Do Elves Dream of Eclectic Sleep? - Page 5
© Michael Martinez
Tolkien said of this second "Fall" that the "Elves wanted to have their cake and eat it". They wanted to remain in Middle-earth for the rest of Time, rather than sail over Sea to avoid a fate worse than death. Instead of crafting new beauty, the Elves turned their thoughts to preserving the old beauty of Middle-earth, and of healing its hurts. So they created the Rings of Power. But even after the Elves discovered Sauron's treachery, they could not bring themselves to destroy the Rings, which Sauron obiviuously intended to use against them.
The regret which Gildor alluded to undoubtedly began in the conflict between the Elves and Sauron in the Second Age. For they not only lost many Rings of Power, they lost most of the lands they were trying to hold on to. Elvish homes with all their mementos and special artefacts must have gone up in smoke across hundreds of miles. The Elves would have preserved nothing of their former world -- in which they were a superior caste, as Tolkien put it.
Regret should not have consumed the Elves merely for what they had lost, but also for what they had done. Betrayal and loss go hand in hand throughout Elvish history, and their betrayal of the natural order in the Second Age ensured that they would lose nearly everything. The Elves who survived the war -- especially those who did not know anything at all about the Rings of Power -- must surely have questioned what had brought on the conflict.
In the late Third Age, Frodo teased Gildor by repeating a popular saying among Hobbits concerning Elves: go not to the Elves for advice, for they will tell you both yes and no. And Gildor laughed, pointing out that "Elves seldom give out unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill." All the historic choices made by the Elves, perhaps even after grave deliberation by their wisest leaders, do seem to have led them down paths filled with grief and suffering. So, at the very least, in the Third Age the Elves appear to have become reluctant to give out advice.
In the Third Age the Eldar concentrated on preserving their dominions, but they gave no thought to expanding their power and influence. As Men grew more numerous, the Elves withdrew into enclaves. In their seclusion, the Elves could only perfect their skills in poetry and music, celebrating the events of their past and the glories of their youth, and looking forward to their return to Valinor. The Elves were no so much looking forward as looking back. Their future became a reactionary movement across the Sea.
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