L.O.T.R. - Elves

Why did Tolkien need to put Elves in Middle-earth? They don't really do anything in either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. They are not much more useful than innkeepers who give the heroes an occasional place to stay. Elrond's healing comes in handy for a while and he seems to know more about everything than anyone else. But if you take the Elves out of the stories will the stories fall apart?

You could make a point that without the Elves there would be no rings of power. With no rings of power there is no lord of the rings. So we need the Elves to make the monumental mistake of empowering Sauron to take over the world. In his essay Shhh! It's a Secret Ring! Michael Martinez writes "imagine how Celebrimbor must have felt, knowing he had forged the Rings in secret, upon learning that Sauron was Melkor's old servant, now arrayed with his own Master Ring."

Creating the rings of power was an act of evil because it unbalanced the natural system. It attempted to defy God's will and impose a new order on Time itself. For such an act of rebellion the Elves had to pay a terrible price. They were the masters of Middle-earth but in seeking to impose their will completely they became less important. They had to be punished in some way. Or maybe it is just that the consequences of their actions were greater than the actions themselves.

By the time Frodo takes the One Ring to Mordor the Elves are almost powerless. Many have died. Many more have fled over Sea. And the last enclaves prepare for a final war or to abandon Middle-earth completely. By trying to hold on to something that wasn't theirs already the Elves forced themselves to abandon it. Many people see the Elves as Tolkien's representation of "Good" in a war between "Good" and "Evil". I think the Elves just show us how far can go in either direction if we strive to achieve our greatest or worst ambitions.