Why the Figster adores Arwen by Figwit
Because, yes, I do. I’m not one of those freaky bookfans who has Glorfindel listed as their favourite character and claim Arwen ‘should have stayed at home’.
Admittedly, I was very afraid about how Arwen would turn out when I saw her with a blade in a magazine, and I certainly didn’t like her at first. But I guess I was acting like a purist, and after a while – as I started to dig deeper into the movies, mostly stimulated by conversations I had here in the forums – I began to see that Arwen in the movie really isn’t that different from the Arwen I loved in the books.
One of the things I adored about her character, was her strength and her determination. I always believed her love was one of those things that drove Aragorn, that kept him going. From that point of view, which the film makers obviously shared, it was very important to have her in the movies and have her do something.
I think having her replace Glorfindel was a good idea: most movie fans are confused enough as it is with all the names and faces, and adding another blonde Elf on a horse was not going to help that. I don’t think Glorfindel isn’t very important either, though through his background he points at the Sil and the long history of the Elves.
The scene I like best is the one where she stands behind Aragorn and talks to him about his fears, and their hopes for the future: she seems every inch the wise immortal Elf lady she was to me in the book.
7 Comments
I agree with you, figwit. I’ve not read the books, but have done research on Arwen’s character from the books as it compares to her character from the movies, and, like they did with a few other characters, most notably Aragorn and Faramir, PJ and Co. changed Arwen’s situations and participation in the story without changing what makes her who and what she is in the books.
Agreed. I’ve tried to explain this sort of thing to many people, but they all take the purist stand. *sigh* Oh, well…
God Bless and Jesus Saves!
ElvenFire~
I was so confused when I saw FotR for the first time, thinking,”Why does Glorfindel want to kill Strider? And since when is he a drag queen? Oh, that’s Arwen…” I thought she was ok in the movies, but I was to the point of gagging about how much she cried. I just thought someone who was related to two of the ringbearers, Galadriel being the most powerful elf of all (says so in “The Sil”), wouldn’t be such a damsel-in-distress.
Goddess Bless!
I too wished they had stayed true to the books and it kind of burns when Arwen calls the flood, and that it is her and not Glorfindel…but we have to look at it this way: Another elf (blonde elf as figwit referred to them), and this one just appearing for the better part of 30 seconds, would have been much too confusing for the somewhat simple minds that find reading LOTR a waste of time. (The shock and horror, I know.) While the “damsel-in-distress” natures of both Arwen and Eowyn tend to drive me into a corner and a near Gollum-tranformation some of their character remains the same as the book. Though I must say, there is a time and place to cry, all through the movie grating on my nerves is not one of them. I do say I am a book purist there are some things that really burn my eyes and make me believe Tolkien had to awakened in his grave by now but I was also the one in my family that almost wore our DVD out rewatching the Ford scene over and over. (I memorized the chant too)
The crying was quite…annoying to say the least, but I couldn’t figure out why they placed Arwen instead of Glorfindel at the ford, but you are right, because it would be confusing to the viewer and less enjoyable for aesthetic reasons if yet another “hot” male elf were to be included. So Arwen must be a balance for all the testosterone.
although I would have liked to have seen Glorfindel, I don’t mind what PJ did… I agree about the crying though. Arwen is NOT one of the things that bugs me about the films.
Why is everyone so worked up about the crying??? As far as I remember (and I’ve watched the trilogy more times than I can count) she cries exactly three times – once at the Ford when it becomes apparent that Frodo is just inches away from wraithhood, once in TTT when Elrond is going on about how she’ll be wandering around, wallowing in grief for the rest of forever when Aragorn, the love of her life, inevitably dies, and once in RotK when she has the vision of Aragorn and her son and realizes what she’s leaving behind. I personally don’t blame her for shedding a few tears in those situations.
Also, could someone please rationally explain to me exactly what makes her a “damsel in distress”?