Aragorn is a Dunedain and Arwen is an Elf who has the power of immortality. Will their kids have the power of immortality ?
2 Answers
No.
As one of Elrond's children, Arwen can choose whether to be an immortal elf, or mortal human. (IIRC there is a remark to this effect somewhere in the Silmarillion but I don't have it to hand.) She chose mortality, and that choice will affect her children as well.
The closest comparison is with Elrond's brother Elros, who became the first King of Numenor. He was a half-elf who chose mortality, and married (presumably) a mortal woman of Numenor. His descendants (including Aragorn, many generations later) were unusually strong, wise, and long-lived, but they were not immortal.
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2But, Elrond chose immortalitity and married an elf. How is Arwen not just an elf? This actually never made much sense to me. – Zo the Relativist Jul 10 '14 at 18:15
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@Jerry Schirmer I never noticed that. – xdhmoore Jan 21 '17 at 07:46
Aragon is descended from Elros, Elrond's twin brother, who being half-elven, chose mortality. This makes Aragorn a mortal man. On the other hand, Arwen is the daughter of Elrond, another half-elven, but who chose immortality instead. This makes Arwen an immortal elf. Therefore, their children will be of half-elven kind, and thus given the choice of whether they want
to be Elven and immortal, or to be of the race of Men and accept the Gift of Men which is death
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3This is completely incorrect. I do not have the text on me, but the appendix to the Lord of the Rings goes into some - admittedly, not much - detail on Aragorn and Arwen's children, and they most certainly do not have a choice in the matter; they're mortal. – James Sheridan Jun 06 '14 at 08:02
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Oh wow this is definitely news to me. Can someone who knows where the source is please reference it? – jon2512chua Jun 06 '14 at 08:07
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Not the best source, but Aragorn's son Eldarion is listed here (http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Eldarion) as having ruled from Aragorn's death until his own.. That definitely implies mortality. – James Sheridan Jun 06 '14 at 08:12
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1Yeah definitely not the best source - he can be immortal (like an elf, who will not die from old age) yet still die by any other means other than old age. – jon2512chua Jun 06 '14 at 08:17
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1@jon2512chua - see my answer at http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/48678/of-half-elven-and-mortal-life for a summary of the way things work. – Jun 06 '14 at 08:57