The Remarkable Character Growth of Middle-earth’s Elves
Wise, beautiful, and seemingly ageless, it is easy to assume that the Elves of Middle-earth are perfect. The Elves in The Lord of the Rings are no exception. Legolas is an exemplary fighter. Elrond is a masterful lore-keeper and skilled healer. Galadriel possesses all but unfathomable wisdom and power. And Arwen is courageous and hopeful, even against the darkness closing in on Middle-earth.
Despite the façade of perfection, each of these Middle-earth Elves goes on their own journey of personal growth and evolution.
Legolas
Audiences see Legolas for the first time as he arrives in Rivendell and learn more about the Prince of Mirkwood at the Council of Elrond. He is quiet and observant, but also fiercely loyal to Aragorn. He is immediately supportive of Elrond’s decision that the Ring must be destroyed. Much to his chagrin, the Dwarf Gimli joins the Fellowship of the Ring immediately after Legolas does.
Oldest second only to Gandalf, Legolas is indispensable to the Fellowship thanks to his immortal Elvish heritage. With keen eyes and ears and skill with both bow and blades, he helps the group out of more than one tight spot. Throughout the first part of their journey, he consistently bickers with Gimli based on centuries of difficult relations between the Elves and Dwarves of Middle-earth.
An Unlikely Companionship
The energy between Legolas and Gimli begins to shift, however, when Boromir is slain and Merry and Pippin are captured. Legolas aims an arrow at Éomer’s face when the Man of Rohan threatens and insults Gimli. The unlikely pair even engages in playful teasing and competition during the Battle of Helm’s Deep, keeping one another’s spirits up in the wake of discouraging odds. They fight side by side for the remainder of the War of the Ring, and eventually find themselves at the Black Gate of Mordor. Both believe that no one will walk away from that battlefield. Gimli turns to Legolas and tells him, “Never thought I’d die fighting side by side with an Elf.” Legolas, smiling at his friends, counters, “What about side by side with a friend?” Smiling back, Gimli replies, “Aye. I could do that.”
Legolas’ growth throughout the series is one of personal evolution. His humility and compassion grow in direct proportion to the new lands and people he fights for and alongside. He learns to form his own opinions and relationships outside of the confines of his heritage and history, and in doing so, is rewarded with lifelong friendship.
Elrond
Elrond is one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth as Lord of Rivendell and bearer of one of the three Rings of Power of the Elves. Elrond is also a skilled healer, wise, and knowledgeable about the history of Middle-earth, having borne personal witness to many of its more pivotal moments. When he learns that the One Ring has been found and its fate must be decided, he calls for a meeting of all the free people of Middle-earth.
When the Fellowship of the Ring is formed and departs from Rivendell, Elrond believes that his part in the fate of the Ring is ended. He instead focuses on his family and personal life as the time of the Elves in Middle-earth draws to a close, specifically focusing on his daughter, Arwen. Elrond is insistent that she joins him in the Undying Lands in the West. She, however, desires to stay in Middle-earth to be with Aragorn, the man she loves. To stay with Aragorn would mean to forsake her immortality and eventually die in Middle-earth instead of joining her people in Valinor.
Securing His Daughter’s Future
Elrond convinces her to depart, telling her of the future he sees for her and the death and loneliness that will eventually come for her. His efforts, however, prove to be in vain when she comes back home, telling him that she saw that she and Aragorn would have a son. She tells him that she has made the decision to stay, and that it was always her choice. With no choice of his own but acceptance, Elrond shifts his attention toward making a better world for his daughter to live in. He reforges the sword of the King of Gondor as Andúril and delivers it to Aragorn, telling him to get the aid of the Army of the Dead. He tells him that Arwen’s fate is now tied to that of the Ring.
When the One Ring is destroyed and Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor, Elrond and a host of Elves accompany Arwen to Minas Tirith. As Arwen is reunited with Aragorn in the life she chose for herself, Elrond smiles and weeps not with sorrow, but with joy. Elrond learns that a life does not have to be immortal to be one worth living, and to not allow his own fear of loss to prevent his child from deciding her own destiny.
Galadriel
Galadriel is first introduced as a fearful concept before viewers ever set their eyes on her. As the Fellowship enters the Wood of LothlĂłrien, Gimli warns the Hobbits to stay close, telling them an Elf-witch lives in the woods and will put them under her spell if they gaze at her. Frodo hears her voice in his mind, moments before the Fellowship is surrounded by Elves and brought before her.
She is as intimidating as she is ethereally beautiful. She speaks to each member, some with her voice and others directly into their minds. As the members of the Fellowship get what rest they can in the Golden Wood, Frodo is stirred from sleep when Galadriel walks by. He follows her to a clearing with a pedestal at its center.
An Undying Will
When Frodo looks into the mirror atop the pedestal, he sees images from the past, the present, and possible futures. It is the latter that leads the Elf and Hobbit to discuss the fate of the Ring. Frodo offers the Ring to Galadriel, fearing that his failure will lead to the destruction of the world. Galadriel admits that she had long desired the Ring and is transformed in its wake. She is cast in shades of dark green, her clothes are ruined underneath an armored breastplate, and her hair and tattered clothes whip around her in a tempest of her own making. She tells Frodo, “In place of the Dark Lord, you would have a Queen, not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Dawn. Treacherous as the Sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth … all shall love me and despair!”
As quickly as she was overcome by darkness, she returns to herself. Awash in relief, she says, almost to herself, “I pass the test. I will diminish and go into the West and remain Galadriel.” With her wisdom, age, and affinity for magic, in addition to being one the bearers of the Elvish Rings of Power, Galadriel is arguably the most powerful Elf in the Third Age of Middle-earth. It is this very power that makes her a prime target for the Ring’s influence and that makes her ability to resist all the more remarkable. While some personal growth happens over time, Galadriel’s happens in the span of just a few moments. She learns, after thousands of years of wondering, that she could have the One Ring within her grasp and still resist claiming it for her own, staying true to herself and her values in the end.
Arwen
As the only daughter of Elrond, Arwen spent most of her life in Rivendell. Aragorn was also raised in Rivendell under Elrond’s protection after the death of his father, although the two do not cross paths until he is 20. The Elf maiden and heir to the throne of Gondor fall deeply in love. Aragorn later tells Arwen that he thought he had “strayed into a dream” when he saw her. Recreating the story of their ancestors Beren and Lúthien, they pledge themselves to one another. In binding herself to him, Arwen sacrifices the immortality of her Elvish heritage. They recall this moment as they talk on a bridge in Rivendell, and Arwen gifts him her Evenstar pendant. She tells him that she can give it to whomever she wants, just like her heart, and confirms, “I choose a mortal life.”
Aragorn tells Elrond that Arwen is choosing to stay in Middle-earth because she has hope. Elrond responds with the truth that they both know: “She stays because of you.” Aragorn tells Arwen that their love was just a dream and tells her to go with her people before he departs from Rivendell with the Fellowship.
A Vision of Hope
Arwen is eventually convinced to go to the Undying Lands by her father. As she walks through the woods to the Grey Havens, she sees a young boy cross her path. She watches him and, upon seeing an older Aragorn in white halls sweep the boy up, understands that she is having a vision. The boy gazes unflinchingly at Arwen, and as her eyes roam over the child, her eyes alight on the Evenstar around his neck.
She turns around and rides for Rivendell. Elrond tells her that he saw death in her future. She challenges him, telling him there was “also life,” and knows that she would have a son. He tells her how unlikely that future is, and she tells him that that future is not lost yet. Despite the odds of that future being small, Arwen decides to stay out of love for Aragorn and the family they could one day have, as well as hope for a future for Middle-earth. Although she was almost convinced to let go of the path she wanted for herself, she ultimately becomes the decider of her own fate. She willingly sacrifices the gift of mortality for a future no fear or dissuasion could turn her from. Arwen’s true growth is returning to her conviction in choosing her own path despite fear and the inevitability of loss, because she knows that love and life is worth the grief it costs in the end.
Although each of these characters played important roles in the salvation of Middle-earth, their personal evolution as seemingly perfect beings is even more remarkable. Legolas learns the value of acceptance and love. Elrond learns that the creation of a life worth living is ultimately the decision of the individual living it, no matter how much it pains him. Galadriel faces her greatest temptation and learns once and for all that she is stronger. And Arwen learns that her hopeful heart and conviction to choose her own fate are strengths of their own.
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