We have a long way to go, and there is time ahead for thought.
 | |
| Scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | |
| The Sword that Was Broken | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Scene | 21 (theatrical) 25 (extended) |
| Events | Aragorn voices his doubts about his own strength and fate |
| Characters | Aragorn, Boromir, Arwen |
| Previous | The Fate of the Ring |
| Next | The Evenstar |
The Sword that Was Broken is the twenty-first scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and the twenty-fifth of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition). This scene was extended in the latter edition.
Synopsis
As Aragorn sits and reads near the plinth holding the shards of Narsil, Boromir approaches and gravely studies a painting showing Isildur raising his broken sword at Sauron. He notices the Aragorn and asks him who he is. In response, Aragorn tells him that he is a friend of Gandalf. Boromir smiles and turns towards the broken blade. He picks up the hilt with a sense of wonder and inspects it, but notices Aragorn staring at him, and hastily drops it, claiming it is "no more than a broken heirloom".
After Boromir departs, Aragorn picks up the hilt and returns it to its place on the plinth. Arwen approaches and says "Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate." Aragorn voices his concerns about his strength, but she reassures him that he will defeat the same evil faced by Isildur when his time comes.
Differences
This scene was almost wholly invented for the film.
- Aragorn carries the shards of Narsil with him.
- It is doubtful that Boromir would treat the shards of Narsil in such a flippant manner, as they would still be of great importance to a Man of Gondor.
- While Aragorn does not wish to handle the Ring in the book, he does not have the self-doubt shown in this scene.
- Boromir would not treat the shards of Narsil so roughly. He wanted the sword to return to Gondor to fend off the forces of evil.