On the death of Arwen

I recently read through LOTR again, this time paying more attention to the final fate of the characters. It was certainly sad to see the ultimate, but inevitable demise of some of the major players. However, the tendency was that they passed on with some added detail of reverence. For example, when Merry and Pippin passed on, they were "set beside the bed of the great king." Sam, Legolas, and Gimli eventually got their one-way tickets to the West. Galadriel, Gandalf and Frodo had already gone there. But Arwen really seems to get the short end of the stick.

First, she endures the pain of the loss of her Eldar kin. Galadriel, a major figure in her life is now gone, as is her father Elrond. She sacrifices passage to the west in order to be with her love Aragorn. At the same time, she has more or less renounced her Eldar kin by choosing mortality over immortality, again for love of Aragorn one would assume. But he finally passes on, and now she is yet again in great pain (although, one would assume she lived happily with Aragorn). So she says goodbye to her children and departs Minas Tirith to return to Lorien. At this point she has chosen to be in a place symbolic of the Eldar, yet she has also renounced them. Why doesn't she stay with her children? Well, it seems she is too sad to continue living. We can only assume her arrival at Lorien isn't a very pleasant one. The magic is now lost as the rings are gone. The Mallorn-leaves are falling before spring-- not a good sign. She is there alone, and finally dies alone. And the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men. Ouch!!!!!! But why would that be so? Aragorn's legacy is certainly maintained. Why not that of the Queen? Its also interesting that these developments are included in the Appendices.

I wonder why Tolkien had Arwen pass without veneration, and in such a painful manner. This seems uncharacteristic to me. One obvious argument is that her passing represents the unequivocal passing of the Eldar, and the emergence of the dominion of men. But hasn't this point already been made in no uncertain terms?

One thing that really interested me was Aragorn's last words to Arwen: "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!"

Could this be the gift in death that the Silmarillion spoke of, perhaps a notion that mortal man has life beyond death, after all? This is the only place I can recall reading about the potential for mortal man's life after death. Or maybe my interpretation is off?

Anyway, I found the passing of Arwen perhaps the saddest part, for this being my most recent reading of the LOTR.

I'm wondering what some other's thoughts are on the points I made.

Earendil