Overall, Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of theLord of the RingsandThe Hobbithave been resoundingly successful, with as many faithful and honest representations to the books as possible. A few key things were changed in the films, such asAragorn’s character shying away from the throne of Gondor, which Jackson believed would give him a better character arch, andFrodo sending Sam awayafter their fight over the Lembas bread, which resulted in him entering Shelob’s lair alone, unlike the books.
However, one of the most notable directorial decisions that the team made was to bring the character of Arwen into the main story. In Tolkien’s original text, Arwen hardly features, and the love story between her and Aragorn can only be found in the Appendices. In the film adaptations, her character is brought to life in a much more concrete way, and given scenes like herrescue of Frodo at the Fords of Bruinen, and her appearance to Aragorn in dreams and visions, to help guide him in the right direction throughout the War of the Ring. Unfortunately, there is much controversy surrounding her character, because of one key decision that the team made: to tie her fate to that of the Ring of Power.
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There are so many strong and powerful characters in theLord of the Rings, most notable of whom are Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien, who has the power to see visions past and future, and tosend evil things out of the world, and of course Eowyn the shieldmaiden of Rohan, whodisguises herself as Dernhelmand rides to battle with the men, to protect her Uncle Theoden from the Witch King and his Fell Beast.
Both of these characters show different kinds of strength, or Galadriel it is wisdom and authority, as one of the oldest beings in Middle Earth she has gathered her skills and her wits about her, making her realm one of the safest, but also one of the most mysterious and deadly when it is crossed, which is how she protects her people. For Eowyn, her strength lies in her will and in her heart. She has so much courage, and combined with her deep compassion, it makes for a formidable warrior. She demonstrates incredible battle prowess, and proves herself bydefeating one of the worst of Sauron’s army, and she does it for the love of her home and her people. But manyLord of the Ringsfans feel that Arwen was not given the same powerful persona as the others.
All of the elves' fates are linked, in some ways, to the One Ring. This is both because the three elven rings of power will fade once the One Ring has been destroyed, and also because the destruction of Sauron will bring about the end of the Age of elves, and start a new Age of men. The elves will pass out of the lands, across the seas into the west. But in the movie adaptations, Arwen’s fate is joined to the ring in a much more specific and unusual way, which means that as Frodo bears the ring closer and closer to Mount Doom to obliterate it, Arwen’s aura directly begins to fade. It is suggested in the films that “Arwen is dying. She will not long survive the evil that spreads through Mordor '' and that “As Sauron’s power grows, her strength wanes. Her fate is now tied to the One Ring.”
This is a problematic link, because it means that Arwen’s fate is bound to simply fade out of existence, whilst the others around her fight to prevent Sauron consuming the world. She therefore became an unpopular character for many, because it seems that she is simply willing to lay down and die without challenging or opposing the fate that has been set for her.
There were scenes originally filmed in which Arwen appeared atthe Battle of Helm’s Deep, and with her sword and her armor, helped to stave the onslaught of the orcs trying to seize it. It was ultimately decided that it didn’t fit into the overall arch of the story. Many feel that this would have added depth to her character, and shown that she wished to prevent the evils from taking over Middle Earth rather than just watching it idly whilst she suffered.
Those who are fans of Arwen, who do feel that she is a formidable character, argue that not all strength comes from battle and magic. She has a different kind of power, one of resilience and endurance in the face of terrible corruption, and one of defiance, to choose for herself to stay in Middle Earth with the man she loves despite it possibly resulting in her death, rather than to go tothe Undying Landswith her people. In tying Arwen’s fate to that of the One Ring, Jackson aimed to show that there is more at stake than just the trees and the innocent creatures, there is also the light of the world that can never be allowed to succumb to the dark.
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