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My Love For Arwen Essay

Laineth
Lorien

May 23 2014, 4:29pm

Post #1 of 11 (1121 views)
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My Love For Arwen Essay Can't Post

Text removed at the request of the board member - Ataahua.


(This post was edited by Ataahua on Jan 23 2015, 6:46pm)


Laineth
Lorien

May 23 2014, 4:32pm

Post #2 of 11 (544 views)
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Cont. [In reply to] Can't Post

“So it seems,” he said. “But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring. In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!”

Despair means “to lose all hope.” Behold means “to perceive through use of the mental faculty; comprehend.”

Aragorn says, 'It may look that way, but don't let us, we who has overcome so much, lose at the last hurdle of life. We go in sadness, but not without hope. Recognize that our souls are not bound to the world, and that beyond it is still consciousness. Goodbye!'

This is the only comfort, and the thing that too many of us forget, or don't believe. That death is not really the end, and that we will be together again. Aragorn is certain of an afterworld, of a spiritual world. And so am I.

“Estel, Estel!” she cried, and with that even as he took her hand and kissed it, he fell into sleep. Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so that all who after came there looked on him in wonder; for they saw that the grace of his youth, and the valour of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were blended together. And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.

Cry means “to beg for; implore.” 'Hope, Hope!' Arwen begs, but with a final kiss, Aragorn is gone. She begs not only for Aragorn, but also for the steadfast hope of life after death that he has. It is now Arwen's turn to face her death, and the possibility of life, of consciousness, afterwards.


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And yet, after Aragorn dies, Arwen does not choose to remain with her children, ending the rest of her days in comfort in their company - simply being with her family and friends in Minas Tirith. Instead:

It seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lorien. 
– Appendix

Arwen's death alone in Lothlorien is sad, yes, and Tolkien wrote it beautifully. But why does she leave her family and loved ones and choose to die alone? She has so much to keep living for! One has to wonder, if their children are of age, if Arwen ever saw her grandchildren.

People often say that Arwen is a symbol of hope; many comment on how strong her hope is. And I agree with that, to some extent. So it is rather ironic that Arwen leaves her home and family and dies in an act of utter despair.


Once again, we are going to look at the full text.

But Arwen went forth from the House, and the light of her eyes was quenched, and it seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lórien, and dwelt there alone under the fading trees until winter came. Galadriel had passed away and Celeborn also was gone, and the land was silent.

There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not come, she laid herself to rest on Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.


Arwen's light is gone from her eyes, she has lost her soulmate and her spark. She has lost what she gained, and now is the time for her to willingly pass, or wither until she is forced to. She says goodbye to her children, and to everyone else alive that she loves.

Let's talk about the idea that Arwen should live for her children. After 120 years, her children are certainly full grown, and she probably has great-grandchildren already. To quote one of my favorite psychology articles:


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The attachment aspect of love is even more valuable in our relationship with our spouse than in that with our children, because marriage, at least in principle, is forever. My children have moved on, and I had to be prepared for that right from their beginning; but my wife and I will be together until death do us part. It is not unseemly to speak of my wife as my “better half,” but it would be unseemly to speak of my child in such terms. Our children do not and should not see themselves as part of us; their job is to move on, beyond us, into a future that we will never know. And if we see them as part of us, we will be torn apart when they leave.


And now I want to quote another Arwen essay, by WindSinger. I cannot say it better than she does:


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Arwen was an immortal elf who chose to stay in Middle Earth with a mortal man. Her people, who she had spent several thousand years with, left her behind. I have no doubt she loved her children as much as anyone could. However, when her anchor, her only reson for staying in such a foreign environment, died she must have felt totally abandoned. NO ONE could have possibly understood who she was. How could they? How could beings who lived for just a short smattering of years possibly understand someone who had lived thousands of years? The whole rhythm of their lives would be totally different. No matter how well she had adjusted to the world of men, it could never be hers. My goodness, just one fairly glaring example is that in LOTR the elves seemed to be content to wait a thousand or more years before marrying (which is just as well, Middle Earth would have been overpopulated long before the Third Age if they had the same drive to procreate as mankind does!) While Arwen loved her children, they only knew her as their mother. They also were born into, and grew up in, a very different world. They could not understand or know her as did those who had left to travel over the sea.



In my very humble opinion, Arwen really did not have any reason to stay in Middle Earth after Aragorn died (whether or not such an option was available to her). I have no doubt she would have stayed if her children still needed her, but then Aragorn would not have chosen to die until he was sure they were able to take up the threads of their lives. All of which makes Arwen's decision to stay in Middle Earth with Aragorn even more poignant. It boggles my mind to contemplate how radical the change was for Arwen, going from living in a society where everyone could expect to live till the end of time to one where they lived only for about - what, maybe 100 years (her husband was, thank goodness, the exception and lived over 200 years - still a smidge of time compared to the life span of an elf). The very fabric and rhythm of everyday life had to have been different between these two extremes. Arwen must have been very brave, confident, wise and very much in love to have chosen to live just a smattering of years with Aragorn, among people who were not part of her world view.


It is not her place to live for her children. They are grown, they have their own lives. Arwen loves them, and they love her, but they don't need her. It is time for all of them to let go.

As for why Arwen leaves to die alone, it is a personal choice. I have known of many people who pass alone, even when they have family staying with them. And I have known of a few people who pass with their family around them.

Arwen goes to Lórien, and stays there for almost a year, almost certainly contemplating everything.

As Gimli says, Galadriel is the Morning and Arwen is the Evening. Galadriel has eternal daylight, eternal life. Arwen chooses mortality, she chooses to let the day slip by into night. Her very name, Undómiel, Evening Star (literally Twilight Star), symbolizes the role she plays, and her choice of mortality. For while all other elves will continue in the Twilight, the last light of day, never entering the night, it isn't so for Arwen. Arwen is the Twilight Star, she shines in the passing of day to night, passing along with it.

The symbolism of Arwen choosing to pass on the cusp of winter and spring is significant. Her winter has come, she has no light, Aragorn has passed. But spring is also on the way, a renewal of life after death. To me, the fact that she passes on the cusp of spring, shows that she found hope again. Hope for a continuing consciousness, for life after death. She will not find renewal in this world, only in the spiritual world. And so, when the world takes the chance to renew, so does she.

Arwen lays herself down on Cerin Amroth, the very spot she and Aragorn trothplighted themselves. This is another sign of her hope, that she and Aragorn will be together again. And Tolkien implies that they are reunited, for he said that Aragorn “... came there never again as living man.”

So he did come. He came to welcome her to the spiritual world.

I want to end this by quoting one last Arwen essay:


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In Rath Dínen Aragorn, speaking to Arwen, makes reference to a hope. And the way it is stated implies previous discussion on the subject. Even so, in Aragorn and Arwen’s case it would be too simplistic to say that they understand they would live happily ever after in heaven with Ilúvatar after dying. There is doubt. Tolkien stated what he thought was one of the more important issues of the story in Letter 181.

Here I am only concerned with Death as part of the nature, physical and spiritual, of Man, and with Hope without guarantees. That is why I regard the tale of Arwen and Aragorn as the most important of the Appendices;....

Hope without guarantees.

The Silmarillion is written from an Elvish perspective, and from it we gain a certain understanding of them; they admit not understanding men well, or their fate. Arwen, coming from an Elvish background, has an Elvish view of reality (vague on the fate of men). Though she has joined herself to Aragorn, and entered into the world of men, and presumably shares Aragorn’s hope, nevertheless...it is quite a leap to give up immortality within the world for something else, even if that something else is guaranteed eternal life in “heaven.” But it’s not guaranteed, despite Aragorn’s last words. She has to make a leap of faith.

So there she is, in a barren and ghostly Lorien, all alone, and it’s so sad. But she goes through with it. And Tolkien words it as if it actually were sad. And it is sad, on a psychological plane. But on the spiritual plane it is triumphant. And I can’t help feeling the tone of the passage is written consciously in counterpoint to the real “feeling” (in spiritual terms) of joy involved.


Hope without guarantees. It is a leap of faith we will all have to make, someday. When our own time comes. And Arwen makes it.


dreamflower
Lorien

May 24 2014, 1:50pm

Post #3 of 11 (512 views)
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Awesome and beautiful [In reply to] Can't Post

I can't understand how anyone could see Arwen as "cold and selfish" but someone clearly did and yours is an awesome and beautiful rebuttal. And thank you for linking to my essay about Arwen and Frodo.

You might also like my poem on the same subject: White Stone


IdrilLalaith
Rivendell

May 26 2014, 6:46am

Post #4 of 11 (460 views)
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So impressed! [In reply to] Can't Post

I love what you had to say, you really delved into Arwen's character. I do have a few things to add.


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Arwen looks at the West, where her mother is, and where all of her family belongs. She looks, and she thinks. Arwen knows that no other path could bring her greater joy, and so she tells Aragorn she will renounce the Twilight. It is a bittersweet decision, because she loves her family deeply.


I find this pause significant. She had to think before she made her decision. She had confidence that Aragorn would help defeat Sauron and become king. She still had to consider. If she had just wanted to marry a king, she would have agreed immediately to marry him if she felt so confident.


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Basically, what Elrond is saying is that he will not try to keep them apart, but he will not let them marry and have Arwen become mortal before Aragorn is king. And the only way for Aragorn to become king is for them to win the war. So to summarize, Elrond is saying that they can't marry until the war is over.


Keep in mind that Elves don't marry or have children during times of war. Even if it meant they might never marry, they would refuse to do so during a war, so it would have been kind of crazy (according to Elvish culture) for Arwen to marry Aragorn before he became king.

Plus I think it's kind of unfair to compare Elrond to Thingol in this case. Thingol set that quest to Beren because he was offended by Beren's presumption. He would have had him killed immediately if he hadn't promised to Lúthien that he wouldn't harm him. He literally came up with that quest to kill Beren without actually killing him. Elrond tells Aragorn that he won't let his daughter marry until Aragorn has claimed his right to the throne. If Arwen had married before then, she would either continue to live with Elrond or would have spent years wandering in the forest with Aragorn. Can't blame dad for saying no to that.


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So. Between the standard and the Elfstone, Arwen gives Aragorn the tools he needs to convince men (both dead and alive) that he is the rightful king. That is on top of training his horse, so he has a trusted mount in battle. It is clear – Aragorn could not have become King without Arwen's gifts.


I absolutely love this. I never really thought about how significant her gifts were.

Thanks so much for sharing this, Laineth. I really enjoyed reading it! You have a very interesting perspective.

TolkienBlog.com


Laineth
Lorien

May 26 2014, 7:27pm

Post #5 of 11 (440 views)
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Thank you! [In reply to] Can't Post

Thank you for the reply! I love your works, I have a lot of them favorited on ff.net. :)


Laineth
Lorien

May 26 2014, 7:57pm

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Thank you! [In reply to] Can't Post

Thank you so much for the compliments! :)

I find the pause significant too. It shows that she was well aware of the consequences of her decision.

Where does it say that elves don't marry in times of war? The Law and Customs essay says, "In days of old, in times of trouble, in flight and exile and wandering, such marriages were often made."

I know that in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth Finrod says, "This is time of war, Andreth, and in such days the Elves do not wed or bear child;(21)" But Note 21 only says see Law and Customs about elves only having children in times of peace. Also, Finrod focuses on Aegnor's personal reasons - that she will outlive Aegnor, and that Aegnor wants to remember her as she was when they met.

I agree that Elrond was nowhere near Thingol's level on this subject.

Thanks again. :)


DaughterofLaketown
Gondor


May 26 2014, 11:29pm

Post #7 of 11 (438 views)
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I think BIG marriages were put off [In reply to] Can't Post

Until war was over. Arwen and Aragorn were nobility so maybe this is why?


IdrilLalaith
Rivendell

May 27 2014, 1:28am

Post #8 of 11 (427 views)
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Ah, yes, you're right [In reply to] Can't Post

I misremembered the passage. Elves do put off having children in time of war, not getting married.

I guess I assumed those tend to go hand-in-hand in Elven culture, particularly since childbirth seems to happen early on in most Elven marriages. But that's a topic for another thread, I think.

TolkienBlog.com


DaughterofLaketown
Gondor


May 27 2014, 3:28am

Post #9 of 11 (420 views)
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I started a new thread on this [In reply to] Can't Post

 

I guess I assumed those tend to go hand-in-hand in Elven culture, particularly since childbirth seems to happen early on in most Elven marriages. But that's a topic for another thread,I think.

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(This post was edited by DaughterofLaketown on May 27 2014, 3:28am)


demnation
Rohan

May 29 2014, 9:34am

Post #10 of 11 (404 views)
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Whew! That was a long read [In reply to] Can't Post

But well worth it! Fantastic stuff.

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule." Gandalf, "The Last Debate."


Laineth
Lorien

Jun 1 2014, 6:37pm

Post #11 of 11 (395 views)
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ETA: [In reply to] Can't Post

I just noticed a line was left out in this paragraph, and I have underlined it here:


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Arwen is singing of Valinor – the one place she will never be able to go. She knows what she has given up, to have a happy and fulfilled life with Aragorn. She knows she has chosen “both the sweet and the bitter.” This is the connection to Midsummer – she will have her summer, she will live a joyous and fulfilled life; but she knows that her winter – death – is inevitable. (an aside: we again see Arwen use her powers, as while means “at the same time”; so during Arwen's singing, the White Tree grew and blossomed).


 
 

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