Voronwë_the_Faithful wrote:Tolkien wrote:... those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.
I have long had problems reconciling this statement within the context of the broader conception of Tolkien's "secondary universe" as expressed in the Silmarillion and related works. It seems to place Glorfindel and the other Noldorin exiles on a completely different plane that, if not quite inconsistent with the Silmarillion story, still does not quite jibe with it, at least to me.
Before I say any more, I would like to know what it means to people when Tolkien (through Gandalf) says that the Elves that came from Valinor "live in both worlds".
They
are on a different plane! For the world is changed since the destruction of the Trees.
This much is clear: Tolkien used Light and Dark as both a literal and metaphorical manifestation of Good and Evil.
By the time we arrive at the Third Age there are really only isolated pockets of Light remaining in the world of Middle-earth. The Calaquendi who stayed behind; within those few remaining souls are but small reflections of the holy Light oasis-like against the ever-encroaching darkness of Sauron .... threatening to swallow and lay waste to all that is good in Middle-earth. To consume and utterly change, as Morgoth once changed the Light of Aman.
The circles of the world: The planes of existence within Arda.
Once the Trees are destroyed the Light is altered: It is no longer pure because the quality of that Light has been mitigated by evil. Morgoth and Ungoliant have infected and poisoned what was perfection and thus the Light has splintered into many hues and is become less than it was. It has been forever compromised.
(in a lesser way this is repeated by Saruman the White as he becomes Saruman of many colours when the purity of his original maia spirit is compromised and tainted by his own inner darkness)
…As the paradise of Genesis is shattered by the serpent …
Seas are bent and the holy place of Valinor is removed from the world. There are at least two circles within the world … and upon reflection there are divisions within the division ….. the exoteric, or outer, circle which is the corporeal world of Middle-Earth and the esoteric, or inner, circle which is Aman. It is the esoteric which draws my attention for, as I see it, it contains dual realities within itself ...... existing at the same time and in the same space. The reality of Valinor which is good, and was once represented by pure white light of the Trees and the other reality which is represented by the Dark (Morgoth) and is defined by defilement …..... by the absence of light.
With his last failing senses Frodo heard cries, and it seemed to him that beyond the Riders that hesitated on the shore, a shining figure of white light; and behind it ran small shadowy forms waving flames, that flared red in the grey mist that was falling over the world.
Frodo, now himself transitioning from one world to the other sees Glorfindel as he really is:
I thought I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others…..”
Yes you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side; one of the mighty of the Firstborn …
In a way, those Calaquendi who once had seen and absorbed the blessed Light of Aman are somehow able to co-exist within the ethereal world of the purely spiritual ... an astral plane you might say (with apologies to Mme Blavatsky
) and at the same time inhabit the corporeal world of physical Middle-earth. One could say that when Frodo saw the shining white figure on the banks of the Ford, he was seeing the soul, the pure essence of Glorfindel as it would have been in Aman. And because he (Frodo) was fading into the world of shadows he was also able to perceive the pure essence of the Nazgûl ....
He could see them clearly now: they appeared to have cast aside their hoods and black cloaks, and they were robed in white and grey. Swords were naked in their pale hands; helms were on their heads. Their cold eyes glittered, and they called to him with fell voices.
<The Ring also gave him this ability to perceive 'the dark other side'>
For is not the world of wraiths but the other side of the coin? It is Morgoth’s black to the Eru’s, and by extension the Valar’s, white. Both are the nominal absence of colour. The Two absolutes. Absolute good and absolute evil.
However, it would seem, that in a slightly dissimilar way, unlike the Nazgûl and those of the Wraith world, the ones who have seen the Light of Telperion and Laurelin cannot physically inhabit both worlds simultaneously otherwise there surely would be no ships required to sail the straight line West to Elvenhome? The apparent fact that Wraiths are able to exist on both astral and physical plane at the same time suggests to me a corruption of the original soul. It has stretched unto fading and all that remains is shadow: such souls as the Barrow-wights or the Nine once had, have been spread thin and have since disintegrated under the weight of the dark of Mordor. Whereas the Calaquendi, those few whose spirits still shine in the isolation of Rivendell, Lothlórien and the Havens , unto whom is also given the ability to exist at once on both spiritual and earthly planes, have absorbed the blessing of the Light and so contain its purity within themselves and reflect it for those with eyes to see.
Now where the Army of the Dead fit into this I am not quite sure. But it would seem that their departure from the circles of the world, the gift given to men is held in abeyance by some authority ......... until the conditions of the oath is met and fulfilled. Once it is, their ability to depart Middle-earth is restored (by Eru? Mandos through Eru?)
<Which leads me back into the conundrum of the immense magical properties of the great oaths sworn!
And that is a whole other topic
....... albeit an equally fascinating one ....... for it would seem that within the boundaries of Tolkien’s universe there is an immutable law which inextricably binds all those who swear such frightful oaths. One need only think of Gollum as well as Fëanor and the Noldor>
I‘m not at all sure that I have explained myself very well … there’s more to say but I can’t quite arrange the words in the right order
......... so I don’t think I’ve really answered your question, Voronwë. This is just my take: that although those Elves could not occupy both Aman and Middle-earth simultaneously ....... they could, and did, carry within themselves a small spark of the original Light …. And those remments of the Light bequeth another, higher, plane of existence. Hence they lived in both worlds and had power against the unseen dark things which live in the realm of shadow.
