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Originally Posted by Alatar
And we still haven't answered the question of why he was taking Narsil out for a walk
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Some athletes have a lucky pair of socks. One sprinter always had a piece of paper in his shoe with the World Record time written on it. A friend of mine kept in his baseball bag a 2nd place trophy from his little league days, as it reminded him that had he gotten a hit his last time at bat in the championship game he would've had a 1st place trophy instead of a 2nd. It was there to motivate him and drive him to work harder so as to avoid yet another failure.
Narsil is the ultimate reminder. It reminds Aragorn that his ancestors had overcome Sauron and taken his Ring. It says to him, "They did it and I can too."
Narsil also reminds Aragorn that Elendil was killed by Sauron. It says to him, "Avenge me!"
Narsil could also serve as a reminder about Isildur, who fell to the temptation of the Ring. It says to Aragorn, "Don't make the same mistake."
And don't forget that Aragorn has no child to leave his heirlooms to. If Aragorn perishes, the sword might as well perish with him. Aragorn has no children because he will have no one but Arwen, and Arwen he cannot have until he retakes Middle Earth and renews Gondor, and Narsil broken and then reforged could be said to represent the breaking and then reestablishing of the line of Kings. What I mean to say is, the line of Kings and destiny of Gondor lies completely in his hands the same way Narsil does. He cannot push off his fate on another just as he cannot pass Narsil to any other. It is his burden.
Now, I'm not saying Aragorn carried Narsil with him his entire life, but at this point in the story the final chapter has begun- the quest to destroy the Ring as well as the war that is coming to a head. It makes sense to me that this would be the time that Aragorn would, for motivation and symbolism, not allow Narsil to leave his side. Aragorn is about to actually set out for the purpose of renewing Gondor. He is completely shouldering the burden at this point in his life. And in my mind the burden of Narsil goes hand and hand with that.
Or maybe everything I just said is a load of rambling garbage dredged up by an extremely sleepy brain.
