Melian's Physical Form

[Elennár]

Now, we know that in Arda, the Ainur could take incarnate (physical) forms. We also know that for them, it was like 'raiment'; and "just as we suffer no loss of being from the loss of raiments, so too could they walk unclad".
So if one of the Maiar or the Valar took a physical form, it could be discarded fairly easily.
HOWEVER, I believe in [I]Unfinished Tales[I], Tolkien tells us that the Istari weren't Maiar who took on physical forms like raiment- or 'feign' a hroa, they were made into actual men; thus entombing much of their native power by the special will of Illuvatar himself.
Therefore, the Wizards couldn't forsake their forms, they would eventually have to die; and like men, leave Arda- I'm sure that was a fate they knew when they underwent the 'transformation'.
Now, my question is, what of Melian? Was her form 'raiment', or did she actually become an elf- maybe an elf of enormous power, but one of the Quendi nonetheless?
I understand that a clear-cut answer may not be attested in any of Tolkien's works; and that's fine.
What I'd like are speculations; your personal theories.
Thanks

[Earniel]

Melian wore the elf-shape for quite a while, I believe even after Thingol died. Although I did get the impression it was a choice, rather than a physical aspect. Perhaps she grew fond of the 'rainment', or just so used to it that she didn't abandon the habit of wearing it, until she would actually need to.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I always assumed that she must have truly entered into her form; if she did not, I would be hard pressed to understand how she was able to bear children . . .

[Alcuin]

Melian left Middle-earth after Thingol was killed. At that time, the Noldor were still under the strict Ban of the Valar: no ships were passing between Middle-earth and Valinor, and the way to Valinor was hidden by a confusing mist called the Shadowy Seas that Eärendil and other mariners from Middle-earth attempting passage encountered preventing any successful crossing.

Since we know that Melian returned to Valinor after Thingol died, if we presume (in the context of the tale) that this was confirmed to the Númenóreans, Sindar, and remaining Noldor in Middle-earth, then we would have to assume that Melian unmade or altered her physical form to make the transit.

Maiar, like Valar, could assume physical appearances at will. Tolkien says that the longer they kept these forms, the more closely connected they became to them: by the time he was defeated, Morgoth was unable to change or unmake his physical form. (But remember that when he killed the Two Trees, he changed his form to hide from and escape the pursuing Valar.)

Since Melian had presumably done nothing wrong – nothing in conflict with the will of Eru – she was probably free to unmake her physical form, leave Middle-earth, return to Valinor, and there resume her physical appearance. That might be useful and desirable for her, because we have no resume to believe that Thingol, who had been caught up in the Doom of the Noldor but endured a series of penances afterward (his acceptance of Beren, his loss of Lúthien, his succor of the wife and children of Húrin, and especially his fostering and love for the ill-fated Turin), would be kept long in Mandos: Melian could hope to be reunited to him there.

The Istari or wizards, as men called them, were under a different directive. Where Melian actively used her powers as a Maia to protect Doriath from Morgoth (Galadriel’s spell surrounding Lórien was very like the Girdle of Melian that surrounded Doriath, which in turn sounds much like the aforementioned Shadowy Seas; recall also Galadriel’s description of Gandalf’s being hidden by a mist that prevented her (or Sauron’s!) finding him), the Istari were (Unfinished Tales, “The Istari”)

clad in bodies of as of Men, real and not feigned, but subject to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be slain; though because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only by the cares and labours of many long years.

While these bodies may have been of their own devising, they were binding upon them during their missions. Their memories of Valinor were unclear, although their desire to return was keen as long as they held to their appointed tasks. Unlike the Istari, Melian’s recollection of Valinor seems as exact. Moreover, where Gandalf reported that his inspirations (such as choosing Bilbo to accompany Thorin) arose unexpectedly, as if from the fringes of his consciousness, Melian’s insights (e.g., into the phony story the Noldor first encouraged the Sindar to believe concerning their return to Middle-earth, or Thingol’s entangling himself in the Doom of the Noldor by demanding Beren obtain a Silmaril as the bride-price for Lúthien) are clear.

[Elennár]

While these bodies may have been of their own devising, they were binding upon them during their missions. Their memories of Valinor were unclear, although their desire to return was keen as long as they held to their appointed tasks. Unlike the Istari, Melian’s recollection of Valinor seems as exact. Moreover, where Gandalf reported that his inspirations (such as choosing Bilbo to accompany Thorin) arose unexpectedly, as if from the fringes of his consciousness, Melian’s insights (e.g., into the phony story the Noldor first encouraged the Sindar to believe concerning their return to Middle-earth, or Thingol’s entangling himself in the Doom of the Noldor by demanding Beren obtain a Silmaril as the bride-price for Lúthien) are clear.

I remember reading this in either this forum or somewhere else- in any case, I don't know if it's attested: the Istari and the forms that were given to them were made by the special will of Eru himself.
As I understand it, the wizards were mortal although long lived and privy to some glimmer of their native Maiar power. Which means that all of the wizards could die in all the ways that men could; and if that were to happen, the Maia would actually have to leave Arda.
Meaning, Gandalf's return wasn't just a case of re-embodiment that we see amongst Elves; his return was one of the few cases of Eru's direct intervention.

I always assumed that she must have truly entered into her form; if she did not, I would be hard pressed to understand how she was able to bear children . . .

Thing is, for elves, men and dwarves; the fëar and hroar were inextricably linked: without the fëa, the hroa would be a mere corpse; and without the hroa, the fëa is powerless.
For the Ainur, however, that isn't the case. Naturally, they occur as fëar only. At will, they may sometimes create a hroa of their own imagination- but the said vessel is always real, not an illusion. Just like our clothes aren't illusions that cover our bodies, they're actual materials which cover our nudity.
So whenever an Ainu takes up a physical form it's always material, and hence capable of copulating, gestating and birthing.
Genetically speaking, I should think Melian in that form would be 99.9% elf, with a few stray strands of Maiar inheritance thrown in.
Maybe Melian was bound to her form by the love she had for Thingol and Lúthien; in the same way Melkor became bound to his form by his malice for all of the Children?
And when those bonds were finally gone, she was able to finally cast aside that body.
In any case, an Ainu could exercise his/her full strength only when he/she was unclad- pure fëa.
I think there was an inherent 'insulation' of matter which always limited or veiled the Ainu's true power when a hroa was used.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Since we know that Melian returned to Valinor after Thingol died, if we presume (in the context of the tale) that this was confirmed to the Númenóreans, Sindar, and remaining Noldor in Middle-earth, then we would have to assume that Melian unmade or altered her physical form to make the transit.

Good point, I hadn't thought about that yet.

[Galin]

In author's note 5 to Osanwe-kenta (Vinyar Tengwar 39), it is said that Pengolodh added a long note on the use of hroar by the Valar, which includes that: '... though in origin a 'self-arraying', it may tend to approach the state of 'incarnation', 'especially with the lesser members of that order (the Maiar).'

And later (same text):

'The things that are most binding are those that in the Incarnate have to do with the life of the hroa itself, its sustenance and its propagation. Thus eating and drinking are binding, but not the delight in beauty of sound or form. Most binding is begetting or conceiving.'

'We do not know the axani (laws, rules, are primarily proceeding from Eru) that were laid down upon the Valar with particular reference to their state, but it seems clear there was no axan against these things. Nonetheless it appears to be an axan, or maybe necessary consequence, that if they are done, then the spirit must dwell in the body that is used, and be under the same necessities as the Incarnate. The only case that is known in the histories of the Eldar is that of Melian who became the spouse of King Elu-Thingol. This certainly was not evil or against the will of Eru, and though it led to sorrow, both Elves and Men were enriched.'

A similar something hails from a Text VIII 'Orcs' (Morgoth's Ring): 'In any case is it likely or possible that even the least of the Maiar would become Orcs? Yes: both outside Arda and in it, before the fall of Utumno. (...) the least could have become primitive (and much more powerful and perilous) Orcs; but by practising when embodied procreation they would (cf. Melian) [become] more and more earthbound, unable to return to spirit-state (even demon-form), until released by death (killing), and they would dwindle in force.'


To me it seems like Melian had chosen the state of the Incarnate, especially considering what's noted about the Maiar in general and the self-arraying. The external history of The Fall of Doriath is a bit complicated, but even in the published Silmarillion it's said that: '... but for love of Elwe Singollo she took upon herself the form of the Elder Children of Iluvatar, and in that union she became bound by the chain and trammels of the flesh of Arda.' (and simply that) '... and she vanished out of Middle-earth, and passed to the land of the Valar beyond the western sea...'

How did she do so? The Tale of Years (The War of the Jewels), though brief enough itself of course, merely records that Melian returned to Valinor. Did she need to die for example? or could she become spirit at will, and return to her physical form when in Aman?

Perhaps an 'answer' of sorts can be found in Christopher Tolkien's commentary in the Later Quenta Simarillion II (Morgoth's Ring), concerning the weapons of the Noldor (page 281 in my HMC hardback version): 'Explanations in such a world may prompt unneeded reflections. The passage of Orome on his horse Nahar from Aman to Middle-earth is never described, nor (I would say) need it be, nor should it be; the movements of the great Valar (and indeed of the lesser divine, as Melian) are a mystery that we do not seek to penetrate. (...)' CJRT continues here, but I note too his mention of an earlier story (Sketch of the Mythology) in which Luthien went over the Grinding Ice 'aided by the power of her divine mother Melian, to Mandos' halls' (IV. 25, 55).'

Of course that's very early, but perhaps interesting. Anyway, my feeling from later writings is that Melian seems bound to her physical form, but that her manner of return would be left somewhat mysterious, similar to how the three Elven ambassadors arrived in Aman.