TolkienMovies.com
August 9, 2001

Arwen: No Need for Change
Greg M.

Some have claimed that the (probable) changes to the role of Arwen in the movie are necessary because she does not do enough in the books to be seen "to help" Aragorn, and that this is anomalous since she loved him so dearly. That is simply not true. She did much to help if you read the text carefully. But her help was more subtle than can be portrayed in a quick soundbyte. There is no need to turn her into an Amazon. Eowyn already fulfills that role perfectly adequately. In Tolkien's tale, Arwen's weapons are sewing needles, sage advice, spells and songs, not the sword. It will be indeed a great shame if her character as portrayed by Liv Tyler becomes merely another Xena look alike to appeal to the Millenial Generations. Oh well, at least they got the color of her hair right.