LOTR: What Happens To Men After They Die?
In The Lord of the Rings, the race of Men has come across many obstacles and emerged, rarely without a scratch, victorious. This not only includes the hordes of Sauron and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, but also many ancient enemies, including werewolves, vampires, massive spiders, unnamed horrors, and even the source of all evil in the world itself, Melkor.
But Men are not immortal, nor do they have any particularly powerful gifts of longevity. The only group of Men on Middle Earth who outlive the standard 100 years are the Edain. The Edain are a group of Men who are blessed with longer life spans, one of whom is Bëor the Old who lived to a ripe 390 years. While 390 may seem like a lot, when you consider the lifetime of Galadriel, who is thousands of years old by the time Frodo makes his way to Lothlórien in The Fellowship of the Ring, 390 suddenly seems like a blink in comparison. But this isn’t about the immortality of Elves. This is an examination of what happens to Men once they do die.
LOTR: What happens to Elves after they die?
The short answer to that question is: no one really knows. The only being in Middle Earth and beyond who knows what happens to Men once they die is Ilúvatar, the Creator of everything. Indeed, in The Silmarillion, mortality is seen as a gift from Ilúvatar. Another interesting detail of seeing mortality and death as gifts is provided in The Silmarillion. The text explains how Melkor cast a shadow on death, which resulted in Men viewing their gift as something to fear, and even evil. This detail, while small, shows how fear of death or a desire for immortality holds sway over the minds of less honorable Men who are more prone to corruption and manipulation. Not only that, mortality is
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