Tolkien and the Gift of Mortality

Those who have read The Lord of the Rings may find Anna Mathie's November 2003 article Tolkien and the Gift of Mortality interesting. Mathie highlights a little-known story about Arwen, the elf who marries Aragorn and becomes mortal, and discusses the ideas of mortality and immortality that occur throughout the whole work. (The story can be found in Appendix A, Part I, Section v.)

Tolkien claims that mortality is the gift of the One to Men. It is denied to the elves, who go into the West. Aragorn's last words to Arwen clearly call for hope: In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold, we are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell.