[Dakel]

There are many races in fantasy books that live (by our standards) unnaturally long lives. What effect do you think this would have on the behavior of an otherwise human-like race? Which authors do you think handle this best? Also, do you think some authors just throw these types of races into their books, without fully considering how the things that make them unique impact on decisions they make?

Off the top of my head, I can think of: Elves, Dwarves and Ents (Lord of the Rings), Sithi (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn), Giants and Haruchai (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), Lios Alfar (The Fionavar Tapestry) and I know there are a lot of other examples of these kinds of races out there.

And just quickly, some things I can think of that characterise these elder (:)) races are:


They tend not to willingly involve themselves in the affairs of "mortals".
They aren’t "hasty" when it comes to making decisions.
I think it was in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn that it was said that, the Sithi are very slow when forming friendships, and are even slower to forgive enemies (i.e. they take both of these things very seriously).


How else would a 300 year olds view on issues such as love, war, friendship, revenge, etc, differ from that of us youngsters?

[cgw]

My favorite is the Valheru. They would kick ass on Krypton. They fit your difinition except for maybe the second one.

[Loque]

I think perhaps they would have a greater regard for life as it is longer lasting so more of a loss

[Miriamele]

Another characteristic of these immortal people that I've noticed is a profound sense of sadness, which permeates their entire way of life.

Both the Elves from Middle Earth and the Sithi from MS&T--although they were certainly capable of feeling joy--seemed to always be thinking sorrowful thoughts about the way things used to be. This is understandable since in both books, the old ways are fading, and a new age is beginning.

If mortal humans feel nostalgia about the way life was like 20 or 30 years ago, imagine how someone would feel who longed for their childhood 200 or even 2000 years ago, and can see that the world has changed forever in this time. I can understand how this would lead to sadness.

As well as feeling a strong sense of nostalgia, an individual who had seen 2000 summers would surely have gotten a grasp of the futility of war, and the foolishness and rashness that many short-lived men usually show. They would have seen war after war, king after mortal king, and these things would seem trivial after a time. This might make an immortal feel sorrow, and would probably make them feel indifferent to the doings of humans.

I agree that they would probably have a greater regard for life, at least when it comes to their own kind. For an immortal to give themselves up in battle is an amazing sacrifice.

I'm not sure if this post has a clear point but anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject.

[kegasaurus]

Another common characteristic is the lack of offspring they are able to bring iton the world. This, in my opinion, is more of what adds to the respect these beings have for life, because to them it is so rare.

[Nimea]

The way Dennis L. McKiernan describes his elves (yeah, even though he cloned Tolkien's world and is not always writing good prose) is very intriguing. How they see life, how they do a lot of different things for they have so much time - and what it means to die and give birth to new little elves . . .

That is something that often is explained: immortals tend to have very few children and thus wars or other catastrophes that take lifes are 'even worse'. And the desire/ability to have children is less as well.
That is something that makes them sad or melancholic, too.

So, Miriamele,
your post is very clear and right.
This way of portraying an immortal race is very common, I think. On the other hand I often wonder if things like this indifference to mortals is a must. I sometimes have the feeling that those old races are less wise than they could be with their long experience. (I thought so with the Sithi especially.)

Now, any sense in this post? ;)

edited to add: Ah, kegasaurus was a bit quicker with 'lack of offsprings'.

[kegasaurus]

Brevity is my friend.

[Lifino]

I'd imagine that the biggest difference is, when they loose their keys they don't freak out. They're bound to turn up eventualy...


I always hate it when authors just write the same old Long Lived/Imortal characters. Why are they sad? In general, to most people, life is good the majority of the time. If this is my book, and therefore my Fantasy Universe, I say let them be happy. Why create a setting where those who live longer must be dissatisfied? And for that matter, why do they feel bad for those who live shorter lives? By this time they should be accustomed to our short life span. I don't start grieving for a Puppy or Kitten because I'm going to out live him. Sure it'll be a sad day when he finally croaks, but I'm going to try my damnedest to enjoy the years we've got!

It's just all become so stereo-typical that I'm sick of seeing these characters. It lacks a certain creative element...

I will say I liked the idea behind the Star Trek character, "Q." Not the guy himself, but the idea behind his race was pretty cool.

[Dakel]

And for that matter, why do they feel bad for those who live shorter lives? By this time they should be accustomed to our short life span. I don't start grieving for a Puppy or Kitten because I'm going to out live him.

I agree. Though not only do they feel bad for, but I think that on some level, the reason they tend to be "indifferent to the doings of humans" is because they don't want to get too attached to something that is going to die so soon. Regardless of us just being complex puppies :)

Here’s a thought: is there any fantasy book where the human (young) race is in the minority and "the old ways are not fading, and a new age is beginning"? Although I don't read it, I’m sure this would have been done in science fiction, but I can't think of an example in fantasy.

[milamber_reborn]

Fiest has different races of elves. In Honoured Enemy he and Forstchen portray the blood feuds between good and dark elves pretty well.

Also, the Ogier in WOT who are similar to Ents in a way.