Elves Vs Dwarves - Television Tropes & Idioms

Many stories will have animosity between a beautiful, highly advanced race or civilization, and a much more gritty, industrial-like force. This theme of Harmony Versus Discipline is very common, regardless of the genre. Authors often tend to have preferences.

In many fantasy fictions these roles are filled by Elves and Dwarves. Others will have Aristocrats versus Barbarians. Science Fiction will have some variation on Eloi and Morlocks. In the world of business, it is Marketeers versus Engineers.

Elves are tall and slender, Dwarves are short and stout. Elves use swords and bows, weapons requiring flexibility and grace, representations of elegance as a power. Dwarves use axes and hammers, which are primarily about direct application of force. Sometimes, they will use muskets or revolver-style pistols and various Steampunk machines and tanks, all representations of industrial might. Elves will focus on magic and spirituality instead and evidence disdain for material things, or to be more interested in their elegance than their utility.

Elves live in pristine woods or elegant castles, Dwarves live in great halls and impregnable fortresses that are usually underground. Elves are often portrayed as being masters of diplomacy, small talk —and doubletalk, able to go on for hours without giving a straight answer. Dwarves are typically as straightforward as the grill of an oncoming semi.

These differences result in distrust, hatred, and quite often, all-out War. If the star of the Elves and Dwarves is fading, there's a good chance that somewhere further up the timeline there was a war between the two that helped the decline along.

The Elves may feel the Dwarves are wasteful barbarians, while the Dwarves believe the Elves are stuck-up, arrogant, vain jerks holding them back from their destiny.

In a setting with established Good Guys and Bad Guys, both the Elves and the Dwarves are usually on the side of Good, or at the least have yet to choose a side. In these cases the two will often manage to put aside their differences long enough to combat the greater threat, even if their conflict was the very thing that allowed that threat to become so great in the first place.

Compare with Ninja vs. Pirate- although the latter is a recent Memetic Mutation while this trope is Older Than Radio. Likewise the horror-oriented Werewolves Vs. Vampires. Sometimes manifests as a form of Fantastic Racism.

Examples

Film

The classic silent film Metropolis has a leisure class living above ground in luxury, while workers both live and work below ground.

Literature

H.G. Wells' The Time Machine features the Morlocks (below ground) and the Eloi (above ground), two subspecies of humanity, in the year 802701, making this Older Than Radio. Unlike the more common form of this trope, however, the Eloi are neither highly advanced nor highly intelligent.
Although they hadn't come to blows in a long time, Elves and Dwarves seemed to have a lot of distrust towards each other in Lord Of The Rings. It stemmed at least partially from an ancient war between a particular dwarven city and the Elves of Doriath, one which eventually contributed to the downfall of both areas, and also between a general severing of ties between all the races that made them much more mystic and thus suspicious to each other.
- Not helped by the effect of the seven rings of power that Sauron provided the Dwarves... whilst they didn't turn them into wraiths, they did tend towards greed and mistrust.
  - It's a lot more blatant in The Hobbit. The Dwarves refuse to trust the Elves of Mirkwood with details of their mission, and so the Elves hold the Dwarves prisoner until Bilbo breaks them out. Remembering this, Thorin later refuses to negotiate with the men of Laketown in the presence of the Elves, leading to his reclaimed kingdom being besieged. Fortunately, when the goblins attack, all this animosity is ~~forgotten~~ put on hold. This doesn't stop Gloin, who was one of the dwarves, from randomly bringing it up again at the Council of Elrond. (Of course, both elves and dwarves are known to have long-lasting friendships...and similarly long-lasting grudges.)
  - It's kind of explained in The Silmarillion, where Vala (~archangel) Aule created the Dwarves before Iluvatar's (~God) Elves had awoken. Ilúvatar allowed the dwarves to live and 'adopted' them, but said "often strife will arise between the children of my adoption and the children of my choice."
  - This is probably a reference to the concept of the Nephilim, a mythical race of giants who were the children of fallen angels, thus coming before Adam and Eve, in some versions. ("There were giants in the earth in those days...")
In Katherine Kerr's Deverry novels, many of the Mountain Folk (dwarves) believe the Westfolk (elves) are all thieves, and enchant their weaponry to glow when they come into contact with elves (this is how it's revealed the main character is a Half Human Hybrid). Any antipathy the Westfolk have to the dwarves is mostly a reaction to this attitude.
Justified in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, where dwarfs are more aware than humans that The Fair Folk are sociopathic monsters. Used straight, however, with the dwarves and the trolls. In this case, the explanation is that dwarves like to cut apart rocks to get at precious minerals, and trolls are rocks with precious minerals inside. And many of them stay stationary most of the day. An alternate explanation is that they fight because they've always fought, and most of them don't like to let go of a perfectly good grudge, like any tradition—millions of dead people can't be wrong, can they?
- This was finally addressed in Thud! - the oft-cited iconic Battle of Koom Valley between Dwarves and Trolls (where both sides are said to have ambushed the other) was revealed to have been a misunderstanding - both sides were actually there to make peace and their fossilised remains were discovered playing the game together.
The Jigsaw Prophecy series has the Rawulf and the Felpurr. While they are not always fighting, their natural evolution from dogs and cats has resulted in a rather edgy relationship between the two species, and characters of these species are also more likely to find petty, species-based reasons to be enemies. The Rawulves have a highly social pack mind, and their bodies are strength-based, while the Felpurr are highly individual, generally more intelligent, far more violent and incredibly graceful in battle.
Averted in Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Cycle, where Dwarves and Elves are on the whole pretty good friends. They even get along fairly well with humans, and both races have a Honoured Enemy thing going with the Dark Elves.
In the Timothy Zahn book The Green And The Gray the two races, Greens and Grays are basically Elves and Dwarves respectively and yes, they've been at war for centuries.

Live Action TV

The Star Trek episode "The Cloud Minders" had graceful and scholarly humanoids living in a literal flying city, while brutish and mentally limited miners dug tunnels with simple hand tools underground. It's later revealed that the two are actually the same species, but the miners are exposed to a mineral that affects the brain.
In the Star Trek episode "Journey to Babel", Vulcans and Tellarites have a classic elf-dwarf relationship, with Sarek of Vulcan a rather witty Legolas and Gav the Tellarite a doomed variant of Gimli.
Cardassians and Bajorans have a sort of dark elf/drow and dark dwarf enmity going on as well. The Bajoran slaves were even used as miners.
- Most of the primary Star Trek races map over to Dungeons And Dragons The Five Races: Vulcans are elder brother high elves (especially Sarek and Spock), Tellarites are dwarves, Klingons are orcs (with Worf the classic half-orc), Romulans are drow, Andorians are wood elves, Betazoids are gnomes (including the love of elaborate rituals which serve no real purpose other than providing larger-than-life divertissement), and Humans are either humans or halflings.
- Many of the enemies do that too: Changelings are morphs, Borg are undead (strong but slow, immune to bullets etc) Jem'Hadar are a typical summoned race and so on.

Tabletop Games

It's Eldar Vs Humans on a galactic, genocidal scale in Warhammer 40000, with the Imperium of Man squarely filling the dwarves' shoes. The Tau would also like to think this applies as Tau Vs Humans, but on close inspection, it doesn't work that well.
- The reason it doesn't work with the Tau is because there are so many other threats in the galaxy - the smallest of which are generally much more dangerous and threatening to the Imperium than the whole of the Tau Empire - that the Tau just come off as a general annoyance. Hell, the very fact that they've been able to carve out as small a corner of space as they have was initially due to a clerical error (and a warp storm). The Elves vs Dwarves analogy only works if the two adversaries are on a fairly equal footing, and the Tau are so far out of their league it's laughable.
Played absolutely straight in the Warhammer fantasy battle game. The Elves and Dwarves carry residual hatred from the "War of the Beard" that they fought long ago. The Elves are magic-wielding Imperialists, while the Dwarves miner-industrialists with relatively advanced technology (including firearms, cannons, and steam-punk helicopters).
Since both dwarves and elves are standard hero races in Dungeons And Dragons, they tend to be on decent terms, though usually not seeing eye to eye on much. The 3rd edition rulebook mentions that while dwarves and elves don't always get along, if one gets attacked the other will be the first to help them. Much like brothers.

Video Games

The Protoss and the Terrans of Star Craft, which many have accused of ripping off, or at least being "inspired by", the Eldar and Imperium of Warhammer 40000 (see above).
In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, the dark elves of the series, Dunmer, are described as a traditionalistic, religious, racist, proud bunch. Some of them were also quite backstabbing, vicious, and nomadic, though that dependent on which house or tribe they belonged. They lived either out in the fields in tents for the tribes or preferred lavish houses grown via magic from super-mutated mushrooms and vines. The race of technology-minded "dwarves", the Dwemer, had all suffered a Critical Existence Failure after messing around with a Cosmic Keystone long before even the first game in the series so we know little about their nature directly, but their method of lifestyle is well-documented in subterranean Steam Punk cities that repair themselves via a continuous automaton skeleton crew and security (which, notably, is a combination of both science and magic).
- Amusingly subverted: according to The Elder Scrolls lore, any race that has "-mer" in its official name is descended from an ancient Elvish race called the Aldmer.
- Also, the Dwemer weren't that short...
  - The ghostly Dwemer you occasionally find haunting the ruins look quite like other Elven races, if a little more Babylonian in style. The Sole Survivor looks short and fat and Dwarven, but this is mostly because he's been very unpleasantly mutated by The Virus but remains otherwise quite sane and sound.
- The Elder Scrolls case is more of a subversion. The "dwarves", while seemingly atheist, they were a very spiritual people - so much that the aforementioned Critical Existence Failure happened in an attempt to become gods themselves. Both of them also base their technology on magic - the Dwemer even more so than their neighbours.
In Dwarf Fortress, the Elves are not antagonistic, but they are condescending and snotty, and will refuse to trade if you accidentally offer them wood or animal products. The latest versions have turned their ability to besiege you back on. Disrespect the local trees or offend their merchants and diplomats, and they send armies rather than trade caravans.
- Just to throw rock-salt onto a siege wound, if an Elf kills one of your Dwarves, the elf will then eat it. That's right. Elves are cannibals.
  - The creator of Dwarf Fortress is transitioning from species-based hate to belief-based hate, with the result that everyone now hates elves for their habit of snacking on corpses.
- The fandom also despises elves for their tendency to get posessive over an important resource and their habit of suddenly not bringing anything to trade other than cloth and maybe some berries. This troper takes great pleasure in making sure no elf leaves his fortress as anything other than carved bone trade goods sold to the other races.
In the game Arcanum Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura, this is mildly subverted. Dwarves and Elves don't particularly understand each other, but they aren't enemies... except that this misunderstanding was exploited by the Dark Elves, who got the Dwarves to banish one of their own clans for the humans' destruction of an "elven" forest.
- Not enemies in the "kill each other on sight" sense, but they're certainly philosophical opponents, and they have no qualms about trading ethnic slurs back and forth.
The elves and dwarves (and gnomes) of Majesty won't settle in your kingdom if any of the other races are present. While the dwarves here are depicted as typical 'gruff engineers' the elves are far from mystical, magical, or wise, but are instead a bunch of hedonistic layabouts who bring vice to your city in the form of gambling halls and elven lounges.
Stonekeep features dwarves who are prejudiced against elves. And goblins. And trolls. And fairies. And various other green-skinned races. And dwarves who have been dishonored. Despite all this, the dwarves are not unlikable, probably because they have no problems with humans whatsoever. Dwarves make up the majority of your traveling companions early in the game, and one does nothing to hide his intolerance of party members from the above races.
The story of the NES game Faxanadu revolved around Elves vs. Dwarves, although it's because the dwarves had gone psycho and turned into demons.
In Overlord, it turns out that - a short while before your Awakening - the Dwarves and Elves fought a war of extinction. The Dwarves won, carting away the most valued treasure of the Elves, as well as several cartloads of elven slaves to work in their mines, and leaving the Elvish forest of Evernight to the mournful whispers of the ghosts. If you are so inclined, you can help the Elves regain their freedom, and their treasure... or you could kill them all and keep the treasure to yourself. Canonically the Overlord saves the Elves from extinction since they're still around in the sequel while the Dwarves are presumably devastated by the magical Cataclysm that turned the lands of the first game into a magical wasteland.
- The prequel Overlord: Dark Legend has Lord Gromgard, the previous Overlord instigate a war between the Elves and Dwarves by killing their leaders and framing the other side for it.
Averted in The Legend Of Zelda. You'd think the dwarf-like Gorons and Elf-like Zoras would hate each other, but they are actually extremely close. Both species are generally on good terms with the long-eared humans called Hylians, too.
The Dwarves and Elfs in The Witcher WERE like this, until the decided to join against the humans who treat both races as 2nd class citizens.
Mostly averted in the Warcraft universe. In the RTS series, high elves and dwarves are on the same side and the other kinds of elves are never shown to have any kind of specific ire with them short folks. In World Of Warcraft, the blood elves, though not in The Alliance with the dwarves, specifically hate humans.
- For that matter, it's the dwarves who are more diplomatic, while the elves of Azeroth are generally somewhat reluctant to get involved in the outside world on anyone else's terms.
In Class Of Heroes, Elves and Dwarves don't get along with each other, thus making it harder for them to gain affinity points when characters of both races are in the same party.

Web Comics

In 8-bit Theater, the grudge is mostly explained as elves really, really disliking all the beards. Or, to be more specific, both races believe they rightfully own the Earth Orb.
- Notably not present in the game it's based on, however, which portrays the dwarves and elves as being friendly with eachother.
In Dominic Deegan, they have the Halflings and the Dwarves going at it, with the pretty Halflings having fruited beers while the ugly Dwarves have more generic beers. That is what's presented at the nature of their conflicts, at least in the modern day.
Order Of The Stick features rather few elves and dwarves long enough for the two to meet- except for the party members. Durkon, a proudly stereotypical dwarf cleric, and Vaarsivuus, The Spock and Insufferable Genius wizard, constantly bicker but respect each others' abilities nonetheless, both being powerful spellcasters. Until #599, when V accused Durkon of distracting him/her and leaving the group. Consequences aren't clear yet.
- Although the New and Improved Vaarsuvius mocked Durkon's clerical abilities as 'not real magic.' But that's not because Durkon's a dwarf, it's because V thinks if it a wizard can't do it, it's not magic.
- Consequences: V hands over possession of his soul to three denizens of the Lower Planes in exchange for magical power, and circumstances conspire to keep her from using that power, while Durkon is resurrecting Roy when we last left the (now reunited) party.

Web Original

In Le Donjon De Naheulbeuk (Dungeon of Naheulbeuk)), a French audio Affectionate Parody of tabletop RPGs and particularly Dungeons And Dragons, elves and dwarves famously can't get along. Each race takes its defining characteristics far, far beyond its limits, making the following more or less the norm:
The Elf [who has fallen in a hole]: Help me, I'm stuck!
The Dwarf: She says we can leave her behind.
The Elf: Get me out of here, it's slimy!
The Dwarf: She says she wants us to make rocks fall on her to put her out of her misery.
In Tales Of MU, a gnomish folk tale depicts elves and dwarves are the descendants of quarreling twin brothers, who grew into their current forms by attempting to emphasize their imagined differences.
The debate continues even onto YouTube in a segment of D&D PHB PSA. Elves, for those not in the know, cause cancer, and have tiny penises. Especially the women.

Western Animation

In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the plot revolves around a war between tree-dwelling Elves (a parody of the Keebler Elves) and Dwarves over who gets what rights to sell food; the Elves, of course, got cookies, while the Dwarves get mushrooms, and have regretted it ever since. In the end, they compromise and make mushroom cookies. This episode famously featured R. Lee Ermey narrating the Relax O Vision.

Truth In Television

The North/South divide in the UK between the (now) poorer industrialised North and the richer South. With northerners seen as plain-spoken, down to earth and working class (or Northern Bastards) and southerners seen as posh, intelligent, educated, and generally upper or middle class (or Soft Southern Nancies). It is no conincidence that in many fantasy adaptations the Elves have posh, southern English accents, whilst those for Dwarves tends to be either northern (usually Yorkshire) or Scottish.
- A similar geographic divide can be seen in the US, although the roles are reversed. Northerners are seen as urban elitists and Southerners are seen as rural hicks. (However, Washington, DC, on the Mason-Dixon dividing line, is famously joked of as having the worst of both, "Northern charm and Southern efficiency," drawing on a different scale of the stereotypes.) Like many of the fantasy examples above, part of this can be explained by the civil war the two sides fought.
  - As a matter of fact, most white Southerners are descended from inhabitants of Britain's "Celtic Fringe".

Real Life

Anthropological studies have shown that every culture, including modern humans, seems to be wired to categorize competing races into Elves Vs Dwarves, whether it be aliens (The Greys vs. Little Green Men), folklore (Elves Vs Dwarves, or alternately, Big Trolls vs. Little Trolls), pop archaeology (just like early humans thought dinosaur skeletons were dragons, and elephant skeletons were cyclops, they may have assumed that deformed or Neanderthal skeletons were descendants of some mythical race.) However, the fact that both aliens and foreigners are often categorized as Elves Vs Dwarves in most societies (Elves = "slender, mythical Aborigines who are tied to the land"; Dwarves = "hairy, dirty immigrants who wander from place to place and have lots of children") and the fact that the racist "dwarves" stereotype is applied to each new immigrant group, suggests that it is something hard-wired, probably descended from competition between our Cro-Magnon ancestors and their larger and shorter cousins.

Our Dwarves Are All The Same

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