The Two Towers Loyalty Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Two Towers.

Quote #7

ARAGORN: Dolen i vâd o nin. [My path is hidden from me.]

ARWEN: Si peliannen i vâd na dail lîn. Si boe ú-dhannathach. [It is already laid before your feet. You cannot falter now.]

ARAGORN: Arwen...

ARWEN: Ae ú-esteliach nad estelio han. Estelio ammen. [If you trust nothing else, trust this, trust us.] […]

ARAGORN: Ú-ethelithon.[I will not be coming back.] …Edra le men, men na guil edwen. Haer o auth a nîr a naeth. [You have a chance for another life. Away from war, grief, despair.] …I am mortal. You are Elf-kind. It was a dream, Arwen. Nothing more.

This is all part of Aragorn's flashback. At first we see him doubt his way, his purpose, and Arwen tells him that, if he cannot trust anything else, he can trust their love of each other. But then we flash to before Aragorn's departure, after Elrond has convinced him to forsake Arwen for her own good. Is Aragorn more loyal to Elrond than Arwen? Is this a sacrifice he makes for Arwen? In what can Aragorn now trust if he removes himself from her? Loyalty to a person and that person's desires don't always match up.