The Unveiling of Arwen

The reason I haven't been writing a lot lately is three-fold: I haven't had much inspiration lately, when I do write, I write an overwhelming amount that can span an hour or two, and I don't force myself to write.

"This type of writing should happen organically. Not as in expensive spinach at the grocery store, but as in naturally."  Lmao.  Truer words.

So I went to see the next installment of The Hobbit yesterday.  I’ll say no more on it other than I’m glad I only had to pay $5 for my ticket and got free popcorn out of the deal.  Methinks I’ll just read the book again.  I did, however, think it interesting that there were so many references to light in the movie, especially since this was yesterday’s Gospel.

I recently watched the entire Lord of the Rings extended version DVD sets.  They’re not “the trilogy,” because Tolkien wrote it all as one book.  While I’m not a complete and utter Tolkien freak, I do consider myself somewhat educated regarding this work.  I’ve been to the Marquette University Library twice to see the archives.  A while back, I had to sell a ton of my books, and the LOTR set, including The Hobbit (along with the complete hardcover sets of Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events because I knew they’d sell), were among the first to go.  It was pretty painful.  Books are one of my favorites.  I found this little gem a few months ago and purchased it immediately.  

 

I do hope they publish Lord of the Rings in the same way.  I’m pretty particular about having matching sets/series of books (I still have all the paperback copies of HP, btw). 

Anyways.  I read The Hobbit and LOTR and attempted The Silmarillion (heh).  While I never got even through half of it, I loved the rest of the books, and I didn’t even read them until after I saw The Fellowship in the theatre at the midnight showing with all my geeky, larping friends.  And, then, we had a hobbit food feast after.  We didn’t dress up or anything, though, but I wouldn’t have put it past a few of them. 

Anyways, I fell in love with the movies.  They’re so beautiful; the cinematography and score are absolutely resplendent.  I immediately bought the books, but I didn’t get around to reading them until after I saw The Return of the King.  While the LOTR movies can never truly do the books justice, they are a phenomenal effort.  Now, mind you, when I first saw these films, I was a raging, pro-abortion feminazi.  Actually, I think I posted about it on my xanga.  I found it and edited it a weeeee bit. 

December 20, 2002:  Lord of the Rings- a second serving. 

Boy.  Am I effing disappointed. 

Being the feminist bitch that I am, I got really pissed off that the male characters kept referring to the “women and children.”  Sure, great, I understand mommies who need to take care of their babies, but what about the sword wielding badass woman, Éowyn? 

 

She is introduced to the audience as a very strong feminist character who does not wish to be “caged” because she is a woman.  Aragorn even tells her that she is very talented with a sword.  But.  Does she come out into battle swords blazing?  No.  Does she even TRY to disguise herself as a man so she CAN fight?  EFF NO.  Did they let the 12 year old boys with long hair who looked like little girls fight instead?  YES.

WHAT THE EFF.

Now, I haven’t read the books. I don’t intend to.  And, from what I’ve heard, Peter Jackson has changed a lot of stuff around.  For instance, he made the parts of Galadriel and Arwen much more substantial, which is why I thought the part of Éowyn would be much better.  My first response as I walked out of the movie theatre: “I’m going to effing call peter jackson and demand my 7.50 back.” 

I went to the movie with someone who had read the book, and she said that it stopped right in the middle of the book.  WTF?  You’re just going to leave us hanging, Petey?

Also, what the hell is with all the violence????  I mean, I know that’s what’s supposed to happen, but if 3/4 of the effing movie WASN’T battle scenes, maybe they would have finished the second book in the whole 3 hours. 

Someone told me that “Two Towers is supposedly four times better than the first one.”  ACK.  Four times better, my ass.

The first one held my attention; this one put me to sleep.  Gimli as the comical relief started getting annoying after his second joke, and he had a lot more jokes than that.  I will have to say that the special effects were kickass, and Gollum is really cool, AND there was some quality man weeping- so it wasn’t ALL horrible.

But, give me a taste of a strong character and then show me that she’s actually a wimp… that.  THAT really effing pisses me off.

Out.

You can just feel how hurt, angry, hateful, and completely ignorant I was.  If you can't, then my proclivity to extensively utilize the f-bomb should clue you in. 

I find this so incredibly hilarious, even though it’s so twisted.  Éowyn symbolized such a great standard of feminazi power for me: she’s strong, independent, questions authority, etc.  When I saw the Two Towers, I was pissed because she was left to “tend to the children” whilst the men were out fighting.

This week, I found this fascinating blogpost about the idiocy and ineptitude of today’s male “heroes” depicted in the movies. I gotta agree with this guy’s thoughts, though. 

Honestly, the 60s were a terrible thing for women.  Authentic femininity and masculinity have been bastardized so much since then.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that women should only be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen (I wouldn’t mind it).  Nor am I saying they should be raging man-eaters wielding their proverbial swords (I have one of those, too.  A real one.  It’s a claymore.  And it’s for my future husband). The reason male heroes have become so clumsy and stupid is because society teaches women that we can become the man, which is why we don’t need one.

And guess what?  We don’t.

I don’t need a man to slay my dragons; I can do it myself (Well, false.  I don’t particularly need an earthly man, heh).  I don’t need one to make me feel like I’m the only pretty one on the planet.  I don’t need one to help me fix my car, do my taxes, build things, chop wood, or shoot a gun.

But you know what?  It’d sure be freaking fabulous to have that help.  Because doing all that kind of work is NOT what my heart longs for.  It’s what his longs for (or whatever, depending on what he likes to do).  Regardless, he longs to show off his prowess (and intelligence), which, in turn, provides me with what my heart years for: to be cherished.

Can I slay dragons?  You be your ass I can.  I’ve a whole pile of their carcasses around here somewhere, and some of them would make Smaug look like Puff the Magic Dragon.  But, what if I just let him help me?  What if I gave him the opportunity to ESTO VIR?  To Be a Man?!  To encourage his warrior heart?

See, the lie to women, well, one of them, anyways, is that asking for help is a sign of weakness (this goes for men, too).  It’s a sign of defeat.  And we are strong!  STRONG, I tell you!  I mean, we only push something the size of a small watermelon out an opening the size of a grapefruit, ya know.   We can have 6-figure incomes.  We can land on the moon.  We can play on high school football teams with the boys.  We can accomplish the impossible!  Hear us ROAR!  We can do it!

Oh, shut the hell up and get over yourself.  Big deal.  And before all of you moms out there get all your knickers in a twist and start yelling at me about how painful birth is and yell at me because I haven’t given it yet, or all you women Marines who have made it through hell week want to kick me in the face, or etc etc etc, I have one question:

Honestly, where is there more strength?  In pride?  Or humility?  Who are you pointing to?  Yourself, or to others?  Yourself, or to God?

BOOM.

Anyways.  When I ask a man to help slay my dragons (the biggest and most resilient of which is Pride.  That one’s about the size of Manhattan), I enable him to be the man, and he invites me to be the woman.  And KABOOM the outcome is twofold: my dragons are dead, or at least severely maimed, and I’ve got a warrior fighting along side me who knows I’m worth the fight.  (Um, and please don’t read this as if I’m talking solely about romantic interests.  I call out all my guy friends and relatives to fight for me.  The really virtuous ones always man-up.  A LOT.  And, there are, like, 5 of you out there.  So thank you.) 

This.  THIS is why I love Éowyn .  She’s a warrior princess who wields a sword in a gown, has waist length hair, cooks (rather awfully), and knows how to comfort the kids. 

Oh, AND SHE FREAKING KILLS THE WITCH-KING OF ANGMAR.

 

But guess what?  She doesn’t do it alone.  A man helps her.  Well, half a man, anyways.  Merry, by complementing Éowyn in the battle, allows her to be who she was created to be by giving her the opportunity to do it.    Man gives her the opportunity to be woman, which is evident when she almost whispers:

“I am no man.”

Give.  Everything is gift.  Gift.  (All I can think about right now is Spehar saying, “Everything is gift.  Everything is gift.”  Heh)

But we take.  We grab.  We pull.  We push.  We are blind.  We are starving.  We are wounded.

And we are more than conquerors.  

Women can conquer.  We can win.  We can do things just as well as he can, or even better. 

But who cares?  If we do it alone, out of pride and vainglory, it is nothing.

WHEW!  Tangents!  Anyways.

This post.  This post is about Lady Arwen.

Now.  It’s been a long time since I’ve actually read the books, and I’ve only read them once, so I’m just gonna go off the movies, assuming that you’ve seen them. 

There are, first of all, so many plotlines in Lord of the Rings that it can drive you mad.  One of the subplots focuses on the relationship between Arwen and Aragorn.  (See what Tolkien did there?)  My favorite thing about this relationship is the way in which Arwen encourages Aragorn. 

The temptation for woman is to nag man.  Belittle and badger.  Demean and diminish.  Through fear of failure.  This is wrong wrong wrong.  When I think of this, I think of how Vivian demeans Johnny in Walk the Line:  “You gonna try today, John?  I mean, really try?”  What utter, passive-aggressive nonsense.  He’s already trying as hard as he can, you unsympathetic hosebeast.  Your fear-mongering only makes it worse. 

Encouragement is a completely different creature.  A woman who wants to encourage a man builds him up.  She knows his failures and flaws, but she doesn’t harp on them.  Nor does she overlook them.  She encourages, enables, and challenges him to be victorious over them.  She knows they can be conquered, and, if they aren’t, she encourages him to try again.  Woman’s encouragement to man stirs up a deeply hidden warrior in the pit of his guts and armors him up to run, screaming, into battle.  She sees the beauty, strength, and potential in the man, and draws it out of him with truth, beauty, and goodness.  Her affirmation calls him to battle, and he, seeing she’s worth the fight, marches in, which gives her the opportunity to encourage him more. 

It’s a resplendent cycle.  Gift gift gift gift.

Anyways.  Back to Evenstar and Elessar.  (See what Tolkien did there?)

When we first meet Arwen, Frodo’s just been stabbed by a Morgul blade.  Arwen shows up to aid the group.  She and Aragorn have a quick discussion of who’s to take Frodo to Rivendell.  She says, bluntly, “I’m the faster rider […] I do not fear them.”  This is not a belittling of Aragorn’s talents and prowess as a man, but just a statement of fact.  She knows that this talents and life would be wasted if he were to go.  He knows this, and, because of the way she made the statement, doesn’t feel threatened by her abilities, so he acquiesces.  This is incredibly symbolic: a woman on a horse, with a small male, escaping evil.  Ring a bell?  Arwen isn’t emasculating Aragorn because she’s not going to be “actively fighting” (id est, with a sword, chopping off heads and slashing guts) in a masculine sense.  Instead, she is carrying life away from danger in the fastest way she possibly can, the way any good woman (mother) should.  Aragorn knows that, as woman, Arwen is a bearer of life, and this task will encourage her femininity, which is why he gives her the opportunity to do it.  And she does so, nobly, bravely, and purely, which captivates his masculine warrior heart.  Virtue attracts virtue.  Holiness attracts holiness.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  Proverbs 27:17

After the troupe settles to Rivendell to await Frodo’s healing and the council, Aragorn and Arwen meet where the shards of Narsil are displayed.  One of the things she says to Aragorn at this point is, “You are Isildur’s heir, not Isildur himself.”

Statement of fact.  Statement of the greatness that she sees in him: the ability to rise above his past to victory.  She sees his potential and challenges it in a healthy way, in a true and good way that encourages him instead of diminishing him. 

Then.  Then what does she do?  This powerful woman, capable of fending off 9 ring-wraiths with fearsome aquatic river-fillies, goes to her father.  Her daddy, who seems to be grim, grumpy, a bit defeated, and unyielding.  He’s discouraged, despondent, and despairing (the three marks of the devil in the spiritual life).  And she begs him.  She calls him out to man-up against his darkness, against his own dragons of doubt and fear.  Out of love, she pleas with purity and innocence for not only the man she loves, but for the good of everyone.  For life.  She stands for life. 

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadow shall spring,

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

She challenges his masculinity, too, in a good, true, and beautiful way that is healthy.

And what does he do?

HE FREAKING MANS-UP FOR HIS BELOVED DAUGHTER.

He re-forges the shards of Narsil into another sword: Anduril, flame of the west.  Then he challenges Aragorn on the eve of battle, in a way man can challenge another man:

“Put aside the ranger.  Become who you were born to be.”

(At this point in the movie, I’m usually going nuts.  There’s nothing that makes my heart race more and captivates my attention like authentic masculinity, even if it is coming from a fair-skinned, smooth-chinned, long-haired, dress-wearing elf.  Heh.)

Arwen’s intercession to her father gives Aragorn the opportunity to be the man he needs to be.  The man he was born to be: for her, for everyone, an heir to the Kingdom.  It also allows Elrond to be the man he was created to be, a humble king who has the strength to defeat his demons of doubt. 

It’s all very theological, too, if you’d like to take that spin.  It’ll blow your mind.  But for now, we press on. 

There’s a bit of psychological relationship drama in the film as Lover pines for Beloved and vice versa.  Both men know that Arwen is close to death.  As she represents life, it is only fitting that she should fade as death’s representations become more powerful.  At the crowing of Aragorn, after the battle is won and order is on its way to being restored, we’re not even sure about her because she hasn’t been mentioned for a while (in the movie, anyways).

This.  THIS is my favorite scene in the movie, aside from Eowyn killing the witch king.  But that appeals to my inner warrior.  This next moment just makes my inner princess long to be protected and cherished, and I’ve affectionately dubbed it:

 The Unveiling of Arwen

Aragorn and Legolas give each other a bro-pat.  Without saying anything, Legolas gives a knowing shift of his eyes in the direction of King Elrond over his shoulder.

The score in the background quiets, and the screen pans over to Elrond.  The elves part as we see a banner of Minas Tirith next to him.  There are tears in his eyes as the banner (veil) is moved aside slowly to reveal Arwen.  As her face is finally unveiled, the look on Aragorn’s face is just priceless.   It’s full of such intense longing and unbelief.  We pan back to Elrond and Arwen.  His face shines with pride.  The good kind of pride.  The kind of pride a father has for his daughter when he approves of her beloved.  And he approves because her father knows Aragorn is a good* man who is worthy of her.  She is also close to tears. 

*Note: Aragorn is not just trying to “be a good person,” but he is an embodiment of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Elrond steps forward slightly, and, although you can’t hear his words, he clearly whispers to his daughter, “Go to him.”  The look on his face at this point is so heartbreaking to behold.  He’s giving her away, allowing her the opportunity to be the woman, and to be protected by another man.

Aragorn is just stunned.  He’s stunned by her life and beauty and overcome with affection for her.  Elrond has given him another opportunity to be the man he was created to be: one who will honor, protect, and cherish Arwen.  (Man, I must be fertile!!)  And so he does.  Aragorn doesn’t say anything when Arwen can’t look him in the eye and drops her chin, but, instead, lifts up her face in his hands (by the way, we women love that.  And anyone who says differently is a damn liar.), and plants a kiss on her.

KABOOM.  Showering affection on your beloved in front of tons of people pretty much earns you a BILLION man-points.  Anyways.

The next noise we hear from Arwen is an excited little giggle that is accompanied by the most adorable little smile.   

She knows she is cherished by a man who will fight for her. 

All she wants, all any of us want (man or woman), is to be loved.  Women are warriors, but we’re princesses, too.  We can’t have one without the other, or it gets twisted, unbalanced, and out of control.  I’m pretty much living proof of that.  There must be a good balance (as Aristotle would say, hah!).  And the best way to keep this balance is to make sure that there are good, brave, faithful, and noble men in your life- and to challenge them to be authentically masculine so they can give you the opportunity to be the woman.  If you’re a man, it’s wise to have good, brave, faithful, and noble women in your life who challenge you to man-up and allow them the opportunity to embrace authentic femininity.  Virtue attracts virtue.  Holiness attracts holiness.  We need to challenge one another in healthy and complementary ways, encourage one another in battle, fight alongside in our own way, and help one another cast aside what society tries to make of us so we can be who we were born to be.