[ SECRET POST #2230 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2230 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Early because blizzard, not quite sure if power will last.

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 103 secrets from Secret Submission Post #319.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[visp]

Politically, Arwen is a good choice. She taps into the nostalgia for the 'Good Old Days' and is a real Jackie Kennedy. Since Aragorn is the returning king, it's a pretty good idea for his wife to be someone who can really gain the fondness of the local population, while not causing the existing noble houses to feel that one of their number has been disproportionately honored above the rest (if he marries a Gondorian woman). Eowyn won't win over the locals as much, and Gondor and Rohan don't really need much more allying. Plus Eomer and Eowyn are already marrying Gondorians.

[(Anonymous)]

Right, exactly.

OP is too focused on playing the Great Game and doing realpolitik, but he / she is neglecting domestic political concerns & the importance of shoring up support at home.

[(Anonymous)]

maybe i suck at this but i figured that the king marrying an elf princess was A+ for the political relationships between men and elves. Not to mention that, in this particular universe, it would come off as a more 'genuine' mark of leadership that he goes for someone he truly loves instead of starting to play a political game or some shit.

i mean, they've just come out of a great war against quantifiable evil. it isn't too far fetched to think that the people are looking for a genuine leader to believe in at this point.

[(Anonymous)]

But all the elves were leaving...it really didn't matter what they thought of Men anymore.

[(Anonymous)]

My first thought was that it was a good political move to completely bind men and elves...

[(Anonymous)]

The elves are leaving, which makes that tie less important -- but what it does do is reinforce Aragorn's status as Isildur's heir, the last descendant of the kings of Numenor, with all the power and mystical connections that go with it.

[(Anonymous)]

Also, from the snobby Gondorian viewpoint, Rohan is beneath them -- they do actually have a measurably shorter life expectancy. Any additional benefits with respect to Rohan could be cancelled out by obnoxiousness at home.

[visp]

And Eowyn's gonna be less adept at things like fashion and parties and harp-playing, etc. while Arwen can knock it out of the park. And yes, Eowyn's differences would be seen as "uncouth" while Arwen's are "exotic" and "mystical," the Gondor equivalent of "straight from Paris."

[(Anonymous)]

I love this comment for comparing Arwen to Jackie Kennedy.

[visp]

Except, obviously, no one arrow-snipers Aragorn one day while he's riding in an open carriage.

[(Anonymous)]

Came here to say this - marrying an elf (and a fellow descendant of the First Age power couples) confers added legitimacy on Aragorn's claim to the throne. Plus his other choices are a)A Gondorian, with the problems anon above has outlined or b)a foreigner, which would cause serious dissent in Gondor considering their nobilty's focus on keeping the Numenorean bloodlines pure.
Plus marrying Eowyn would also be kind of a wasted marriage, since the alliance between the kings of Gondor and Rohan is already exceptionally strong.

same anon

[(Anonymous)]

And I say this as someone who generally gets enraged by 'Royal who throws it all away for Lurve'/'But my happiness is more important than the kingdom's security as embodied by this arranged marriage!' tropes.