Arwen Marine - Origine du nom

Where does this name "Arwen" come from anyway?

"ARWEN" is the name of an Elvish princess in J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece "Lord of the Rings", published in 1954 and recently adaptated to film by New-Zealander Peter Jackson (in three movies from 2001 to 2003). According to Tolkien, Arwen translates as "evening star" (or Evenstar). To put it short, Arwen gives up her Elvish immortality to bind her fate with a mortal man's, Aragorn, heir to the world's throne, which he will have to defend against Sauron, incarnation of the absolute evil.

In the mythology in which Tolkien tells the story of the Lord of the Rings (a very long construction of Tolkien's in two decades, 1930s and 40s), men emerge as inheritors of the world ("Middle Earth") because the "Elder Races" are fading away. Sauron wants to rise again to conquer the world (he had previously been vanquished by the union of Men, Elves, and other allied races), and the trilogy recounts this second confrontation until the victory of Men and their allies, which this effort finishes to convince to "fade" away (the Elves sail back to a distant unsunken Atlantis, hence they had come centuries earlier.)

Arwen, scion of the highest line amongst Elves, falls in love with Aragorn, greatest among Men, whose destiny it is to reclaim his forefather's throne, Elendil, fallen centuries earlier because he gave in to the lure of the Ring's power, after wrangling it from the hand of Sauron. To wed Aragorn, Arwen must give up her race's immortality (it is interesting to note that she is 3000 years old when she makes this decision, whereas Aragorn is a mere 80 years old and will die in his 240s...) but she knows that her genes will strengthen Aragorn's (himself best "stock" among Men) and thus give a chance to their offspring to firmly establish Men's domination in Middle Earth.

There is therefore a strong meaning to this renouncement by Arwen, sacrificing immortality in the name of the survival of Men and for the love of one man. If this man is strong enough to unite the forces of Good and with them defeat Sauron, he might prove himself worthy of this sacrifice and carry the hope of Men's survival.

Liv Tyler as Arwen in Peter Jackson's film.

A description of Arwen under Tolkien's pen:

"Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost; her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring."

Like all feminine characters in his work, Tolkien gives her but a small place in the Lord of the Rings, whereas Peter Jackson is a bit more generous on sreen, while remaining remarkably true to Tolkien's legacy...

The decision made by Arwen to give up a well known and comfortable life lacking a future in favor of a chancy and very costly venture towards a magnificent goal appears to me as beautiful analogy to my own venture... although giving up a job in IT, as well paid as it was, hardly compares giving up immortality! (more about my career in "The Enterprise - In the Beginning...")

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