Middle-earth Journeys

Speaking of which, Galadriel is also a good candidate for patience queen of Middle-earth: how many years between her rebellion and her 'passing the test'?

Lindariel wrote: When I first read the books as a teenager, I couldn't be bothered to peruse the Appendices, and for a very long time I nursed a rather HUGE grudge against Arwen for being the "useless Elven princess who robbed Eowyn of her rightful husband." . . . wasn't that just dreadful of me?!) Does any of that sound familiar?

It does sound familiar to me, Lindariel - but in the opposite way. For years I bore a huge grudge against Eowyn for trying to lure Aragorn from Arwen . . . . Only later did I come to appreciate Eowyn fully. Now I regard her as one of the most rounded characters in the book.

Merry, I like your point about Galadriel. Generations of waiting . . . !!

It's interesting how we all see Arwen and her role. Tolkien did leave a lot of leeway for our imagination and now I know that she came quite late into the tale, I can see why.

I do see her as actively helping Aragorn through love, support and elven powers but she still had to wait, and wait a very long time, before they could be together. She had to wait for events to reach a crisis - and these were events she couldn't 'push along' or manipulate. All of that was out of her hands and she must have wondered when, or even if, she'd ever see Aragorn as King.