Q: Were the Rebellious Noldor Permitted to Return to Valinor?
ANSWER: A reader asks if the Eldar who settled on Tol Eressëa at the beginning of the Second Age were ever allowed to enter or live in Valinor. The Silmarillion only has this to say:
In those days there was a great building of ships upon the shores of the Western Sea; and thence in many a fleet the Eldar set sail into the West, and came never back to the lands of weeping and of war. And the Vanyar returned beneath their white banners, and were borne in triumph to Valinor; but their joy in victory was diminished, for they returned without the Silmarils from Morgoths crown, and they knew that those jewels could not be found or brought together again unless the world be broken and remade.
Tol Eressea and central Aman. Map by Karen Wynn Fonstad.And when they came into the West the Elves of Beleriand dwelt upon Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, that looks both west and east; whence they might come even to Valinor. They were admitted again to the love of Manwë and the pardon of the Valar; and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and the curse was laid to rest.
It is not clear from this passage whether the now-forgiven Exiles (Noldor) and Sindar were permitted to visit the mainland of Aman, Valinor itself, or even to live there. But Tolkien did address this issue in Letter No. 131, which he wrote to Collins publisher Milton Waldman in late 1951 when we was trying to persuade Collins to publish The Lord of the Rings after he had turned away from George Allen & Unwin. In the letter Tolkien said:
The next cycle deals (or would deal) with the Second Age. But it is on Earth a dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told. In the great battles against the First Enemy the lands were broken and ruined, and the West of Middle-earth became desolate. We learn that the Exiled Elves were, if not commanded, at least sternly counselled to return into the West, and there be at peace. They were not to dwell permanently in Valinor again, but in the Lonely Isle of Eressëa within sight of the Blessed Realm. The Men of the Three Houses were rewarded for their valour and faithful alliance, by being allowed to dwell ‘western-most of all mortals’, in the great ‘Atlantis’ isle of Númenóre. The doom or gift of God, of mortality, the gods of course cannot abrogate, but the Númenóreans have a great span of life. They set sail and leave Middle-earth, and establish a great kingdom of mariners just within furthest sight of Eressëa (but not of Valinor). Most of the High Elves depart also back into the West. Not all. Some Men akin to the Númenóreans remain in the land not far from the shores of the Sea. Some of the Exiles will not return, or delay their return (for the way west is ever open to the immortals and in the Grey Havens ships are ever ready to sail away for ever)….
Emphasis in bold is mine. I think this letter makes it clear that, at the time Tolkien was still developing material for the appendices, he had a clear idea of the relationship of the Returned Exiles and Valinor: they were to remain outsiders, forever forced to live in permanent isolation on Tol Eressëa. Although it is obvious that the Eldar of Tol Eressëa were the friends of Númenóre for thousands of years and also acted as emissaries from the Valar, they were nonetheless forced to accept a compromise between their rejection of Valinor (either as rebellious Noldor or as reluctant Sindar/Avari) and dwelling in the Undying Lands.
But I think we can conclude that they may also have been permitted to visit Valinor. After all, it would be cruel to not allow Exiles to reconnect with family and friends; also, they would be able to continue their development and recovery by communing with the Valar and Maiar, not to mention the other Elves of Valinor.
I’ve always wondered about where those on the ‘last’ boat in LOTR ended up. Gandalf a maiar obviously Amman, Galadriel a Noldar Exile, Tol Eresseea, Elrond probably the Lonely Isle. The 2 Hobbits? Who knows? Legolas and Gimli as well as Celeborn some years later? No idea. Did having and using the 2 Rings and giving significant help in the War of the Ring help change your fate? Did being born an Elf in Middle-earth after the War of the Jewels still preclude you from Valinor itself? Lots of possible loopholes to me.
It may be significant that the Lonely Isle “looks both west and east.” If “west” is Valinor and “east” is Middle-Earth, perhaps the Lonely Isle is the region in the Blessed Realm that is set aside for people who still keep the memory of Middle-Earth in their hearts. In that case, the Noldor are forced to dwell there not as punishment, but as recognition that their time in Middle-Earth has changed them, and they would not be happy in Valinor, which does not “look east” as it were.
Since the Eldar could “die” and be reincarnated, your thought seems reasonable. Once they had been “reborn”, they would probably be allowed (required?) to live in Aman, as they likely wouldn’t be the same person, psychologically.
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I’ve always wondered about where those on the ‘last’ boat in LOTR ended up. Gandalf a maiar obviously Amman, Galadriel a Noldar Exile, Tol Eresseea, Elrond probably the Lonely Isle. The 2 Hobbits? Who knows? Legolas and Gimli as well as Celeborn some years later? No idea. Did having and using the 2 Rings and giving significant help in the War of the Ring help change your fate? Did being born an Elf in Middle-earth after the War of the Jewels still preclude you from Valinor itself? Lots of possible loopholes to me.
It may be significant that the Lonely Isle “looks both west and east.” If “west” is Valinor and “east” is Middle-Earth, perhaps the Lonely Isle is the region in the Blessed Realm that is set aside for people who still keep the memory of Middle-Earth in their hearts. In that case, the Noldor are forced to dwell there not as punishment, but as recognition that their time in Middle-Earth has changed them, and they would not be happy in Valinor, which does not “look east” as it were.
Since the Eldar could “die” and be reincarnated, your thought seems reasonable. Once they had been “reborn”, they would probably be allowed (required?) to live in Aman, as they likely wouldn’t be the same person, psychologically.