Was Arwen a Reincarnation of Luthien?
From: Erik Tracy
I believe that this can be best explained by Tolkien himself in one of his Letters:
"Elrond chose to be among the Elves. His children-with a renewed Elvish strain, since their mother was Celebrian dtr. of Galadriel - have to make their choices. Arwen is not a 're-incarnation' of Luthien (that in the view of this mythical history would be impossible, since Luthien has died like a mortal and left the world of time) but a descendant very like her in looks, character, and fate."Because the fate of mortals is to leave the confines of Middle-earth and Luthien chose to be mortal, her "soul", if you will, is not within Middle-earth to be reincarnated and is gone. Therefore, Arwen can NOT be the reincarnation of Luthien.
[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, (#153)]
People may tend to think of Arwen as Tinuviel reincarnated because their situations are very similar, but even so, Arwen's situation was diminished somewhat from Tinuviel's. Tolkien used the idea of renewing in several places, but each time it is lower in stature to the previous; not as a circle being closed again, but more like a downwards spiral where each renewal is only a dimmer recalling of that which came before. Hence, the comparison of Galadriel to the noontide and Arwen to the evening - as time progresses there is a regrettable fading.
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