Arwen and Aragorn? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Orual · 11-27-2002, 10:23 PM

A friend of mine and I were discussing Arwen this evening. More specifically, why Aragorn fell for her. My friend felt that she was a limp character, with very little "spark." I said that she simply didn't have that much time in the book, and he pointed out that Tolkien could've given her more time. I agreed, but said that there was no opportunity. He asked then, why didn't she go and fight? I cringed and said that that was Eowyn's role, not Arwen's. She was, y'know, the Elven--at this point I restrained myself from saying "princess" and settled on something stupid like "woman." He gave me a look, and I told him that perhaps it was Elrond being over-protective, and her obedience.

I also said that perhaps Tolkien was trying to parallel Aragorn with Beren. He argued that if that was true, wouldn't Arwen have been more like Luthien? More Xena-like, as my LotR circle likes to say? More warrior princess? I had no answer. Have any of you? This is an interesting subject, and I was wondering if y'all had any thoughts on it.

~*~Orual~*~

11-27-2002, 10:23 PM	#1
Orual Speaker of the Dead Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Superbia Posts: 868	Arwen and Aragorn? A friend of mine and I were discussing Arwen this evening. More specifically, why Aragorn fell for her. My friend felt that she was a limp character, with very little "spark." I said that she simply didn't have that much time in the book, and he pointed out that Tolkien could've given her more time. I agreed, but said that there was no opportunity. He asked then, why didn't she go and fight? I cringed and said that that was Eowyn's role, not Arwen's. She was, y'know, the Elven--at this point I restrained myself from saying "princess" and settled on something stupid like "woman." He gave me a look, and I told him that perhaps it was Elrond being over-protective, and her obedience. I also said that perhaps Tolkien was trying to parallel Aragorn with Beren. He argued that if that was true, wouldn't Arwen have been more like Luthien? More Xena-like, as my LotR circle likes to say? More warrior princess? I had no answer. Have any of you? This is an interesting subject, and I was wondering if y'all had any thoughts on it. ~~Orual~~ __________________ "Oh, my god! I care so little, I almost passed out!" --Dr. Cox, "Scrubs"