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| ''Arwen'' means "noble woman" in ]. Her ], '''''Undómiel''''', means "Evenstar". She is held to be the reappearance in likeness of her ancestress ], most fair of all the Elves. Arwen's epessë also relates to Lúthien: ''Tinúviel'' translated to ] would be ''Tindómiel'', which means "Nightingale," and shares the ''-miel'' evening/night-time suffix. | ''Arwen'' means "noble woman" in ]. Her ], '''''Undómiel''''', means "Evenstar". She is held to be the reappearance in likeness of her ancestress ], most fair of all the Elves. Arwen's epessë also relates to Lúthien: ''Tinúviel'' translated to ] would be ''Tindómiel'', which means "Nightingale," and shares the ''-miel'' evening/night-time suffix. | ||
| The romance between Aragorn and Arwen is reminiscent of that between the Man ] and the Elf ], but as with many other tales of the Third Age, theirs is considered to be a pale copy of the deeds of earlier ages. (Lúthien, for example, once defeated ] to rescue Beren.) Still, only two other marriages between Man and Elf are recorded in Tolkien's stories, and all of the individuals involved are their common direct ancestors (Beren and Lúthien, and ] and ]). | The romance between Aragorn and Arwen is reminiscent of that between the Man ] and the Elf ], but as with many other tales of the Third Age, theirs is considered to be a pale copy of the deeds of earlier ages.{{fact}} (Lúthien, for example, once defeated ] to rescue Beren.) Still, only two other marriages between Man and Elf are recorded in Tolkien's stories, and all of the individuals involved are their common direct ancestors (Beren and Lúthien, and ] and ]). | ||
| As told in ''The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen'', found in the Appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'' (after the third volume, '']''), a very young Aragorn encounters Arwen for the first time at ], where he had been living; she had been staying with her grandmother in ]. He falls in love with her at first sight, but it is not until they meet many years later in Lórien that she falls in love with him, and they "plight their troth". | As told in ''The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen'', found in the Appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'' (after the third volume, '']''), a very young Aragorn encounters Arwen for the first time at ], where he had been living; she had been staying with her grandmother in ]. He falls in love with her at first sight, but it is not until they meet many years later in Lórien that she falls in love with him, and they "plight their troth". | ||
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| In ]'s '']'' film trilogy, Arwen is played by ]. | In ]'s '']'' film trilogy, Arwen is played by ]. | ||
| She plays a much more prominent role in the story, which Jackson defends as cinematically necessary to establish her role in the plot more firmly. (] and ], her brothers, never appear.) In the ], but not in the books, she sneaks up to find ] and after finding out Frodo's sickness, takes ] by herself on horseback where she thwarts the ]s at ] with a sudden flood, summoned by an incantation. In the book, it was ] who put Frodo on horseback and sent him alone to flee the black riders, and ] and ] who arranged the flood. In the book, Frodo makes his own stand against the Black Riders; in the movie Arwen defends him. In the movies, during this flight Arwen wields the sword ], stated to have once been wielded by her father. This sword, however, does not appear in the books at all; in fact, in the books, Arwen is never mentioned as armed (but she ''could'' have armed herself at need; see below). | She plays a much more prominent role in the story, which Jackson defends as cinematically necessary to establish her role in the plot more firmly.{{fact}} (] and ], her brothers, never appear.) In the ], but not in the books, she sneaks up to find ] and after finding out Frodo's sickness, takes ] by herself on horseback where she thwarts the ]s at ] with a sudden flood, summoned by an incantation. In the book, it was ] who put Frodo on horseback and sent him alone to flee the black riders, and ] and ] who arranged the flood. In the book, Frodo makes his own stand against the Black Riders; in the movie Arwen defends him. In the movies, during this flight Arwen wields the sword ], stated to have once been wielded by her father. This sword, however, does not appear in the books at all; in fact, in the books, Arwen is never mentioned as armed (but she ''could'' have armed herself at need; see below). | ||
| The three mentions described above and a brief mention of her arrival at Aragorn's coronation are her ''only'' appearances in the story as it stands, not counting ''The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen'' in the Appendices. | The three mentions described above and a brief mention of her arrival at Aragorn's coronation are her ''only'' appearances in the story as it stands, not counting ''The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen'' in the Appendices. | ||
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| In the movie trilogy, however, various additional scenes pertaining to Arwen are inserted some of which deviate from the books and some of which seem inspired by the ''Tale''. Following the aforementioned "Flight to the Ford" scenes, the deviations include a scene in which Aragorn is injured and has a dream about Arwen (who kisses him), a scene where Arwen has a fight with her father about leaving for ], and a scene where she (with ]) actually departs for Valinor and then suddenly returns when she sees an image of her future son, ]. (In the books, it can hardly have been surprising to Arwen that she and Aragorn might have children together, since she herself is the descendant of two similar unions.) | In the movie trilogy, however, various additional scenes pertaining to Arwen are inserted some of which deviate from the books and some of which seem inspired by the ''Tale''. Following the aforementioned "Flight to the Ford" scenes, the deviations include a scene in which Aragorn is injured and has a dream about Arwen (who kisses him), a scene where Arwen has a fight with her father about leaving for ], and a scene where she (with ]) actually departs for Valinor and then suddenly returns when she sees an image of her future son, ]. (In the books, it can hardly have been surprising to Arwen that she and Aragorn might have children together, since she herself is the descendant of two similar unions.) | ||
| Also, and perhaps most importantly, she apparently becomes sick with grief in ''The Return of the King'', possibly over Aragorn's seemingly hopeless cause and his impending death — soon after she rides back from the road to the ]. Elrond takes the newly reforged Narsil, now ], to Aragorn at Dunharrow, and tells him that her fate has become bound with the Ring, and that she is dying. However, no explanation is ever given for this, not even in the Extended Editions. Later, after the Ring is destroyed, Arwen shows up at Aragorn's coronation looking no worse for wear. | Also, and perhaps most importantly, she apparently becomes sick with grief in the movie of ''The Return of the King'', possibly over Aragorn's seemingly hopeless cause and his impending death — soon after she rides back from the road to the ]. Elrond takes the newly reforged Narsil, now ], to Aragorn at Dunharrow, and tells him that her fate has become bound with the Ring, and that she is dying. However, no explanation is ever given for this, not even in the Extended Editions. Later, after the Ring is destroyed, Arwen shows up at Aragorn's coronation looking no worse for wear. | ||
| ===Reaction=== | ===Reaction=== | ||
| ] reaction to the changes has been mixed. Arwen had a very small visible role in the books outside of the Appendix. In addition to making Arwen a more visible character, the change employs the principle of "economy of characters". |
] reaction to the changes has been mixed.{{fact}} Arwen had a very small visible role in the books outside of the Appendix. In addition to making Arwen a more visible character, the change employs the principle of "economy of characters". Characters such as ], who appear once and perform only one task are often excised from film interpretations. | ||
| In earlier copies of the script (when the movies were supposed to be filmed in two parts under a different production company), Arwen actually fought in the ] and brought the sword ] to Aragorn. Some attribute an early script leak to the scaling back of these changes.{{fact}} | In earlier copies of the script (when the movies were supposed to be filmed in two parts under a different production company), Arwen actually fought in the ] and brought the sword ] to Aragorn. Some attribute an early script leak to the scaling back of these changes.{{fact}} | ||
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| The changes have been compared to the modern phenomenon of ], much like ] in '']''. | The changes have been compared to the modern phenomenon of ], much like ] in '']''. | ||
| Many fans were upset, because it seemed to be resorting to the lowest common denominator that in order to make Arwen a "worthwhile" or "strong" character, she had to be a warrior, while in the books, her strength stems from her brave choice to forsake immortality and live out a mortal life with Aragorn, which did not involve martial skill. Further, there is already a skilled female warrior present in the story, Princess Éowyn, but she first appears in the second part of the film trilogy. Some fans felt it odd to make it a point to insert a female warrior into a story which already had a prominent one, because this detracts from Éowyn's bravery in riding to battle. However, in the second and third films in which Éowyn appears, Arwen's martial abilities are toned down. | Many fans were upset,{{fact}} because it seemed to be resorting to the lowest common denominator that in order to make Arwen a "worthwhile" or "strong" character, she had to be a warrior, while in the books, her strength stems from her brave choice to forsake immortality and live out a mortal life with Aragorn, which did not involve martial skill. Further, there is already a skilled female warrior present in the story, Princess Éowyn, but she first appears in the second part of the film trilogy. Some fans felt it odd to make it a point to insert a female warrior into a story which already had a prominent one, because this detracts from Éowyn's bravery in riding to battle. However, in the second and third films in which Éowyn appears, Arwen's martial abilities are toned down. | ||
| In ] essay ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', which appears in '']'', female and male Elves ''are'' practically seen as equals, save in the matters of ], which is a thing that only females are capable of. In all other respects, the sexes are equal in their capability to do things — whether it be matters of war or peace. The only reason why male Elves go to war instead of females, according to Tolkien, is that taking life would interfere with their ability to preserve life - and healing was an occupation that females generally occupied themselves with. As the text itself states: | In ] essay ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', which appears in '']'', female and male Elves ''are'' practically seen as equals, save in the matters of ], which is a thing that only females are capable of. In all other respects, the sexes are equal in their capability to do things — whether it be matters of war or peace. The only reason why male Elves go to war instead of females, according to Tolkien, is that taking life would interfere with their ability to preserve life - and healing was an occupation that females generally occupied themselves with. As the text itself states: | ||
| :''In all such things, not concerned with the bringing forth of children, the ''neri'' and ''nissi'' (that is, the men and women) of the Eldar are equal – unless it be in this (as they themselves say) that for the ''nissi'' the making of things new is for the most part shown in the forming of their children, so that invention and change is otherwise mostly brought about by the ''neri''. There are, however, no matters which among the Eldar only a ''nér'' can think or do, or others with which only a ''nís'' is concerned. There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of ''neri'' and ''nissi'', and other differences that have been established by custom (varying in place and in time, and in the several races of the Eldar). For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among the Eldar most practiced by the ''nissi''; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need. And the Eldar deemed that the dealing of death, even when lawful or under necessity, diminished the power of healing, and that the virtue of the ''nissi'' in this matter was due rather to their abstaining from hunting or war than to any special power that went with their womanhood. Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the ''nissi'' fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength in speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child that is seen among mortals. On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need.'' |
:''In all such things, not concerned with the bringing forth of children, the ''neri'' and ''nissi'' (that is, the men and women) of the Eldar are equal – unless it be in this (as they themselves say) that for the ''nissi'' the making of things new is for the most part shown in the forming of their children, so that invention and change is otherwise mostly brought about by the ''neri''. There are, however, no matters which among the Eldar only a ''nér'' can think or do, or others with which only a ''nís'' is concerned. There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of ''neri'' and ''nissi'', and other differences that have been established by custom (varying in place and in time, and in the several races of the Eldar). For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among the Eldar most practiced by the ''nissi''; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need. And the Eldar deemed that the dealing of death, even when lawful or under necessity, diminished the power of healing, and that the virtue of the ''nissi'' in this matter was due rather to their abstaining from hunting or war than to any special power that went with their womanhood. Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the ''nissi'' fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength in speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child that is seen among mortals. On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need.''{{fact}} | ||
| However, probably the real reason why Arwen was mostly relegated to the Appendices is that she was inserted in ''later'', when much of the story had already been devised, as shown in '']''. Aragorn was originally supposed to marry ] instead .{{fact}} | However, probably the real reason why Arwen was mostly relegated to the Appendices is that she was inserted in ''later'', when much of the story had already been devised, as shown in '']''. Aragorn was originally supposed to marry ] instead .{{fact}} | ||
Revision as of 10:20, 16 April 2006
For other uses, see Arwen (disambiguation).| Template:Infobox LOTR |
Lady Arwen Undómiel (usually called Arwen Evenstar, Undómiel being the form in Quenya), (T.A. 241–F.A. 121), is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. Eventually becoming queen of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor, she the betrothed of Aragorn in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. She is the daughter of Elrond and Celebrían (and therefore granddaughter of Galadriel), granddaughter of Eärendil the Mariner (Elrond's father) and great-granddaughter of Tuor of Gondolin, and therefore a direct descendant of the ancient House of Hador. Arwen's name, in fact, resembles the names of two Hador women, Morwen and Urwen. Arwen is also the younger sister of Elrond's twin sons Elladan and Elrohir. She rejects her Elvish immortality (which she had the freedom to do, since she was one of the Peredhel, the Half-elven, thus having the choice to be counted as an Elf or a Man) to marry Aragorn and die with him.
She was the consort of Aragorn (later named as King Elessar Telcontar) and the mother of the future heir of the throne, Eldarion, and at least two unnamed daughters from her marriage with Aragorn after the War of the Ring ended.
Arwen is actually a very distant relative of Aragorn, being his first cousin sixty-three times removed. Aragorn's ancestor, Elros, the first King of Númenor, was Elrond's brother, and therefore her uncle.
By Arwen and Aragorn's marriage, the long-sundered lines of the Half-elven are joined. Their union also serves to unite and preserve the bloodlines of the Three Kings of the High Elves (Ingwë, Finwë, and the brothers Olwë and Elwë) as well as the only line with Maiar blood through Arwen's great-great-great grandmother, Melian, Queen of Doriath.
Arwen in the books
Arwen means "noble woman" in Sindarin. Her epessë, Undómiel, means "Evenstar". She is held to be the reappearance in likeness of her ancestress Lúthien Tinúviel, most fair of all the Elves. Arwen's epessë also relates to Lúthien: Tinúviel translated to Quenya would be Tindómiel, which means "Nightingale," and shares the -miel evening/night-time suffix.
The romance between Aragorn and Arwen is reminiscent of that between the Man Beren and the Elf Lúthien, but as with many other tales of the Third Age, theirs is considered to be a pale copy of the deeds of earlier ages. (Lúthien, for example, once defeated Sauron to rescue Beren.) Still, only two other marriages between Man and Elf are recorded in Tolkien's stories, and all of the individuals involved are their common direct ancestors (Beren and Lúthien, and Tuor and Idril).
As told in The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, found in the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings (after the third volume, The Return of the King), a very young Aragorn encounters Arwen for the first time at Rivendell, where he had been living; she had been staying with her grandmother in Lórien. He falls in love with her at first sight, but it is not until they meet many years later in Lórien that she falls in love with him, and they "plight their troth".
Arwen's first appearance in The Lord of the Rings proper is at Rivendell, when the Hobbits arrive there, and Aragorn is seen with her—the first hint of their relationship. Later, when the Fellowship come to Lothlórien, he remembers their earlier meeting.
She enters the story again when, before taking to the Paths of the Dead, Aragorn is met by a group consisting of Dúnedain, his people, from the North, and Arwen's brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. They bring to him a banner on black cloth: a gift made by Arwen, and a sign that encourages him to take the difficult path. When it is unfurled at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields to reveal the emblem of Elendil in mithril, gems, and gold, it is the first triumphant announcement of the King's return.
Arwen is mostly a minor character in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, but she is nevertheless described in detail in the Appendices. Also, she plays a role in the plot which is disproportionate to the number of scenes in which she appears. When Éowyn falls in love with Aragorn it is his fidelity to Arwen that forbids him from reciprocating, thereby motivating Éowyn's subsequent actions during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields which have major repercussions for the defence of Middle-earth. Arwen continually serves as inspiration and motivation for Aragorn, who must become King before he may wed her—not an insignificant task, considering the many long years he devotes to this cause.
Arwen gives up her life in 121 of the Fourth Age, at Cerin Amroth in Lórien, after the death of Aragorn. At the time, she is 2,901 years old.
Portrayal in adaptations
Arwen does not appear in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, nor in the Rankin-Bass 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Arwen is played by Liv Tyler.
She plays a much more prominent role in the story, which Jackson defends as cinematically necessary to establish her role in the plot more firmly. (Elladan and Elrohir, her brothers, never appear.) In the first film, but not in the books, she sneaks up to find Aragorn and after finding out Frodo's sickness, takes Frodo by herself on horseback where she thwarts the Black Riders at Bruinen with a sudden flood, summoned by an incantation. In the book, it was Glorfindel who put Frodo on horseback and sent him alone to flee the black riders, and Elrond and Gandalf who arranged the flood. In the book, Frodo makes his own stand against the Black Riders; in the movie Arwen defends him. In the movies, during this flight Arwen wields the sword Hadhafang, stated to have once been wielded by her father. This sword, however, does not appear in the books at all; in fact, in the books, Arwen is never mentioned as armed (but she could have armed herself at need; see below).
The three mentions described above and a brief mention of her arrival at Aragorn's coronation are her only appearances in the story as it stands, not counting The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen in the Appendices.
In the movie trilogy, however, various additional scenes pertaining to Arwen are inserted some of which deviate from the books and some of which seem inspired by the Tale. Following the aforementioned "Flight to the Ford" scenes, the deviations include a scene in which Aragorn is injured and has a dream about Arwen (who kisses him), a scene where Arwen has a fight with her father about leaving for Valinor, and a scene where she (with Figwit) actually departs for Valinor and then suddenly returns when she sees an image of her future son, Eldarion. (In the books, it can hardly have been surprising to Arwen that she and Aragorn might have children together, since she herself is the descendant of two similar unions.)
Also, and perhaps most importantly, she apparently becomes sick with grief in the movie of The Return of the King, possibly over Aragorn's seemingly hopeless cause and his impending death — soon after she rides back from the road to the Grey Havens. Elrond takes the newly reforged Narsil, now Andúril, to Aragorn at Dunharrow, and tells him that her fate has become bound with the Ring, and that she is dying. However, no explanation is ever given for this, not even in the Extended Editions. Later, after the Ring is destroyed, Arwen shows up at Aragorn's coronation looking no worse for wear.
Reaction
Fan reaction to the changes has been mixed. Arwen had a very small visible role in the books outside of the Appendix. In addition to making Arwen a more visible character, the change employs the principle of "economy of characters". Characters such as Glorfindel, who appear once and perform only one task are often excised from film interpretations.
In earlier copies of the script (when the movies were supposed to be filmed in two parts under a different production company), Arwen actually fought in the Battle of Helm's Deep and brought the sword Andúril to Aragorn. Some attribute an early script leak to the scaling back of these changes.
The changes have been compared to the modern phenomenon of Girl Power, much like Guinevere in King Arthur.
Many fans were upset, because it seemed to be resorting to the lowest common denominator that in order to make Arwen a "worthwhile" or "strong" character, she had to be a warrior, while in the books, her strength stems from her brave choice to forsake immortality and live out a mortal life with Aragorn, which did not involve martial skill. Further, there is already a skilled female warrior present in the story, Princess Éowyn, but she first appears in the second part of the film trilogy. Some fans felt it odd to make it a point to insert a female warrior into a story which already had a prominent one, because this detracts from Éowyn's bravery in riding to battle. However, in the second and third films in which Éowyn appears, Arwen's martial abilities are toned down.
In Tolkien's essay Laws and Customs among the Eldar, which appears in Morgoth's Ring, female and male Elves are practically seen as equals, save in the matters of childbirth, which is a thing that only females are capable of. In all other respects, the sexes are equal in their capability to do things — whether it be matters of war or peace. The only reason why male Elves go to war instead of females, according to Tolkien, is that taking life would interfere with their ability to preserve life - and healing was an occupation that females generally occupied themselves with. As the text itself states:
- In all such things, not concerned with the bringing forth of children, the neri and nissi (that is, the men and women) of the Eldar are equal – unless it be in this (as they themselves say) that for the nissi the making of things new is for the most part shown in the forming of their children, so that invention and change is otherwise mostly brought about by the neri. There are, however, no matters which among the Eldar only a nér can think or do, or others with which only a nís is concerned. There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of neri and nissi, and other differences that have been established by custom (varying in place and in time, and in the several races of the Eldar). For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among the Eldar most practiced by the nissi; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need. And the Eldar deemed that the dealing of death, even when lawful or under necessity, diminished the power of healing, and that the virtue of the nissi in this matter was due rather to their abstaining from hunting or war than to any special power that went with their womanhood. Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength in speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child that is seen among mortals. On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need.
However, probably the real reason why Arwen was mostly relegated to the Appendices is that she was inserted in later, when much of the story had already been devised, as shown in The History of The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn was originally supposed to marry Éowyn instead .
See also
External links
- Arwen at The Thain's Book