rings story is meant to communicate. That although real human beings cannot live forever, like the elves of Lord of the Rings, in a way, it is a good thing, as an immortal and eternal life on Earth would eventually bore us.
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