Long Arwen Article: Arwen the Kingmaker

The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien’s Minor Characters –

... or something like that. I'm still playing around with titles. Yet another of my old natterings that I've revamped, extended a lot, and turned into an article. The whole piece is here: Arwen Undómiel.

But that has some movie-related comments in the opening parts, as I am trying to help movie-watchers ease their way into canon. More lore-focused folks may find them irksome.

So here's the bulk of the essay....

Introduction
Arwen Undómiel, Aragorn's true love in The Lord of the Rings, plays a very different role in the books versus the films.

Peter
Jackson's films attempt to present her as a strong female character,
updated to suit modern sensibilities. Yet she gradually weakens and
becomes hostage to her father's and lover's conflicting wishes, and (in
a strange departure from the books) a target and victim of Sauron's
malice.

Although she does not figure in much of Tolkien's story,
Arwen in the books is a subtle, powerful figure. Far from being a
passive damsel in distress, she is as an active though distant partner
in Aragorn's quest.

This lens focuses on the role of Arwen in The Lord of the Rings, and how she helps transform Aragorn from potential into actual king.

        Arwen, The Lady of Rivendell: 
        A Figure of Inspiration to Her Knight

Arwen was not written into The Lord of the Rings
until quite late, first popping up in a scribbled addition as the
creator of Aragorn's banner when he arrives at Minas Tirith on the
Black Ships. So Arwen cannot make a big impact on the story's plot; it
existed before she did. Tolkien has to sneak her into the earlier
chapters using cameos. Yet I believe Arwen steps into a role prepared for her, just as Faramir does, even though Tolkien seems not to have planned either of them.

Arwen,
the living image of Lúthien, bestows an aura of mythological greatness
on Aragorn. In Greek mythology, she would be his patron goddess; in
Authurian or medieval courtly mythology, she would be his Lady or
Queen, or even the Virgin Mary. The banner Arwen weaves for Aragorn and
the jewel* she bequeaths to him are like the "favors" a medieval lady
bestows upon her chosen knight to bless his quest, just as Galadriel
anoints Gimli as her "Lockbearer."

Arwen is Aragorn's longed-for
prize at the end of his quest. In the Appendices we learn that Elrond
did not forbid their union, when he learned of their love. He simply
sets a high bar for Aragorn to prove himself worthy of her:
"My
son, years come when hope will fade, and beyond them little is clear to
me. And now a shadow lies between us. Maybe, it has been appointed so,
that by my loss the kingship of Men may be restored. Therefore, though
I love you, I say to you: Arwen Undómiel shall not diminish her life's
grace for less cause. She shall not be the bride of any Man less than
the King of both Gondor and Arnor. To me then even our victory can
bring only sorrow and parting -- but to you hope of joy for a while.
For a while. Alas, my son! I fear that to Arwen the Doom of Men may
seem hard at the ending."
("The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen," Appendices, The Return of the King)

This
passage sets in motion -- or rather summarizes, since it's tucked away
in the appendices -- a theme of unresolved tension for Aragorn
throughout the story. Tolkien's Aragorn is not plagued by self-doubts,
although he realizes the enormity of his task. Instead, he suffers the
familiar plight of the knight errant, yearning for his absent love
while pursuing his lonely quest: partly for the sake of the realm,
partly to achieve his own destiny, but also, significantly, to win his
Lady's hand.

Aragorn seldom alludes to his longing for Arwen,
yet those few remarks show how Arwen's absence is a powerful presence
during his journey. When pressed by Éowyn, he discreetly turns her
aside with a rare admission: "Were I to go where my heart dwells, far
in the North I would now be wandering in the fair valley of Rivendell."
Similarly, Aragorn's reaction when the Rangers bring him Arwen's gift,
a kingly banner, speaks louder than words:

And
Aragorn said: 'Now I know what you bear. Bear it still for me a while!'
And he turned and looked away to the North under the great stars, and
then he fell silent and spoke no more while the night's journey lasted.
("The Passing of the Grey Company," The Return of the King)

There is something about Arwen in The Lord of the Rings
that makes Tolkien and Aragorn reluctant to speak of her, as if she
were some sacred mystery whose magic might be lost were she a matter
for everyday conversation. Even at the end of Return of the King,
Aragorn avoids telling his friends when Arwen is on her way to their
wedding, first because Aragorn is afraid of jinxing his hopes by naming
them, but secondly, as Gandalf says, "those who have laboured to
prepare the feast like to keep their secret; for wonder makes the words
of praise louder." Notice that the winning of Arwen is a matter of
wonder and praise, above and beyond all else Aragorn has achieved!

Arwen
does not come to Aragorn's coronation, since the books have more
leisure to unfold the tale. Instead, Aragorn reveals to Gandalf that he
is anxiously waiting for her, because only then will he know the Return
of the Bachelor (so to speak) is really the Return of the King. There
can be no lasting Camelot without a (faithful) Guenevere.

When
Aragorn finds a sapling of the dead White Tree, plants it, and sees it
blossom, he knows the time has come. "'The sign has been given," said
Aragorn, 'and the day is not far off.' And he set watchmen upon the
walls." ("The Steward and the King," The Return of the King)

Anticipation
and absence are once again inextricably connected with Arwen. That
unresolved tension, a theme of the whole saga, is finally dissolved
when Elrond arrives to deliver his daughter and the scepter of Arnor, signifying that Aragorn has won both lady and dominion.  

        Arwen's Otherworldly Aura 
        An Alchemical Presence

In
the middle of the table, against the woven cloths upon the wall, there
was a chair under a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and
so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that
she was one of his close kindred. Young she was and yet not so. The
braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost, her white arms and
clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her
bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and
thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many
things that the years bring. Above her brow her head was covered with a
cap of silver lace netted with small gems, glittering white; but her
soft grey raiment had no ornament save a girdle of leaves wrought in
silver.
So
it was that Frodo saw her whom few mortals had yet seen; Arwen,
daughter of Elrond, in whom it was said that the likeness of Lúthien
had come on earth again; and she was called Undómiel, for she was the
Evenstar of her people.
("Many Meetings," The Fellowship of the Ring)

Tolkien
introduces Arwen with an awe-inspiring, almost numinous portrait, an
image that is noteworthy even after the extraordinary and supernatural
episode at the Fords of Bruinen. Frodo is smitten by her presence, and
transmits his awe to the readers. It is hard for those who have read
Tolkien all our lives to remember, but apart from Goldberry, Arwen is
usually the first of the recurring "Ladies of Light" figures we
encounter: Galadriel, Lúthien and Melian are other examples.

Looking closely, we find something very odd about Arwen's effect on Aragorn.

Shortly
after Biblo speaks of Arwen in the "Many Meetings" chapter, we see
Aragorn visibly transformed into a prophetic vision of what he will
become:

Near
him sat the Lady Arwen. To his surprise Frodo saw that Aragorn stood
beside her; his dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed to be clad in
elven-mail, and a star shone on his breast.
("Many Meetings," The Fellowship of the Ring)

Two
things come out of this image: the idea of kingly-Aragorn appearing
when he is with Arwen, and the star on his breast. Not the Elessar, the
stone she will later send him, but a harbinger of it. Arwen is not an
Elf-witch who can somehow heal Aragorn from afar, but at close range,
her power to make him appear as he truly is-- the king beneath Ranger's
battered garb-- is clear.

In Lórien we see a similar metamorphosis:

For
the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed
clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the
Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. Arwen vanimelda, namarië! he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out of his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled.
'Here
is the heart of Elvendom on earth,' he said, 'and here my heart dwells
ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must
tread, you and I. Come with me!' And taking Frodo's hand in his, he
left the hill of Cerin Amroth and came there never again as living man.
("Lothlórien" The Fellowship of the Ring)

Even
allowing for Tolkien's magical prose, he seems to imply an alchemical
transformation, stripping years away from Aragorn yet simultaneously
showing the great lord he may become. I do not use the term alchemy casually. Central to alchemy is the concept of coniunctio,
the divine marriage between King or Queen or (metaphorically) union of
opposites, through which the soul is purified and the hidden gold of
its inner being comes to light. All that is gold does not glitter - until, that is, "a light from the darkness shall spring." That light is not Aragorn's only.

Lest
I ascribe too much alchemical mojo to Arwen, I should acknowledge that
we see Aragorn undergo a similar transformation twice when she is not
present, even in memory: before the Gates of the Argonath, beneath the
statues of the Kings Aragorn hopes to succeed, and when he reveals
himself to Éomer and names himself the Heir of Kings.

Nonetheless,
I think the Cerin Amroth scene is full of mystical import for the
character of Aragorn. I see mythical echoes of Avalon, where the
priestess anoints the king. There is little reason for the party to
stop at Cerin Amroth before going on, except to remind us of
Aragorn's strong connection to Arwen, to show us that she is his source of
inner inspiration, and maybe -- if one recalls that Cerin Amroth is
where Arwen goes to die after she loses him -- to give us some hope
that they will be reunited after death, in the place where "he
came...never again as a living man."

        Arwen Evenstar, Kingmaker 
        Long-Distance Campaign Manager?

"But
wait," you may be saying by now. "Your Arwen--or Tolkien's Arwen--
exists simply in terms of Aragorn, seen through his eyes and as a
vessel through which he is transformed. There's nothing about
Arwen as a person here! She's just Aragorn's stepping stone! How is
that less sexist than Peter Jackson's swooning damsel?"

No,
Arwen does not get out and save her man or share his dangerous quest as
Lúthien does. Yet she is not simply a gift-wrapped prize parked in a
box on a shelf until Aragorn wins her.

Arwen Undómiel chooses Lúthien's fate.
It is hard for mere mortals to fathom this choice, but imagine, if you
will, choosing to die within a month, in order to spend that month with
a loved one. Or maybe -- three days? Inconceivable.

More
importantly, Arwen does not simply help Aragorn's transformation by
inspiring him or anointing him with her mystical aura. She takes his
fate into her hands, literally-- not only when he gives her the Ring of
Barahir (and of Beren) as an engagement Ring!

Arwen weaves
Aragorn a kingly banner, a labor that grows while he is off laboring to
win the kingship. The banner shows her faith in him: estel, which also means "hope," one of the more nuanced words in Tolkien's Elven tongue. (No surprise that Estel is the private name she uses for him, out of all his many names, although she hails him Elfstone
when sending the banner.) The banner is also a means for achieving that
hope. Aragorn first unfurls the banner at Erech, to proclaim to the
Dead that he is who he says he is; their aid is crucial to his quest.
He unfurls it again at Minas Tirith, inspiring the beleaguered city
with hope while staking his claim to it. The banner flies too when
Aragorn leads the Host of the West to the Black Gate. How the people of
Minas Tirth long to see it flying from their topmost spire! It is
potent propaganda tool, and Arwen put all her Elvish art into its
making.

Her other gift to Aragorn seems even more calculated.
The Elessar -- setting aside the confusing story that there may have
been two of them -- belonged first to Arwen's ancestor Idril, a
prophetess of no small ability, who passed it to her son (Elrond's
father) Ëarendil. It was used for hope and healing in the final dark
days of the First Age, just as it is used at the end of the Third. That
stone -- or a later copy, according to some tales --came into
Galadriel's hands, and she wielded it as she would later wield the
Elven-ring, for healing and preservation. After she acquired Nenya, she
passed it to her daughter Celebrían, and she to her daughter Arwen.

So
much for the Elessar's history. Yet one more thing must be added: there
was some prophecy that Aragorn might reign as Elessar. He must know
that his fate and the stone are bound up in some fashion. In Rivendell,
when Bilbo seeks his help to compose a poem about Eärendil, Aragorn is
adamant that the Elessar (a green stone) be mentioned.

Yet he had no idea that the stone was waiting for him in Lothlórien:
'Maybe
this will lighten your heart,' said Galadriel; 'for it was left in my
care to be given to you, should you pass through this land.' Then she
lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver
brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread
wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining
through leaves of spring. 'This stone I gave to Celebrían my daughter,
and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. In this
hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of
the house of Elendil!'
'Then
Aragorn took the stone and pinned the brooch upon his breast, and those
who saw him wondered; for they had not marked before how tall and
kingly he stood, and it seemed to them that many years of toil had
fallen from his shoulders. 'For the gifts that you have given me I
thank you,' he said, 'O Lady of Lórien of whom were sprung Celebrían
and Arwen Evenstar. What praise could I say more?'
("Farwell to Lórien," The Fellowship of the Ring)

Once
again, Aragorn seems for a moment a kingly figure. And that will be the
stone's function. He uses it (perhaps) to boost his healing, the night
after the siege of Minas Tirith is lifted, when he goes into the city
in disguise to tend the wounded and those dying of the Black Breath.
But something else happens then:

And
word went through the City: 'The King is come again indeed.' And they
named him Elfstone, because of the green stone that he wore, and so the
name which it was foretold at his birth that he should bear was chosen
for him by his own people.
("The Houses of Healing," The Return of the King)

Clever
Arwen! Andúril is impressive, but it's hard to prove it is the Sword
that Was Broken. The King's banner -- oh, it could be a forgery too,
but its visual impact at key moments certainly helps makes Aragorn's
case. Yet Arwen takes no chances. She knows the prophecy of Aragorn's
birth. She sends the Elfstone to him to take to Minas Tirith, to help
ensure the prophecy comes true. The banner and Elessar serve vital,
perhaps crucial, functions in making Aragorn king. Denethor thought
Gandalf was pulling the puppet-strings of an "upstart Ranger" who meant
to seek the throne; he did not realize an Elf was manipulating his
subjects on Aragorn's behalf.

In conclusion, Arwen is no
Lúthien, no warrior princess. Yet her political acumen is that of an
Eleanor of Aquitaine. I somehow doubt she will be a mere figurehead,
when she becomes Queen of Elves and Men.