Who is Arwen in the movie?
Arwen is the daughter of Elrond, the Elf-Lord of Rivendell. She is an immortal Elf, but she gives up her immortality to be with Aragorn, the Man she is in love with. In this respect she’s a bit like Lúthien, who became mortal to be with Beren the Man.

Who was Arwen in the book?
Arwen Undómiel is the daughter of Elrond and Celebrían, and the sister of Elrohir and Elladan. She is betrothed to Aragorn, whom she met in the gardens of Rivendell and later again in Lothlórien, where her grandmother Galadriel dwells. She is of the line of Lúthien and Beren, and is a lot like her in that respect: she too has chosen to forsake immortality to be with the Man she loves.

Changes in ‘Fellowship of the Ring’
The Flight to the Ford
In the books, Strider and the Hobbits are travelling to Rivendell with a weakening Frodo on the back of Bill the Pony, when they come across Glorfindel, a great Elf-lord who was sent from Rivendell to find them. Glorfindel lends Frodo his horse Asfaloth and orders it to carry the Ring-bearer to safety. At the Ford of the Bruinen, the Ringwraiths attempt to take the Ring from Frodo, but Frodo’s courage and the spring-tide triggered by Elrond wipes the Wraiths out. On the other shore, Glorfindel and the companions use torches to drive all the remaining Nazgûl in the water.

In the movie, there’s no Glorfindel coming to the rescue. In stead, it’s Arwen who comes across Strider and helps him tend to Frodo. When it becomes clear that only Elrond can heal the rapidly weakening Hobbit, Arwen offers to take him to Rivendell on her horse Asfaloth. She is chased by the Ringwraiths, and at the Ford of Bruinen she lures the Wraiths into the water and then calls the flood.

Rivendell
The Many Meetings-chapter [2.I.] is actually the only time Arwen appears in Fellowship of the Ring. She is present at the feast that is held in honour of Frodo’s recovery, and Frodo sees her from afar and admires her beauty.

In the movie, she talks to Aragorn after his little chat with Boromir, and tries to convince him of the fact that he is not necessarily as weak as his forefather Isildur.
Later that same evening, she gives Aragorn her pendant, symbolising the fact that she gives up her immortality to be with the Man she loves.

When the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, she is present to say goodbye to Aragorn.


Anke Eissmann – The First Meeting of Aragorn and Arwen (detail)

Mistakes
Arwen has grey eyes, not blue.

Bookie Details
– When standing on the bridge, Aragorn says about their first meeting: ‘I thought I had strayed into a dream’. As a matter of fact, Aragorn walked into Arwen in the gardens of Rivendell after she had spent a rather long time in Lothlórien, whilst singing the lay of Beren and Lúthien. Because she resembled Lúthien so much, he called out to her, as Beren had: ‘Tinúviel, Tinúviel’.

The Evenstar is described as ‘a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain’.

Quotes
She’s supposed to be about a thousand years old – even if she looks like Liv Tyler. We wanted to somehow convey the wisdom inherent to a very old age, and she suggested trying a lower voice.
Peter Jackson about why Arwen after all díd convince the fans [‘The Lord Of the Rings: The Two Towers (special)’ {Focus Knack 11/12/2002}]

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Alternate Viewpoints/Questions [Submit Viewpoint/Question]

Related Information
Articles that clarify the changes in Arwen::
- Aragorn by atalante_star
- Elrond by atalante_star


Interesting Links:
Our Gallery has a seperate section devoted to Arwen Undómiel. It also has the screencaps of The Flight to the Ford, Many Meetings and The Departure From Rivendell.

A transcript of Lord Of the Rings: Fellowship Of the Ring can be found in our Film Fun & Facts section.

A summary of Lord Of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring can be found in Elrond's Library.

You can also check out some pictures of Liv Tyler in our Cast & Crew Gallery, or read a short biography in our Film, Fun & Facts section.

Some articles that are related to Arwen Undómiel:
The Middle-earth section of Elrond's Library has articles on Arwen (by Evenstar 01) and Lúthien (by Hathaldir), as well as the The lay of Beren and Lúthien and a family tree of The House of Elwë and Olwë.

Forum threads related to Arwen or Liv Tyler:
- You can discuss the Flight at the Ford-sequence in Sequence by sequence #10: Flight To the Ford.
- Some other interesting threads about Arwen include I Don't Like Arwen/Liv and The Ultimate Sacrifice, both in the Movie Forum.
- The Casting forum has a thread devoted to actress Liv Tyler.
- More info on Arwen as a book character and her part in Tolkien's complex mythology can be found in Half-Elves in the Book Forum.

Take a look at how some artists saw Arwen Undómiel:
- The Long Wait Of Arwen Evenstar by Michael Green
- Arwen by Gwyllion
- A Sketch of Arwen by Hope Hoover
- Arwen by John Howe
- Arwen by Deana Kay
- Arwen by Kionurin
- Arwen sketch by lilybagginspip21
- Arwen by Angus McBride
- Arwen by ncouto
- Arwen by Maija Pietikäinen
- Arwen by Peter Xavier Price
- Arwen by Simbrie_Nytesky
- Arwen in Rivendell by Per Sjögren
- Arwen by soraco
- Undómiel Undying by Vamm Goda

Looking for something more creative - you may find it here:
Achieve Evenstar Beauty by FallenAngel26 explains how you can become as beautiful Arwen.
For a more humorous take on our beloved princess, check out Cassandra Claire's Very Secret Diary of Arwen
The Humor Section as an Arwen comic by Zoe.

Preview the Arwen Chat Skin here.