The majority of fantasy fiction that features a race of elves, have the elves in the downward slope of their civilization. Dying out. Tolkien did this, the Dragonlance campaign of dungeons and dragons, R.A. Salvatore's Demonwars series, Warhammer 40k has the Eldar dying out, World of Warcraft has them losing their society...etc etc. The list could go on forever. So why is this? Why don't authors have the elves at the peak of their civilization? Why are they always dying? Why are they never a massive political and military power ruling everything around them? I don't understand this trend.
2007-04-07 06:39:02 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
It couldn't be that they're fragile. Invariably their civilizations have stood for centuries or even millenia. It's just that when the reader chances upon the tale, it's always the end of their society.
2007-04-07 06:53:27 · update #1
I'm not looking for books where this is different. My question was "why" it's like this.
2007-04-07 07:09:42 · update #2
This is a very important question, and one that Tolkien, at least, wanted his readers to ask themselves. Most of the other "roleplaying" type of series you mention are based almost entirely off of Tolkien, therefore the ideas are essentially the same.
The elves stand for magic and natural beauty. The fading of the elves represents a "dying away" of that magic...a sad reminder of the fading of magic in our own world. Science has stripped the mystical and the miraculous down to the bare bones.
This belief in the fading of the magical and the mystical by the mundane, urbanized world is the intent behind Tolkien's fading of the elves. The rest of those writers merely followed in Tolkien's footsteps.
By the way, if you want to read about the elves at the peak of their civilization, read Tolkien's The Silmarillion, or the new forthcoming book The Children of Hurin. Check out the link below for more info on that.
http://www.tolkien-online.com/the-children-of-hurin.html
2007-04-07 07:12:03 · answer #1 · answered by amsmith 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maybe it's because elves are normally portrayed as a "perfect" race. They are untouchable, unreproachable, at their peak. If the story was about the elves when they were like that, the story would be boring because there would be no plot. Therefore, something has to happen to cause friction in the society.
2007-04-07 15:25:27 · answer #2 · answered by soccerlover 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I suppose it is so that the main character in the story gets to act like a dork and be all heroic and that junk. But I never understood that either so that is why my stories They walk among us(Christonia saga) (Coming out sometime hopefuly in 2008) is going to have the elves as a completely healthy society. Now the dwarves are another story..............
2007-04-07 16:09:57 · answer #3 · answered by twilightmidnajs 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I recommend reading some of Terry Pratchett's DISCWORLD books, such as CARPE JUGULUM and others. (Check out TerryPratchett.com for more.) The elves aren't in decline in that series, I've noticed.
2007-04-07 14:00:50 · answer #4 · answered by knight2001us 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is an excellent question. My theory is that elves represent beauty and purity, both of which are tragically fragile and fleeting.
2007-04-07 13:43:00 · answer #5 · answered by waia2000 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
try reading eldest, the seguel to eragon. also, the sequel to eldest (which hasn't come out yet) might have an army of elves to help defeat Galbatorix.
2007-04-07 13:52:05 · answer #6 · answered by jynxpixie 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They don't have a good union backing them. If someone could just find Jimmy Hoffa, he'd get this whole thing straightened out.
2007-04-07 13:47:12 · answer #7 · answered by Hot Coco Puff 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋