[Lalwendë]

It was the day before Midsummer when messengers came from Amon Din to the City, and they said that there was a riding of fair folk out of the North, and they drew near now to the walls of the Pelennor. And the King said: 'At last they have come. Let all the City be made ready!'

Upon the very Eve of Midsummer, when the sky was blue as sapphire and white stars opened in the East, but the West was still golden, and the air was cool and fragrant, the riders came down the North-way to the gates of Minas Tirith. First rode Elrohir and Elladan with a banner of silver, and then came Glorfindel and Erestor and all the household of Rivendell, and after them came the Lady Galadriel and Celeborn, Lord of Lothlorien, riding upon white steeds and with them many fair folk of their land, grey-cloaked with white gems in their hair; and last came Master Elrond, mighty among Elves and Men, bearing the sceptre of Annuminas, and beside him upon a grey palfrey rode Arwen his daughter, Evenstar of her people.

And Frodo when he saw her come glimmering in the evening, with stars on her brow and a sweet fragrance about her, was moved with great wonder, and he said to Gandalf: 'At last I understand why we have waited! This is the ending. Now not day only shall be beloved, but night too shall be beautiful and blessed and all its fear pass away!'

Then the King welcomed his guests, and they alighted; and Elrond surrendered his sceptre, and laid the hand of his daughter in the hand of the King, and together they went up into the High City, and all the stars flowered in the sky. And Aragorn the King Elessar wedded Arwen Undomiel in the City of the Kings upon the day of Midsummer, and the tale of their long waiting and labours was come to fulfilment.

This to me is one of the most fairytale and the most faerie of moments in LotR. Fairytale in that we have the fair maiden, the princess, brought by her retinue to her wedding to her love, a handsome and brave King. Faerie because this is like those tales where the faeries decide to ride in procession to the world of Men; it is a significant date in the calendar, Midsummer, when betrothals made on May Day are turned into marriages. Aragorn is going to marry the Faery Queen. She travels with no less than her entire household, the heads of Lothlorien and many of their household also. On the one hand she could be seen as something of a diva for not travelling lightly , but this is Arwen, the last high born Elf to be born in Middle-earth, and her marriage is also an incredible sacrifice for her kin. Marrying Aragorn she will never see her family again, not even after death, as the Elves are bound to the world, while she, as a mortal, will go with Aragorn beyond its boundaries. You could expect no less than such a retinue for this marriage.

This makes a a nice contrast to the ballad Tam Lin where the Faery Queen rides in procession with her court and Tam Lin himself, held under a bewitchment; the human maiden, Janet, has to wrestle him from his horse and keep him from the Queen. But here the faeries are benign, their procession is grand, but they are instead giving up one of their own rather than taking one of humankind.

But even Aragorn is revealed in this chapter as something out of the ordinary. Eomer remarks:

Since the day when you rose before me out of the green grass of the downs I have loved you

But when Aragorn arose all that beheld him gazed in silence, for it seemed to them that he was revealed to them now for the first time. Tall as the sea-kings of old, he stood above all that were near; ancient of days he seemed and yet in the flower of manhood; and wisdom sat upon his brow, and strength and healing were in his hands, and a light was about him.

Eomer views Aragorn not only as a friend and ally but as a remnant of legend or history; he rises out of the very earth itself. The impression he got when he first met Aragorn has not been forgotten; Aragorn's reputation is already legendary even amongst his close friends, which bodes well for his kingship. When he is crowned, this seemingly ordinary man is revealed for who he really is. He even shines with light.

The obvious pairing to compare this couple with are Faramir and Eowyn, utterly extraordinary in themselves yet very ordinary in their hopes for the future, to live in peace and "dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden". Tolkien holds this contrasting couple up as equally noble, equally worthy. We see them at the beginning of their relationship so we see the passions in contrast to the ceremony that is shown with Aragorn and Arwen, yet even here we see a hint of their own love in "the tale of their long waiting and labours was come to fulfilment". The fiery and active Aragorn marries the peaceful and cool Arwen, while the quiet and thoughtful Faramir marries the passionate and imaginative Eowyn.

I also find it touching that both women have been incredibly vulnerable and yet have won through. Arwen has known that she can never marry the man she loves unless he becomes King, a seemingly impossible task the fate of which has hung on the fate of the Ring; and through marriage she has also known that she will lose her father and family. Eowyn has been living an increasingly desperate life and after an equally desperate love for an unobtainable man she has, at a basic level, finally taken extreme action to do something about the frustration she feels. Eowyn has been given the opportunity for freedom while she is in the Houses of Healing and has had time to truly think about herself. I don't think either of them have 'given up' by accepting marriage. Arwen has made a brave and very final choice, while Eowyn has found peace and someone who accepts her for who she really is.