For men, the end of time comes at the end of their relatively short time on earth, at which point, following death, the final victory may be theirs. For elves, however, doomed to deathlessness, the long defeat is seemingly interminable, causing Galadriel to lament that she and her husband, “together through ages of the world . . . have fought the long defeat.”9 Earlier, Elrond recalled the many battles over many centuries that he had fought, experiencing “many defeats, and many fruitless victories.”10 Speaking of the victory of the Last Alliance, he conceded that “it did not achieve its
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