LotR --- Appendix A: I, (v) -- The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This is perhaps the most important part of the appendices, since it tells the story of Aragorn and Arwen that is missing in the book. Tolkien wrote that he left it out of LotR reluctantly, but felt that it would not have fit in there. Do you agree? If he had put it in, where could it have fit without slowing down the story too much?

First we read of Aragorn's background - he was such an important figure in the history of the Kingdoms that his grandmother urged his parents to marry early. Her foresight even gives Aragorn his Elvish name! "If these two wed now, hope may be born for our people."

What significance does his Elvish upbringing have? Unlike film Elrond, his book foster father loves him dearly. Do you think there is any significance to the fact that he received the tokens of his heirship along with the information as to his true name and lineage when he was twenty? That was very young, considering that Elves came of age much later than that, and even in Tolkien's day, a young man was not yet of age at 20.

We know so little about Arwen from the book itself - did reading this change your opinion of her? Why do you think that Elrond's family and household did not speak of her to Aragorn in all those years previous to their meeting? We know she stayed in Lothlórien, but you'd think she would have been mentioned even though absent. Did Elrond foresee and fear what would happen when they met?

Gilraen also had foresight of her son's fate - there is a lot of foresight involved in this tale! What do you think of her advice to lovelorn Aragorn, what of Elrond's stipulations?

The two met again in Lothlórien - do you think Galadriel was matchmaking when she had Aragorn clothed like an Elven lord?

What do you think her watching over him from afar involved - some form of osanwë? What significance does the sewing of the banner have?

"Hope" is a central word in this story; how does Gilraen's loss of hope affect you? Is her death misuse of the Gift? Aragorn and Arwen give each other hope - when one of them loses it, the other encourages.

We then jump to the end of Aragorn's life - and Arwen's. Is he right to use his gift of choice in ending his life voluntarily? Why does Arwen despair without him, not even wishing to stay longer to be with her children and grandchildren? Her passing ends the "days of old".

Which are your favourite passages and quotes in this section? I find it very emotional and love much of what is said by the characters, and obviously it was important enough to me that I chose my nick from it...

[davem]

(As usual, this was written before reading Esty’s intro. Any repetitions of what she may have said are due to my laziness in not going back & editing them out.)

One of the easier parts of the Appendices to discuss, as we already know the main characters. On the surface there are both primary & secondary world echoes of the story of Aragorn & Arwen. In the primary world we have Tolkien’s own betrothal to Edith being delayed by Father Francis forbidding him to marry (or even to see Edith from the age of seventeen (?) when he found out about the relationship) till he came of age at twenty-one. In the secondary world there is the story of Beren & Luthien, where once again a father forbids his daughter’s suitor to wed her till he has achieved an apparently impossible task (gaining the Silmaril in Beren’s case, becoming king of Gondor & Arnor in Aragorn’s).

However, for all the apparent similarities, there is a difference between Elrond’s conditions & Thingol’s: as Hammond & Scull point out in LotR: A Reader’s Companion, Thingol’s motivation is to send Beren to his death; Elrond loves Aragorn like a son. He also loves Middle-earth, & is simply requiring Aragorn to show his committment to his people & his world, to fulfil his destiny. Whether he is overstepping the mark is something for the individual reader to decide.

The tale itself is one of happiness achieved against the odds, but it ends in loss & grief. The constant references to the pair’s ancestors, the way events from the earlier story repeat in this one seem to forshadow both the happiness & the loss in the later. H&S also point up the similarities between the story of Aragorn & King Arthur(fostered in secret by Elrond/Sir Ector to preserve his safety after the death of Arathorn/Uther). Both recieve a sword at the time they learn of their true identity. The Aragorn-Gandalf/Arthur-Merlin teacher-pupil relationship has also been pointed up.

As an aside, H&S give a quote from Tolkien’s essay ‘The Rivers & Beacon Hills of Gondor’ http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...rvo/t/vt42.doc regarding the name Gilraen:

The meaning of Gilraen as a woman's name is not in doubt. It meant ‘one adorned with a tressure set with small gems in its network', such as the tressure of Arwen described in L.R. I 239.23 It may have been a second name given to her after she had come to womanhood, which as often happened in legends had replaced her true name, no longer recorded. More likely, it was her true name, since it had become a name given to women of her people, the remnants of the Numenoreans of the North Kingdom of unmingled blood. The women of the Eldar were accustomed to wear such treasures; but among other peoples they were used only by women of high rank among the "Rangers", descendants of Elros, as they claimed. Names such as Gilraen, and others of similar meaning, would thus be likely to become first names given to maid-children of the kindred of the "Lords of the Dunedain". The element raen was the Sindarin form of Q. raina ‘netted, enlaced'.

(The ‘tressure set with small gems in a network’ calls to mind my earlier Thread ‘Galadhremmin Ennorath’ http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=12132. )

I suppose the part of the Tale that some readers have most difficulty with is Aragorn’s death. He chooses to die & leave Arwen alone before he needs to. He could have spent several more years with her, but he left her to grieve for him. Tolkien did refer to the fact in one of his letters (H&S cite his unpublished letter to Eileen Elgar) that Arwen could have opted to die at the same time as her husband, but chose not to. Apparently though she had chosen mortality to wed Aragorn her Elven nature rebelled against actually dying.

Aragorn displays trust in something ‘beyond the Circles of the World’, but we are not told what it is, or what the nature of that other existence he looks forward to is. Perhaps it is part of the Gift of Eru to mortals that along with mortality comes a sense of there being ‘something’ more, but if it is then it seems Arwen doesn’t recieve that part of it. Death is an alien thing to her people, & only became a fact when Aragorn died. Her words are Tolkien’s most direct challenge to the idea of death being a ‘gift’ so far in the Legendarium:

There is now no ship that would bear me hence, and I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill: the loss and the silence. But I say to you, King of the Numenoreans, not till now have I understood the tale of your people and their fall. As wicked fools I scorned them, but I pity them at last. For if this is indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive."

In fact, the final conversation between Aragorn & Arwen seems a pre-cursor to the Athrabeth. Death, of individuals & peoples, times & cultures, runs through this whole story. The Tale begins with the death of Arador & ends with the death of Arwen, & in the space of a few pages we see the deaths of Arathorn, Gilraen & Aragorn. What light & joy there is seems a temporary thing, overshadowed by darkness & grief.

Finally, was anyone else reminded of Beowulf - if only in terms of the structure of the Tale? it divides into two, with the first half focussing on the young hero’s exploits, his achieving fame & glory & finally ascending his throne. The second half focusses on his old age, his surrender of his rule & his death (followed by the grief of those who remain). I think that by deliberately echoing both the stories of the Christian Arthur & the Pagan Beowulf Tolkien has given us a perfect symbol of his mythology as a whole (as well, perhaps, of himself).

[Bêthberry]

Like Estelyn I must agree that this is a most wonderful part of the Appendices. It is not a mere recital of feigned historical facts, but is the full voice of story.

Yet I would not ask the kind of questions Estelyn does, nor engage in the kind of discussion which davem pursues--not that either are misplaced or inappropriate. Why? Because for me those kinds of pursuits follow the nature of characterisation in formal realistic narrative. They depend upon the kind of verisimilitude which the nineteenth century novel has trained us to expect, a 'realism' or 'empiricism' of psychology.

To me, the great passionate interest of A Part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen lies in Aragorn's and Arwen's role as mythic characters. What we learn of them here is less dependent upon their psychological interaction and personalities and far more dependent upon what they epitomise. They serve Tolkien's idea about the gift of death. This is why, to me, Tolkien never shows us how Aragorn prepares Arwen for his and her death, why he skips over any incidents which would, through their participation, unfold their character, why we are never given Arwen's inner thoughts after Aragorn dies or while she sojourns in Cerin Amroth. We don't get petty details; we get an intense focus on one particular topic between them: this stark portrayal of stoic hope on the portal to nothingness and forgetting: our physical existence is a shadow.

I have a small quibble over having Aragorn die in the height of his powers, and, after death, grow into a perfection of beauty. It seems to me to sidestep the nature of death as a real diminishment, a wasting away of our powers and body and consciousness. In this state of pitiful weakness, to me, lies the real nature of our species. How we handle decrepitude reveals much about ourselves, as a culture and as individuals. However, I can understand how this culmination represents Tolkien's concept of the "good death", the honourable and noble death as, perhaps, Eru intended it, for those who have lived nobly and ethically. It works within the idealism Tolkien suggests that originally death would have been a finest hour rather than enfeeblement.

As to the question of how this part of their tale could have been included in the text proper: well, that depends less I think on any issue of length than on the nature of Tolkien's concept of plot. Given how Tolkien employs plot, it could not have been. The coherence of LotR depends upon linear plot; hence we have the separation into books rather than intercalated stories of Sam and Frodo with the other members of the Fellowship. For some sufficient reason, Tolkien chose to go with linear, consequential chronology. Existence is not the realm of possibilities, but of causalities, of sequence, in Tolkien's work.

Thus, he could not conceive of his narrator falling into a dream and foretelling the story of Aragorn's and Arwen's death. He could not have his narrator provide a 'looking forward' or, describing their marriage, be carried away in his authorial knowledge with a telling of their deaths, because then he could not, by the logical of his plot, jump back. The bridge between cause and effect would collapse. Tolkien's poetry lies in action rather than the interruption of action.

Perhaps all of this is a long winded way of saying Aragorn and Arwen belong far more to faerie than to verisimilitude.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

To me, the great passionate interest of A Part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen lies in Aragorn's and Arwen's role as mythic characters. What we learn of them here is less dependent upon their psychological interaction and personalities and far more dependent upon what they epitomise.

Originally Posted by Bethberry

Perhaps all of this is a long winded way of saying Aragorn and Arwen belong far more to faerie than to verisimilitude.

When Tolkien has Death as portrayed through Aragorn as something noble and correct, as something which makes the body even more beautiful, he seems to be telling us that it is better to bow out at the height of our powers rather than to become diminished. The hero never becomes decrepit, he remains the hero until he dies and afterwards.

Contrast how the Eldar finally leaving Middle-earth are diminished, with this kind of death, which only serves to enoble Aragorn even more. The power of the Eldar has waned and their time and usefulness are over so they seek to leave, possibly to a Valinor in which they will also be diminished in comparison to those who remained there. They seem to be quite literally worn out. But Aragorn in choosing the 'gift' of death will never be any lesser than he was at the moment of his coronation. In Tolkien's view a truly noble king does not carry on until he is so old he has to be helped, nor does he abdicate and retire - he quits while he's ahead.

In Tolkien's own life so many of those he cared about were also taken in their 'prime' - parents and friends. But in contrast, Tolkien never gave up; he may have retired but his work continued up to the end. Did he follow his own ideals in that respect? I'm personally glad that he did not.

This is also is a wonderfully subtle love story, just the kind that I prefer, without too much detail, but with the kind of detail that reveals just enough to demonstrate the love between the characters. Tolkien is able to do this - his tale of Eowyn and Faramir is also subtle, leaving plenty to the imagination which is where the best stories are constructed. Strangely, given that during the BBC's Big Read poll many Austen fans were vocal in their hatred of Tolkien, he shares with Jane a mastery of the subtle love story.

[Guinevere]

I am very fond of this beautiful, bittersweet, haunting lovestory.
And I agree with Bêthberry that they are mythic characters and belong to faerie.

Originally posted by Lalwendë:
This is also is a wonderfully subtle love story, just the kind that I prefer, without too much detail, but with the kind of detail that reveals just enough to demonstrate the love between the characters. Tolkien is able to do this - his tale of Eowyn and Faramir is also subtle, leaving plenty to the imagination which is where the best stories are constructed.

That’s my opinion, too!

One of the most touching and beautiful descriptions I ever have read is this one of Aragorn:

“His ways were hard and long, and he became somewhat grim to look upon, unless he chanced to smile; (……..)
Thus he became at last the most hardy of living men, skilled in their crafts and lore, and was yet more than they; for he was elven-wise, and there was a light in his eyes that when they were kindled few could endure.
His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depth of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from the rock.

This tale greatly enhances the characters of Aragorn, Elrond and – as far as possible- Arwen.
Only after reading it did I fully understand several allusions in the book itself. Eg When Strider sings about Beren and Luthien - the special meaning of this story to him; when Frodo sees Aragorn standing beside Arwen in Rivendell, and especially Aragorn's dreamy behaviour and mysterious words on Cerin Amroth.
Btw, since Esty asked this question: That would perhaps have been a possible place to bring in Aragorn's memories of his youth in Rivendell and his meeting and later betrothal to Arwen (but not the future, of course) However, this wouldn’t have worked, since the tale is, as Tolkien says “hobbito-centric” and we can never read Aragorn’s thoughts. Neither would he have told his personal memories in detail to Frodo at this point.
For me, it is perfect as it is, and I even think it’s fun to piece together the scattered informations in the appendices and joining them to what I know from the story itself. It somhow adds to the feeling of historical reality. But I feel sorry for those who don’t get the chance because they don’t have the appendices in their edition!

I must say, when I read the tale for the first time I was rather shocked that Aragorn wanted to die voluntarily, inspite of Arwen’s pleas. She had given up her immortal life for his sake, and he just left her to die alone and despairing!
I know, I know, it’s quite different to Denethor’s suicide
(To whom Gandalf says: "authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death.")
Aragorn has “the grace to go at my will and give back the gift”.
And he prefers leaving this world before he “withers and falls from his high seat unmanned and witless.”

Originally posted by Lalwendë
When Tolkien has Death as portrayed through Aragorn as something noble and correct, as something which makes the body even more beautiful, he seems to be telling us that it is better to bow out at the height of our powers rather than to become diminished. The hero never becomes decrepit, he remains the hero until he dies and afterwards.

Tolkien wrote in letter #212

It was also the Elvish (and uncorrupted Númenorean) view that a "good" Man would or should die voluntarily by surrender with trust before being compelled (as did Aragorn). This may have been the nature of unfallen Man; though compulsion would not threaten him: he would desire and ask to be allowed to "go on" to a higher state.

I am a bit astonished that Tolkien, as a Catholic, saw this as an ideal!
I believe indeed that many people would wish for this ability to “fall asleep” at a time and under circumstances that they could choose themselves, rather than lingering on while the infirmities and indignities of old age assail the body. Especially in our time where modern medicine creates often problematic situations where life (and suffering) are artificially prolonged. Hence the huge success of “Exit” and other “Right-to-die-Societies” !
I do wonder what Tolkien would have said to that?!

The sad thing is that Arwen wasn't "weary of her days" at that moment (didn't she age since she "became as a mortal woman"?)- yet was unable to live on after Aragorn had died and so went to die all alone. I wish they could have found a compromise and lay down hand in hand to die. ( Beren and Luthien died simultaneously the second time, if I remember rightly)
Well, that's only me being too romantic...

At least Aragorn’s last words

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.

speak of hope or rather “Estel”, trust in Eru.
(btw I think those beautiful words would be very suitable for an obituary!)

[Lhunardawen]

It's a good thing in my opinion that Tolkien did not include this in the actual LotR; I think it would have been a little out of place. But by placing this in the appendices, there was a risk of it not being read by most readers. I, for one, was not interested at first to read through the appendices as I felt doing so would ruin the momentum of the story as it courses through my memory. It was only after a while that I discovered this mini-story, and only then did I realize how much I missed by not reading the appendices.

---------------------------------------

I wonder, why was Aragorn singing a part of the Lay of Luthien which tells of her meeting with Beren in the forest of Neldoreth? I'm inclined to think that in his heart Aragorn believes that the only thing he lacks in his life is a wife to share all his happiness with - and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth spoke. Or perhaps he was expressing his need for a "Luthien" to aid him in any way in the hard and long test Elrond warned him he will be facing?

I guess there's no need to iterate how much Arwen has (largely indirectly) affected Aragorn in his development as a king, and as a man. It's interesting to note that Aragorn met Arwen right after he found out his true identity and lineage. It was as if she was placed there just in time to provide strength, inspiration, hope, and occasional mirth for Aragorn through the coming hard times. For me, Arwen was the embodiment of Aragorn's hope - his "Estel."

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

This is perhaps the most important part of the appendices, since it tells the story of Aragorn and Arwen that is missing in the book. Tolkien wrote that he left it out of LotR reluctantly, but felt that it would not have fit in there. Do you agree? If he had put it in, where could it have fit without slowing down the story too much?

First we read of Aragorn's background - he was such an important figure in the history of the Kingdoms that his grandmother urged his parents to marry early. Her foresight even gives Aragorn his Elvish name! "If these two wed now, hope may be born for our people."

What significance does his Elvish upbringing have? Unlike film Elrond, his book foster father loves him dearly. Do you think there is any significance to the fact that he received the tokens of his heirship along with the information as to his true name and lineage when he was twenty? That was very young, considering that Elves came of age much later than that, and even in Tolkien's day, a young man was not yet of age at 20.

We know so little about Arwen from the book itself - did reading this change your opinion of her? Why do you think that Elrond's family and household did not speak of her to Aragorn in all those years previous to their meeting? We know she stayed in Lothlórien, but you'd think she would have been mentioned even though absent. Did Elrond foresee and fear what would happen when they met?

Gilraen also had foresight of her son's fate - there is a lot of foresight involved in this tale!

## I find it helpful to look back from the Third Age to the First - there is a lot of foresight in the Silmarillion. I think foresight is probably a very important theme, and that it can't really be disconnected from hope, or alternatively, the lack of it.

I think there is continuity with the dream of Turin in UT in which he sees the Meneltarma, and with the foresight of Fëanor at his death, that Morgoth would not be defeated by the Elves ##

What do you think of her advice to lovelorn Aragorn, what of Elrond's stipulations?

The two met again in Lothlórien - do you think Galadriel was matchmaking when she had Aragorn clothed like an Elven lord?

What do you think her watching over him from afar involved - some form of osanwë? What significance does the sewing of the banner have?

"Hope" is a central word in this story; how does Gilraen's loss of hope affect you? Is her death misuse of the Gift? Aragorn and Arwen give each other hope - when one of them loses it, the other encourages.

We then jump to the end of Aragorn's life - and Arwen's. Is he right to use his gift of choice in ending his life voluntarily? Why does Arwen despair without him, not even wishing to stay longer to be with her children and grandchildren? Her passing ends the "days of old".

Which are your favourite passages and quotes in this section? I find it very emotional and love much of what is said by the characters, and obviously it was important enough to me that I chose my nick from it...

## Maybe it is significant that hope is emphasised in the "Tale", as the lack of it is what caused the Darkening of Numenor - if the kings of Numenor had had hope, they might have heeded the messengers from Valinor, and there might have been no Downfall, and no War of the Ring. ##

[Lhunardawen]

I don't know why I only just noticed this; by all means it probably has been mentioned elsewhere, but I'm quite amazed. Gilraen's last words to Aragorn ('I gave Hope to the Dunedain, I have kept no hope for myself') mirrors, in a way, the fact that Miriel died after giving birth to Feanor because she had passed so much of her spirit to him.

[Galadriel55]

I find Gilraen very intriguing. I often wondered about the significance of her words "onen i Estel Edain, u chebin estel anim". The capitalization of the first Estel could signify that she gave birth to a son that will somehow help the Dunedain, and the second estel would then refer to actual literal HOPE.

I'm more inclined to think that Estel in this case means more than just a name. Gilraen probably foresaw how Aragorn would "help" the dunedain, and was sort of saying to her people: "a) don't despair, because I know that hope will come and something good will happen. b) I will not live to see this good."

In a way, she's also "educating" Aragorn about death and how to accept it. When she said "I left no hope for myself", she wasn't despairing about her comming death, but rather accepting it and telling Aragorn that there's nothing he could do to prevent it.

Overall, it is as if she was saying that she finished what she needed to do in the world, and it is the right tie for her to leave it.

PS: Sorry about the essay. Gilraen's line is very thought-provoking, though, and just that made her one of my favourite characters.