While it’s common knowledge among Lord of the Rings fans that Arwen Undómiel is Lord Elrond’s daughter, many don’t know that she’s also related to Lady Galadriel. They don’t exactly spend a lot of time together in the novels or the film adaptations. The only scene showing Arwen (Liv Tyler) and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) together was cut from The Two Towers. So, many fans walked away not even realizing there was a blood connection between the two. It wasn’t the first time Arwen’s story suffered from deleted material, but it was the first that sort of made sense.
The Lord of the Rings is about strangers who find themselves brought together by an attempt to vanquish evil from Middle Earth once and for all. Their mission? Destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. It’s an epic and fantastical adventure where morals are tested, bonds are forged, and the stakes are high. In the midst of this Fellowship, characters like Arwen and Galadriel don’t get much attention unless it’s relevant to the overarching plot. It’s no wonder so many fans walked away thinking they were little more than strangers who happened to share ties with Elrond.
Who are Arwen and Galadriel?
Arwen and Galadriel are two of the three most important women in the Lord of the Rings. The history of Galadriel is almost too extensive to put into words, and it changes from the movies and novels to the Rings of Power series. She was born in the Undying Lands of Valinor prior to the First Age. Her eagerness to explore Middle Earth was soon extinguished by loss and the trauma of fighting a great evil. Galadriel went through a period of restlessness and being angry at the world for her suffering. By the time she became the Lady of Lothlórien, she had (mostly) made peace with her past and was preparing for her final trip back to Valinor.
At the same time, Arwen was born in Rivendell in the Third Age Year of 241 to Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrían. One could say she was the Evenstar of their eyes. When she met a 20-year-old Aragorn at the tender age of 2,700 years old, it was love at first sight even though it took them thirty years to profess their love to each other. Arwen may have been little more than a footnote in the novels, but the Lord of the Rings films gave her a chance to be more than Aragorn’s (Viggo Mortensen) love interest. She fought alongside her soon-to-be husband at the Battle of Helm’s Deep and, like Galadriel, helped Frodo when he needed it most.
How is Arwen related to Galadriel?
In a deleted scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Elrond (Hugo Weaving) travels with Arwen to Lothlórien. His goal? Convince Galadriel to send troops to Helm’s Deep so the Humans there aren’t outnumbered by the dark forces of Saruman (Christopher Lee). It marks a final change of heart for the stern-faced Elf who’d previously denounced all belief in or hope for Humankind, and no one could blame him. Elrond watched Isildur fail before his very eyes and run away with the One Ring instead of taking the chance to throw it into the flames of Mordor. Centuries later, he stood before the mother of his deceased wife and argued that a lack of trust in “the strength of men [would aid in] the victory of Sauron”.
He must’ve been pretty convincing because Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers later showed troops from Lothlórien arriving right on time. Meanwhile, Arwen in the same deleted scene just needed a little relief. She was scared for her lover, nervous at the prospect of choosing a mortal life over an immortal one, and in need of support. She found it in the gentle gesture of Galadriel – her maternal grandmother – placing her hand on Arwen’s shoulder. Fans don’t know what led up to this moment or what was said during it, but it’s not hard to imagine Galadriel finding the words to comfort her granddaughter.
Who are Arwen's other relatives?
The Elves in the Lord of the Rings aren’t exactly the lovey-dovey type. For Galadriel to use physical affection toward Arwen is a testament to how much time the younger Elf spent with her grandmother in Lórien. Rumor has it Galadriel even helped Arwen and Aragorn get together by playing the silent matchmaker. This is funny to imagine as she was basically royalty and still took the time to make sure her granddaughter found happiness. It’s unclear how Arwen’s older twin brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, felt either way.
However, they showed up to the Battle of Helm’s Deep in the Lord of the Rings novels (and can be briefly seen in the films) so they clearly weren’t terribly opposed. Then again, Arwen came from a long line of family members who weren’t afraid to shake things up. Her maternal great-uncles Finrod and Fëanor both had an affinity for jewels that shaped the history of Middle Earth. They shared this passion with her cousin Celebrimbor who went on to become the master smith behind creating the three rings of power: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya.
On Elrond’s side, Eärendil was Arwen’s legendary grandfather and he shared her willingness to risk it all for the people he loved. Elros was also Arwen’s paternal uncle and that’s where things get a little messy because he was also an ascendant of Aragorn. It’s weird in the same way their age difference might give some Lord of the Rings fans pause. Yet, it didn’t stop the two from getting married and having kids – a son named Eldarion along with several daughters.
Arwen and Galadriel both led their lives without letting fear stop them from following their hearts. Arwen pursued love even in the face of losing everyone she held dear. Galadriel forged her own path and became known as a great leader in the process. Like grandmother, like granddaughter. The compassion of the Elves was lost in the film adaptations of the Lord of the Rings. That didn’t stop Galadriel from showing it to Arwen as well as the members of the Fellowship. To them, she gave gifts to guide them along the perilous journey ahead.
To Arwen, she gave her unwavering love and an unspoken promise that she’d be by her side always. The mystery of Elven family trees is hard to unravel when it takes them centuries just to be technically considered young adults. Arwen might’ve been upwards of 1,000 when she and Aragorn finally tied the knot, but she was still very young for her age. Galadriel, in comparison, had seen many lifetimes before Arwen was even a twinkle in her parents’ eyes. While the potential of showing Arwen learning from or even speaking to Galadriel was lost to Lord of the Rings fans, it’s heartwarming to know of the love they shared for each other as grandmother and granddaughter.