But Men are not immortal, nor do they have any particularly powerful gifts of longevity. The only group of Men on Middle Earth who outlive the standard 100 years are the Edain. The Edain are a group of Men who are blessed with longer life spans, one of whom is Bëor the Old who lived to a ripe 390 years. While 390 may seem like a lot, when you consider the lifetime of Galadriel, who is thousands of years old by the time Frodo makes his way to Lothlórien in The Fellowship of the Ring, 390 suddenly seems like a blink in comparison. But this isn’t about the immortality of Elves. This is an examination of what happens to Men once they do die.

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The short answer to that question is: no one really knows. The only being in Middle Earth and beyond who knows what happens to Men once they die is Ilúvatar, the Creator of everything. Indeed, in The Silmarillion, mortality is seen as a gift from Ilúvatar. Another interesting detail of seeing mortality and death as gifts is provided in The Silmarillion. The text explains how Melkor cast a shadow on death, which resulted in Men viewing their gift as something to fear, and even evil. This detail, while small, shows how fear of death or a desire for immortality holds sway over the minds of less honorable Men who are more prone to corruption and manipulation. Not only that, mortality is considered a point of envy for the immortal races of Middle Earth. Men, however, haven’t always seen it this way.

In fact, much of the strife that comes to the race of Men through history is based on either a fear of death or a hunt for immortality. There are also mentions of a “cult of the dead”, which Gandalf mentions in the extended edition of The Return of the King, where Men value the tombs of their fathers over the lives of their sons.

Another example of Men’s search for immortality is the Fall of Númenor. In this story, the leader of Númenor, Tar-Calion, allows himself to be manipulated by Sauron upon feeling his own death from old age approaching. However, rather than accepting his fate, Tar-Calion raises a massive armada and sails West, going against something called “the Ban”, which forbids mortals from entering the lands to the West of Númenor, called Valinor or The Undying Lands. By succumbing to this temptation, Tar-Calion’s short-sightedness causes the Valar, who live in Valinor, to call on Ilúvatar, who reshapes the world into a sphere so that if any mortal ever tried to sail West to Valinor again, they would simply end up back in the East. Therefore, the only way to enter the Undying Lands would be by death, as Ilúvatar originally intended.

But regardless of whether Men like it, Men die and go elsewhere. They can be slain, are harder to heal, get sick easily, and if they manage to survive all that, will eventually die of old age. Their mortality is inevitable. However, because no one, save Ilúvatar and Manwë, knows where the spirits of Men go when they die and because their mortality only grants them a short time in Arda, Men are referred to in The Silmarillion as the Guests or the Strangers.

However, as there are exceptions to Elves who don’t go to the Halls of Mandos after they die, there’s also an exception for Men. Beren son of Barahir made it back from the mansions of the dead after Mandos summons him at his lover’s, Lúthien daughter of Thingol and Melian, request. Lúthien was then given a choice; immortality and peace or love and mortality. She chooses love and mortality, and as a result, Beren gets to come back to life and live an extra life with Lúthien in Middle Earth before they both die, and go to wherever mortals go when they die.

The tale of Beren and Lúthien however, is an exception to the rule. Generally, Men do not come back to life and their purpose after death will not be revealed until the end of the world. In the Tolkien universe, much the same as our own, it is not explicitly stated precisely what happens after we’re done in the mortal realm. That is a secret, well-guarded, kept by beings much more powerful than mere mortals.

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