The Truth Behind Arwen's Necklace in The Lord of the Rings (2024)

The Lord of the Rings is dominated by dangerous quests, exceedingly powerful wizards and terrifying, spider-filled locations. Yet, the fate of Middle-earth hung in the balance because of a single, missing piece of jewelry. In fact, Frodo's covert mission to destroy the One Ring was the premise of the whole franchise. However, for those who aren't overly familiar with the lore, the ring of Sauron wasn't the only important piece of jewelry.

Besides the One Ring, there were 19 other Rings of Power, the Nauglamír, the Ring of Barahir and the Star of Elendil. Of those, the Ring of Barahir was the only one that appeared in The Lord of the Rings films, because Peter Jackson decided to focus on another piece of jewelry that belonged to Arwen. This object was the Evenstar, and its importance was based on a central romance.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on February 22, 2024: The Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson brought many elements of the books to life on the big screen. Likewise, they also made some changes and elevated somewhat minor characters and concepts. One example was Arwen's necklace, as well as the elf herself. The Evenstar brooch was of particular significance in the movie, but it wasn't actually from the books. Instead, it was a stand-in for another item, similar to how another adaptation of the series puts emphasis on other overlooked items from the franchise.

What Is Arwen's Evenstar Necklace in The Lord of the Rings?

Jackson made a few changes to author J.R.R. Tolkien's work, among them, replacing Glorfindel with Arwen in The Fellowship of the Ring. It was a way to give her character more screen time while also accentuating her Elven power in evading the Nazgûl. One of the other ways Jackson highlighted Arwen was by giving her a beautiful piece of jewelry that never existed in Tolkien's story -- the Evenstar necklace.

Arwen wore the Evenstar at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, but gave it to Aragorn before he departed with the Fellowship. Although her father, the Elven Elrond didn't approve, they were lovers, so when Arwen gave Aragorn her Elvish Evenstar necklace, it represented her commitment and never-ending love. However, Arwen giving the Evenstar to Aragorn was more than an act of defiance against her father.

What Does Arwen's Necklace Represent in The Lord of the Rings?

As an Elf, Arwen was immortal, but Aragorn was a mortal, if long-lived, Man. There wasn't a rule against humans and Elves marrying each other, though it would lead to an inevitable tragedy. After all, when the Man died, the Elf would be left to wither away in sadness. That's why Elrond opposed the marriage of Arwen and Aragorn, as he knew Arwen would be giving up her immortality if she married Aragorn. Despite knowing that, Arwen nevertheless chose to marry the King of Gondor. They spent 122 years together as Aragorn restored the glory of Gondor and Arnor. Despite this long-lived marriage, Elrond was right in the end, as Arwen died of a broken heart in year 121 of the Third Age.

Jackson likely got his inspiration for the Evenstar necklace from another piece of Lord of the Rings jewelry called the Elfstone. In the books, Galadriel gave the green gem set on an eagle-shaped brooch to Aragorn. However, the most important part of the Elfstone was its alternate name, Elessar. That was where Aragorn gained the royal name of Elessar and represented his kingship. But in the grand scheme of things, the Elfstone was a relatively minor detail, making Jackson's decision to replace it with something more meaningful like Arwen's Evenstar necklace warranted.

The Lord of the Rings Books and Movies Never Focused on Other Magical Objects

Creating the Evenstar and focusing on Arwen's necklace was an original direction for the Lord of the Rings movies to go in compared to the books, and it set a precedent for the franchise. Despite being called The Lord of the Rings, the main books and movies were based mostly around the One Ring. This One Ring was meant to "rule them all," with Three Rings meant for the Elves, Seven Rings going to the Dwarves, while Nine Rings went to Men. These all provided specific powers and gifts to their wearers, though there were consequences in some cases. For instance, the Nine Rings given to the rulers of Men eventually corrupted them into becoming the Nazgul, a.k.a Ringwraiths. It also inspired dreadful greed in some such as Gollum.

While these individual rings weren't a major part of the movies' plots, they're the main focus of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This is analogous to Arwen's expanded role in the movie and how the Evenstar necklace took the place of another object in the movies. Other notable magic objects in the series include wizard staffs, though unlike the wands of wizards in the world of Harry Potter, these aren't required by the user. Instead, wizards such as Gandalf the White use these items as conduits for their own magical power. This made it a lot less important than the Evenstar, both functionally and thematically. While Arwen's necklace may have been made up for the movie, it still proved to be vital in the eyes of Aragorn.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Upcoming Films

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

First TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date

September 1, 2022

Cast

Elijah Wood , Viggo Mortensen , Orlando Bloom , Sean Astin , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Sean Bean , Ian McKellen , Andy Serkis , Hugo Weaving , Liv Tyler , Miranda Otto , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Martin Freeman , Morfydd Clark , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Richard Armitage

Character(s)

Gollum , Sauron

Summary

The Lord of the Rings is a long-running fantasy franchise created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The core series consists of four primary books: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and The Return of the King, all of which have been adapted into films. The Lord of the Rings core franchise centers around Frodo Baggins, a living being known as a hobbit, and a group of heroes from the various kingdoms such as the kingdom of man, the kingdom of dwarves, and the kingdom of elves. Together with the great wizard Gandalf, the group will embark on a perilous quest across Middle Earth to take The One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, before it can corrupt anyone and return to the hands of the evil entity known as Sauron, hellbent on conquering all of Middle Earth. The original novel/prequel films, The Hobbit, stars Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a quest from the comfort of his home and seeks the treasure of a dragon known as Smaug. Bilbo stumbles upon The One Ring on his quest, and finds himself amidst a great war. The most recent media for the franchise is the currently airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, airing exclusively on Prime Video.