Tolkien rewrote the tale of Finwë and Míriel several times, as it assumed "an extraordinary importance in [his] later work on The Silmarillion". The Silmarillion, prepared by Christopher Tolkien from his father's unpublished writings, only briefly mentions the tale of Finwë and Míriel; Tolkien may have intended to incorporate a fuller version. In Tolkien's works, Elves are immortal, their shades going to the Halls of Mandos after death, and marriage is forever. Tolkien noted that had Finwë chosen differently, the whole history of Middle-earth would have changed for the better, thus making his choice a pivotal event in the mythology; it showed the importance Tolkien attached to unbreakable relationships.
Tolkien rewrote the tale of Finwë and Míriel several times, as it assumed "an extraordinary importance in [his] later work on The Silmarillion". The Silmarillion, prepared by Christopher Tolkien from his father's unpublished writings, only briefly mentions the tale of Finwë and Míriel; Tolkien may have intended to incorporate a fuller version. In Tolkien's works, Elves are immortal, their shades going to the Halls of Mandos after death, and marriage is forever. Tolkien noted that had Finwë chosen differently, the whole history of Middle-earth would have changed for the better, thus making his choice a pivotal event in the mythology; it showed the importance Tolkien attached to unbreakable relationships.