17 years have passed since the release of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy by Peter Jackson. Until now, people around the world are watching or revising this masterpiece of the Hollywood film industry. The film is stunning not only with special effects, plot, but also with a successful cast. One of the memorable roles, Arwen Undomiel on the screens embodied Liv Tyler. I would like to talk more about the characterization and embodiment of the character on the screen in this article.
Meaning of the name
John Tolkien liked to learn languages. He graduated from Oxford and taught medieval English literature. In his free time, the professor was amused by the fact that he invented his own languages. Once, he mixed Finnish and Welsh. So there was Sindarin, the language of the elves of Middle-earth, to which Arwen belonged.
Arwen in translation from Sindarin means "queen". Undomiel is not part of the name, but a nickname that means "evening star." So she was nicknamed the elves of Rivendell and Lorien, meaning that she lives in the last sunset times of the elves in Middle-earth.
She had beautiful gray eyes and long, thick black hair.
Origin of Arwen
Arwen Undomiel was born in Rivendell, the estate of her father Elrond. She had two brothers who occasionally meet in The Lord of the Rings, Elrohir and Helladan. The brothers were wanderers, trackers and roamed for a long time in the lands of Middle-earth.
Arwen's mother was Celebrian. She was the daughter of mistress Galadriel, who ruled the forest elves of Lorien. When Celebrian decided to visit her mother, an orc squad attacked her. Sons, Elrohir and Elladan, repelled the mother from the orcs, but she received serious injuries, both physical and mental. It was hard for her to recover from these wounds. Celebrian boarded the ship and left Middle-earth. She sailed into the country of eternity Valinor, where there is no disease and death.
Arwen came from the father of Earendil, and from the first elves from the house of Finarfin to the mother. Earendil was a man whose sons the Valars were given the choice between death and immortality. Elrond chose the path of the elves, and his brother Elros decided to remain mortal. Arven is an elf by birth, but the blood of her grandfather Earendil from the family of Hador, who was a human, flows in her blood.
Arwen and Galadriel
Those who watched the Lord of the Rings movie remember the mistress of the forest, Galadriel. The forest where Galadriel lived was called Lorien. He was beautiful because huge and beautiful Mallorne trees grew there, whose foliage was golden in color from autumn until spring. The heroes of the brotherhood of the ring found a warm welcome in the forest. The mistress Galadriel showed Frodo, in an enchanted bowl, the fate of Middle-earth, if the brotherhood campaign ended in failure.
Galadriel was Arwen's grandmother. When Celebrian sailed to Valinor, her daughter took Galadriel to her upbringing. Arwen grew up with her grandmother, and then returned to Rivendell to her father. In the photo above, Arwen Undomiel finds support and advice from Galadriel, which happened very often. She regularly visited Lorien, where she fell in love with Aragorn. On the hill of Kerin-Amroth, they swore love to each other.
Arwen and Elrond
In Middle-earth, Elrond was considered the wisest elf after Galadriel. He was born a man, but thanks to the feat of his father he got the opportunity to become an elf. Earendil realized that it was useless to fight evil in the person of Morgoth, so he went on a ship to Valinor to ask the eternal valar for help. They helped, overthrew and chained Morgoth in chains, and the descendants of Earendil were given the choice: either to remain humans, or to receive the gift of elves - eternal life. Elrond chose immortality.
The father and daughter had a very close relationship. When Elrond noticed that Aragorn fell in love with Arwen, he asked the man to leave his daughter alone. It's not that he did not like Aragorn, on the contrary, Aragorn was of noble birth and possessed all the qualities of a man. Elrond was worried that his daughter would fall in love with a man and give up immortality. It was hard for Elrond to imagine that his pet could die.
Arwen against the will of her father chose the fate of mortals. At the end of the book, she climbs into the mountains near Edoras, where she sees her father for the last time. The separation of Elrond and Arwen was sad. They knew that they would never meet again, because the fates of elves and people were different even after death.
Arwen and Aragorn
Arwen and Aragorn met in Rivendell. When a twenty-year-old man saw Elrond's daughter, he immediately fell in love with her, but after a serious conversation with his father, Aragorn left Rivendell and went to distant lands.
Many years later, Aragorn met Arwen in Lorien. Now falling in love was Arwen's turn. The matured Aragorn, with his article and appearance, reminded her of an elven ruler. They fell in love, talked for a long time and walked through the forest. When Aragorn had to leave, they vowed that they would be faithful to each other until the end of their lives.
When the peoples of Middle-earth fought against Sauron, Arwen spent these years in Rivendell, hoping for the victory of the people. All this time she was embroidering the banner of Elendil for her beloved. Arwen Undomiel, like the mithril chain mail when working on the banner, used the same precious material.
After the war, when Aragorn became king of Gondor, they married in Minas Tirith.
Death Arwen
Elves left Middle-earth and people became rulers of the earth under the rule of the wise king and his beautiful wife Arwen. The united kingdom of Arnor and Gondor has revived. Arwen gave birth to Aragorn two daughters and the heir to the throne, Eldarion.
Aragorn died when he turned 210 years old. People composed legends about the king and sang his strength and wisdom in songs. After the funeral, Arwen became completely lonely and sad. She said goodbye to the children and went to Lorien.
Once upon a time, the forest kingdom of the elves was filled with songs and light, but now, after the departure of the elves and one of the rings of power that Galadriel wore, the magical forest fell into decay. Even before spring arrived, when the Mallorn leaves fell, Arwen Undomiel died and was buried on a high hill.
Arwen chose the fate of mortal, and forever left Middle-earth, knowing the bitterness of human life.
Arwen Undomiel repeats the fate of the predecessor Lutien from the book The Silmarillion. Like Lúthien, she sacrifices the gift of immortality for her mortal husband. This is an important point for understanding Tolkien's philosophy. There is nothing more important than love between a man and a woman in this world. Arwen gives away the most precious thing that she has and what people strive for so much - immortality, only to stay forever with the person whom she loves very much.
Cinematography
In the movie trilogy of Peter Jackson, the role of Arwen Undomiel was played by Liv Tyler.
Liv Tyler was born in 1977 in Portland, USA. She is the daughter of famous rock musician and Aerosmith band leader Chris Tyler. Liv Tyler, who played the role of Arwen Undomiel, starred in many films, but world fame came to her after the release of the films “The Astronaut’s Wife” and “Armageddon”. The actress received good reviews from film critics for these films. She also starred in Martha Fiennes's 1999 film Onegin.
In preparation for the filming of The Lord of the Rings, the actress admitted that she took riding lessons and also studied Sindarin. In the film, the heroine Tyler in several episodes communicates in the language of the elves.
The actress admitted in an interview that all three films of the film trilogy were shot immediately, without a break. The film crew, including the actors, was very tired, but thanks to the warm atmosphere on the set there were no complaints or grievances. Liv Tyler, was very happy to see in the project Cate Blanchett, who played the role of Galadriel. According to Tyler, Kate is her favorite actress, who taught her a lot and helped cope with stress and stress.
Many critics after the premiere of the film noted that Liv Tyler and Arwen Undomiel are very similar, and the actress masterfully played the role of the elven princess.
Arwen in the book and in the movie Lord of the Rings
For clarity, we present the differences in the image of Arwen Undomiel in the film and the book in the form of a table:
Book | Film |
Elf Glorfindel helps Aragorn transport the wounded Frodo across the river, and Elrond enchants the water that sweeps the Black Horsemen | She rescues Frodo from the Black Riders, transports him across the river, and then enchanting the bustling streams of Bruinen. |
The Elf is shown only at a dinner party in Rivendell and at a wedding in Minas Tirith. | From time to time, they show the suffering of Arwen, her conversations with her father. She asks for forging the sword of Elendil and give it to Aragorn |
As you can see, Arwen in The Lord of the Rings is embodied on the screen and in the novel in different ways. Peter Jackson's film gives a broader interpretation of the character than a book. The director and screenwriters did not invent anything, they added materials from the application “The Legend of Aragorn and Arwen” to the plot of the trilogy, which the writer did not include in the main text of the novel.
Fans of Tolkien say that the actress and Arwen Undomiel in the film have nothing to do with the book, but it is worth agreeing with Liv Tyler, who said she agrees with Peter Jackson, who expanded the story of the elf and the person in the movie trilogy.