[Tirned Tinnu]

Oh, my, Evenstar1 and Scapegoat!
I did not consider that Elrond could have been symbolic of someone in Tolkien's life! Well done. Thank you for posting that.

Now, getting on towards Elrond's relationship with Aragorn and his requirements of Aragorn before allowing marriage:

I have always believed that Elrond had the power to see much of the future. Perhaps his view was a bit hazy, though, and he desired to firm it up a bit by making sure the time was right before giving his daughter away - even to his trusted foster-son.

I still wonder if Aragorn argued with Elrond, or if Elrond laid down the law and Aragorn accepted it like the noble fellow that we know him to be. I don't expect that Aragorn whined. I know that he was schooled in his future and what was ahead of him. The fear of the unknown was what he grappled with, and what worried Elrond.
When I finally understood the scene (where the party is about to leave Rivendell) I was left with many questions. Did Aragorn speak with Arwen and Elrond at the same time, or was she only allowed to see him once? I thought that she was a bit stiff, not getting up from the table at the feast (earlier in the book) and introducing herself to Frodo, and speaking with no-one for that matter. Perhaps she had already been given the news. I think that she might have been mourning Aragorn's plight, or attempting to hatch a plan herself. After all, it's at that point in the story of Beren and Luthien that Luthien is imprisoned. She ran away after that, through much effort. Perhaps Arwen was brooding on the possibility of following Aragorn into the wild rather than being held in Rivendell, to await the news of his success or defeat.

When Frodo mentions to Aragorn that he has seen Arwen, and asks Aragorn why he did not attend the feast, Aragorn chides him and reminds him that there were other things to be attended to, such as scouting and planning for their trip. His attitude is business until he runs off to see Arwen. Perhaps it was then that he got the news of Elronds plans for him.

Now that I think about it, if my father (a man whom I respected to no end) had asked the same of me, I would have had faith in his forecasting and done exactly as he bade me. That's right, no questions asked. Such might have been the love Aragorn had for his foster-father. (And the love Tolkien had for the priest who was his mentor?) [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I must stop typing. I'm beginning to babble.
[img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]