Arwen
A fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, Arwen Undómiel (Arwen Evenstar) is the betrothed of Aragorn in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. She is the daughter of Elrond Peredhil and Celebrían (and therefore grand-daughter of Galadriel). She rejects her Elven immortality in order to marry Aragorn and become his Queen.
Arwen means "noble woman" in Sindarin. Her nick-name Undómiel means "Evenstar". She was held to be the reappearance in likeness of her ancestress Lúthien Tinúviel.
The romance between Aragorn and Arwen is reminiscent of the romance between Beren and Lúthien, but as with many other tales of the Third Age, theirs is a pale copy of the deeds of earlier ages. Still, only few other marriages between human and elf are recorded in the annals of Tolkien. Arwen is mostly a minor character in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, while she is nevertheless described in detail in the appendices after the third book, The Return of the King. She does however play 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 was actually a distant relative of Aragorn, and by their marriages the long-sundered lines of the Half-elven were joined.
Arwen plays a far more major role in the The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, which he defends as cinematically necessary to establish her role in the plot more firmly. In the first movie, but not in the books, it is she who sneaks up on Aragorn, treats Frodo with athelas, and takes him by herself on horseback where she thwarts the Black Riders at Bruinen with a sudden flood. 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 stand against the Black Riders, in the movie Arwen defends him. During this flight and elsewhere in the movies Arwen wields the sword Hadhafang, which was once wielded by her father. This sword does not appear in the books at all, in which Arwen is never mentioned as armed.
In the movie trilogy, various additional scenes pertaining to Arwen are inserted which deviate from the books. These include a scene in which Aragorn is injured and has a dream about Arwen, a scene where Arwen has a fight with her father about leaving for Valinor, and a scene where she actually departs for Valinor and then suddenly returns when she sees an image of her future son, Eldarion.
Arwen's rôle in the movies was originally planned to be even greater: in earlier copies of the script (when the movies were supposed to be filmed in two parts under a different publisher), she actually fought in the Battle of Helm's Deep, and it was Arwen who brought the sword Narsil to Aragorn. It was after a leaked copy of this script made it online that fan outrage against the much expanded rôle of Arwen began, and the comparisons with . These scenes were altered, and Arwen's rôle downplayed a bit.
Some argue that the substitution of Arwen for Glorfindel and other changed scenes, as well as the insertion of additional scenes is a major departure in the film version of the story, and less acceptable even than that of the substitution of Legolas for Glorfindel in the Ralph Bakshi version. As with other changes in character and plot, this is a common hazard encountered in the adaptation of a story from a literary to a film format.
In the movie trilogy, Arwen is played by Liv Tyler.
Referenced By
Aragorn | Aragorn II | Arda timeline | Athelas | Celebrian | Celebrían | Eldarion | Elessar | Elf (Middle-earth) | Elladan | Elrond | Elves (Middle-earth) | Elves (Tolkien) | Elwing | Glorfindel | Hadhafang | Half-Elf | Half-elven | JRR Tolkien/Middle Earth | JRR Tolkien/The Lord of the Rings | LOTR | Liv Tyler | Lord of the Rings | Lúthien | Middle-Earth | Middle-earth timeline | Middle Earth | Middle Earth/Aragorn | Middle Earth/Elrond | Middle Earth/Elves | Middle Earth/Rivendell | Peredhil | Purist Edit | Return of The King (movie) | Rivendell | The Lord Of The Rings | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (movie) | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (movie) | The Lord of the Rings film | The Return of the King (movie) | The Two Towers (movie) | Timeline of Arda | Timeline of Middle-earth
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