Aragorn and the Triangle that Wasn't

[butterfly]

In the extended edition of the Two Towers, Eowyn finds out that Aragorn is eighty-seven years old. Wow. That man is well-perserved. He's like James Marsters.

Now, if I've gleaned correctly from book fans (always a dangerous practice, but I can't bring myself to try reading the books again - if I have got the numbers wrong, I'd love to know so that I can fix them), Aragorn fell in love with Arwen when he was twenty. He's been in love with her for sixty-seven years. He's been engaged to her for the last forty.

That's... a long time. It's pretty safe to say that Aragorn knows Arwen much better than we ever get to, since he's got years and we get minutes (I wonder how long the Arwen footage would be, all cut together... hmm.). Sixty-plus years and he still kisses her like a starving man (end of Return of the King - also, what a kiss. Mmm.). And all that time that he's known her, she's known him. She's loved him for at least forty years (does Tolkien say when she fell for him?) and she knows him well. Aragorn was right - compared to how well Arwen knows him, Eowyn does know but a shadow.

And I saw that in the movie - even without the extended cuts. I think that Aragorn likes Eowyn and wants her to be independent and happy, but would never dream of encouraging her or kissing her. All the tension and all the want is on her side. He loves Arwen - that's been a constant for most of his long life.

She fell for a hero who treated her like a person, instead of 'just' a woman. It's understandable and if Arwen weren't a factor, it might even be a possibility. But Aragorn isn't the straying sort and Arwen is a factor (this is also part of the reason why I can't find Aragorn/Legolas slash believable - established relationships win with me).

In Fellowship, Aragorn convinced me that he loved Arwen and she convinced me that she loved him. And that they had for a very long time.

Now, Eowyn is a whole bundle of greatness, but she was never competition. She was never Arwen's rival, because Arwen had won Aragorn's heart years before Eowyn had even been born. And she's kept it - he never wavers in his love for her.

It's beautiful - a love that's lasted that long and is still so strong, with passion and sweetness and longing.

My LotR 'pairings', now that I've seen RotK?
Still Aragorn/Arwen, Legolas/Gimli, Merry/Pippin, and Frodo/Sam/(Rosie). I'm a traditionalist, which is quite a feat, considering that I got less than half-way through the Two Towers.