29 Did Frodo and the others (Bilbo, Sam, and Gimli) who passed over the Sea eventually die, or had they become immortal?
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This article is from the Tolkien FAQ, by William D.B. Loos loos@hudce.harvard.edu with numerous contributions by others.
29 Did Frodo and the others (Bilbo, Sam, and Gimli) who passed over the Sea eventually die, or had they become immortal?
They remained mortal. Tolkien's conception was that a creature's natural
lifespan was intrinsic to its spiritual and biological nature, and that this
could not be altered save by a direct intervention of the Creator. There
were three occasions when this did happen (Luthien, Tuor, Arwen), but it did
not in the cases of Frodo & Co. Tolkien stated explicitly in more than one
letter that Frodo's journey over the Sea was only a *temporary* healing, and
that when the time came he and the others would die of their own free will.
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