1) Is Dol Amroth truly the descendent of Elvish ancesters? If so, how come
Beren and Luthien have stolen all the thunder? (UUTs, anyone?) If not, is Dol
Amroth's Elvishness a reflection of his nature?
I don't really have anything to add to drogo drogo's explanation here. I agree
that Imrahil is a product of the Mithrellas/Imrazor connection.
I don't think Legolas and Gimli feel that they really need to be at the
council. I suspect they already know what Aragorn and Gandalf are going to
propose, and they know what their decision will be: they will follow Aragorn to
Mordor. They haven't seen their Hobbit friends in quite some time, might as
well skip the committee meeting and spend some quality time with Merry and
Pippin. I certainly don't think Aragorn excluded them.
2) Is there any real threat of civil war in Gondor? How do Aragorn's cautious
tactics compare to (one of) the overall themes of "Power corrupts" in "Lord of
the Rings"?
I don't think there's much concern for civil war, but Aragorn has one last job
to do before he settles in as king. As always, he puts responsibility before
reward. A more grim reason is that this final assault on Mordor is more or less
a suicide mission. What's the point of claiming the Kingship if Aragorn never
comes back, or if no one comes back? If the Ring is destroyed, Sauron is
defeated and Aragorn comes home alive he can establish his kingdom in a safe
and secure
environment.
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"Despair or folly?" said Gandalf. "It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not."
