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In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn and Arwen’s romance is a strong thread that weaves throughout the plot and survives an incredible amount of struggle. But the inspiration behind their story isn’t even included in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. In Tolkien’s extensive lore, the tale of Beren and Lúthien is one of the most iconic stories, being mentioned in several books, including the original Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. It’s the story of a mortal man, Beren, and an immortal elf-maiden, Lúthien, and their perilous journey to share their love.
While the plot of Aragorn and Arwen’s love story is dramatically different from Beren and Lúthien’s, it’s directly inspired by the seemingly impossible pairing of a man and an elf. Both stories show the obstacles that must be overcome in order to fully accept their relationships and how love can survive even the darkest of situations.
Beren was the last survivor of a group of Men in Dorthonion and, after the defeat of his companions, he fled to Doriath. There, he meets Lúthien, the only daughter of King Thingol and his wife Melian. Beren fell in love with Lúthien on sight, and, shortly after, the feelings were returned by Lúthien. But her father disapproved of Beren, finding him unworthy of his only daughter, and worried about the fact that he is a mortal. To prove to Thingol that he’s worth the love of Lúthien, Beren vows to collect one of the famously rare Silmaril jewels on Thingol’s request — a seemingly impossible task set up to have Beren fail.
Beren sets off on his quest, and Lúthien soon follows after him to help. On his way in Angband, Beren and his comrades are seized by Sauron’s men and imprisoned in Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Slowly, they are killed off one by one until there’s only Beren and Finrod left. Meanwhile, on her own journey, Lúthien manages to seize control of Sauron’s tower and forces him to flee thanks to the help of Huan, a massive hound. After she gains control of the tower, she frees Beren and they continue on their quest to fetch a Silmaril. However, while they eventually were able to steal one, which is an incredible feat, Beren ends up losing both the jewel and his hand to Carcharoth, a giant werewolf. Dejected, Beren and Lúthien head back to Doriath empty-handed.
Though he had failed the task set before him, Thingol sees Beren’s dedication and approves of his pairing with his daughter. But soon after their return, Carcharoth follows them to Doriath and causes mass destruction, eventually killing Beren, though he was able to steal the Silmaril back from him before dying. Lúthien, absolutely heartbroken, dies from her own devastating grief and follows Beren to the Halls of Mandos. But Mandos, the keeper of the halls of the dead, feels pity for the couple and decides to bring them both back to life. He also blesses Lúthien with mortality so that she can be with Beren, allowing the couple to live out the rest of their days peacefully.
While this isn’t an exact comparison to Aragorn and Arwen’s love story, one can easily see where the inspiration comes from. Elves and mortal Men never seem like a good match. But like Lúthien before her, Arwen was willing to sacrifice her immortality so that she could spend her days with Aragorn. It didn’t make sense to her to live forever if she couldn’t be with the one she loves, even if her father Elrond disagrees. And like Thingol, Elrond sees the dedication that Aragorn shows in his daily life and his love for his daughter, and eventually softens his hard stance on their romance. While Beren and Lúthien’s story was never dramatized on film, Aragorn and Arwen’s romance is the modern re-telling of the classic and impossible romance between Elves and Men.
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