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 Elrond
and Peter Jackson's Aragorn
Jackson has elected to remove the
certainty of Aragorn's fate with a Modern's personification of
self doubt. And he has done this because he sees Aragorn as the
central character of The Lord of the Rings: the third installment
is called, after all, The Return of the King. For
Tolkien, Aragorn is heroic because he is a Hero. For Jackson,
Aragorn is a hero because he becomes one.
Analysis by Greg Wright
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THE FELLOWSHIP
OF THE RING
MONTHLY FEATURE: MARCH 2002
Elrond
and Peter Jackson's Aragorn
This
page was created on February 6, 2002
This page was last updated on
May 31, 2005
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Elrond and Peter Jackson's Aragorn
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In
April, 2004, this web page was annotated to address errors in
the text. Click on highlighted text to review errata.
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Elrond
the Warlord
For many die-hard Tolkien fans, The
Fellowship of the Ring will be memorable for its visualization
of the Last Alliance of Men and Elves against Sauron. The opening
sequence (with voice-over courtesy of Galadriel), in conjunction with
the flashback sequence during Gandalf's conversation with Elrond
in Rivendell, provides the audience with the perhaps unexpected treat
of a visit to the end of Tolkien's Second Age. Yet many a Tolkien-steeped
eyebrow may be raised at the role that Elrond is given to play in
the Last Alliance, and his commentary at the time of Frodo's arrival
at Rivendell.
In Tolkien's version of the story (it still seems odd to write such
a thing), the Last Alliance is forged between Isildur's father, Elendil,
and Gil-galad, the greatest of Elven warriors in Middle-earth. Gil-galad
and Elendil both perish in the desperate battle to overthrow Sauron.
Isildur stands by his father at his death, while Elrond, as Gil-galad's
herald, is by the Elf's side as he falls. Isildur goes to on regain
the throne of Gondor, of which Aragorn is the legitimate heir while
Boromir is next in line, after his father, as Steward. Elrond spends
the whole of the Third Age guarding Imladris (Rivendell) against the
Enemy while counseling, and eventually housing, the Dúnedain, or heirs
of Gondor's twin North Kingdom, Arnor. |
Elrond
the Lecturer
Elrond's
actions and behavior in Jackson's version of the story become hard
to explain. Here we find Elrond presented as, perhaps, the very
leader of the Last Alliance; as there is no mention of Gil-galad,
it is hard to tell. After the fall of Sauron on the slopes of Orodruin,
Elrond also ostensibly becomes Isildur's chief counsel; and is apparently
miffed to the tune of three thousand years that Isildur did not
take his advice: "I was there, Gandalf," he says, as if
Gandalf didn't already know. "I was there three thousand years
ago. Isildur took the Ring. I was there the day the strength of
Men failed. I led Isildur into the heart of Mount Doom, where the
Ring was forged, the one place it could be destroyed. It should
have ended that day. But evil was allowed to endure. Isildur kept
the Ring." The one thing that three thousand years has not
taught Elrond, apparently, is to speak less condescendingly to his
superiors.
He goes on to lecture Gandalf about the brokenness of Man: "The
line of Kings is broken. There is no strength left in the world
of Men. They are scattered, divided, leaderless." To which
Gandalf replies: "There is one who could unite them, who could
reclaim the throne of Gondor." That is, Aragorn.
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Aragorn
the Self-Doubting
Now here we find Gandalf telling Elrond something that
Elrond should also know full well, since Aragorn was actually raised
in Elrond's household, and was even informed of his true identity
as Isildur's heir by Elrond. But then, that was Tolkien's
Aragorn: Estel, the Hope of Men, Elessar the Elfstone, foretold
by prophecy, by vision and by name; the bearer of the shards of
Narsil, and in whom it was said that the might and nobility of Númenor
could be seen again. When Tolkien's Aragorn is introduced at Bree,
he comes complete with credentials and introductions from Gandalf,
even his own rhyme: "All that is gold does not glitter / Not
all those who wander are lost..." Jackson's Aragorn, however, only
comes with a five-o'clock shadow, a nickname and some clever repartee.
We can at least be grateful that Jackson didn't revert to calling
him "Trotter," as Tolkien originally did...
Why does Elrond speak so disdainfully of the Man who is pledged
to his rough-and-tumble, stallion ridin' daughter Arwen? Why is
it left to Legolas to stick up for Aragorn in the Council of Elrond?
Why does Aragorn seem so, well, in need of therapy, instead of like
Mad Max?
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Aragorn the Heroic
One reason, of course, is the usual concern of compact efficiency
in the narrative; another is the need to reduce the number of characters;
and a third is the need to introduce historical background through
the mouths of principal characters. But oddly enough, in a version
of Tolkien's story where almost every act of faith is replaced by
an act solidly supported by knowledge and fact, Jackson has elected
to remove the certainty of Aragorn's fate with a Modern's portrayal
of self doubt. And he has done this because he sees Aragorn as the
central character of The Lord of the Rings : the third
installment is called, after all, The Return of the King.
For Tolkien, Aragorn is heroic because he is a Hero. For Jackson,
Aragorn is a hero because he becomes one.
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 Further
Understanding Jackson
Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn, has been questioned about his
portrayal, and tells the press that Aragorn is less about "being"
and more about "becoming." We certainly see this as The
Fellowship of the Ring progresses. After Gandalf falls in Moria,
the Hobbits collapse in grief outside. It is at this moment that
Aragorn takes charge, encouraging Boromir, Gimli and Legolas to
keep the Hobbits moving. Even Boromir's attitude toward Aragorn
begins to change at this point, and in his dying breath in Aragorn's
arms he declares, "I would have followed you, my brother: my
captain, my king!"
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 Again,
it is in Jackson's creative choices that we find clues to his intent.
Yes, he has left out much of Tolkien's character-defining backstory
for Aragorn; but the invention of three key scenes (Elrond's conversation
with Gandalf, the grief of the Hobbits outside Moria, and Boromir's
death in Aragorn's arms) makes it clear that Jackson's Aragorn is
a Man who will have to win the hand of his betrothed. In this way,
and through the expansion of Arwen's role, Jackson has managed to turn The Lord of
the Rings into more of a romance than was intended by Tolkien.
Is this for good or ill? That all depends on how much of a purist
one is. For me, it makes the story work better as a movie; and I
look forward to further transformation of Aragorn, which in turn
points to the "transformation by the renewing of the mind"
that is possible for all in Christ. |
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