From Arthur to Aragorn to Jon Snow, the character arc of a worthy monarch rising above their station in life to retake the throne has captured audiences across generations. King Arthur, the legendary king of Britain who ruled justly with his retinue of chivalrous knights, has largely shaped the way these stories are told and acts as a strong origin for this character arc. Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings also follows the arc of the restoration of a worthy monarch, culminating in the final volume of the series, The Return of the King. While Aragorn reinvigorated the restoration character arc, George R.R. Martin deconstructed it through the character of Jon Snow in his works, the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and the television show Game of Thrones. Martin undercuts an arc familiar to audiences through clever build up and well-placed misdirection with Jon’s character trajectory, yet allows for the possibility of fulfillment in the ambiguous finale of the television series. This most recent retelling of the Arthurian style arc, a story line that has enthralled audiences for millennium, calls to mind the common desire for an inherently good, just leader to hold a position of power. Perhaps we as an audience are unaware of the retelling of such stories, or perhaps the Arthurian legends are so compelling that we cannot help but repeat them. King Arthur brought his people out of darkness and ruled justly throughout his reign, leaving an ideal for us to return to and seek out amongst ourselves. Thomas Mallory remarked, “Here lies Arthur, king who was and king who will be.” Arthur’s story has pervaded throughout the years in its reincarnations and persists in modern retellings, most evident in Aragorn and Jon Snow’s fulfillment of the Arthurian arc.
About the presenterGeorge Nicolas Rodriguez
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, George Rodriguez is an English Major at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. An aspiring Medievalist, he has always been fascinated with tales of just monarchs and noble knights. An unabashed fan of fiction, George often spends his time reading, watching, and telling stories. His aspiration is to eventually write his own fantasy novel or to own a dragon, whichever comes first.