“At the hill’s foot, Frodo found Aragorn, standing still and silent as a tree; but in his hand was a small golden bloom of elanor, and a light was in his eye. He was wrapped in some fair memory: and as Frodo looked at him he knew that he beheld things as they once had been in the same place. For the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. Arwen vanimelda, namarië! he said.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“Jaqen H’ghar stood so still in the darkness that he seemed one of the trees. “A man comes to hear a name. One and two and then comes three. A man would have done.”
Arya lowered the splintery point toward the ground. “How did you know I was here?”
“A man sees. A man hears. A man knows.”
She regarded him suspiciously. Had the gods sent him? “How’d you make the dog kill Weese? Did you call Rorge and Biter up from hell? Is Jaqen H'ghar your true name?”
“Some men have many names. Weasel. Arry. Arya.”
She backed away from him, until she was pressed against the heart tree. “Did Gendry tell?”
“A man knows,” he said again. “My lady of Stark.” - GRRM, A Clash of Kings
GRRM often refers to other books in ASOIAF. To be honest, he often borrows from other authors. Martin takes from many sources. There are things that he has borrowed from Tad Williams, Philippa Gregory, Robert Graves and even movies and songs. And, obviously, J.R.R. Tolkien.
There are a few nods in Jaqen’s and Arya’s story to Aragorn and Arwen.
These two passages I have quoted above seem to be similar and different and the same time. Similar because both heroes, Aragorn and Aegon ( Jaqen ), are compared to trees. They both stand still as trees because they are focused: they are watching their ladies, Arwen and Arya, respectively. Aragorn is recalling his betrothal to Arwen and he speaks to her. Aegon is watching Arya, then they start talking and their conversation is ridiculously loaded with wedding symbolism: he makes and oath to her and takes the Old Gods as witnesses, he kneels before her and she promises to obey him.
In Aegon’s case, his resemblance to the tree goes further: he has a strong connection to the magic of weirwood that is the driving force of Martin’s story. And, as usual, in GRRM’s books everything is darker than in Tolkien’s work. It is so grim that it is almost funny because Arya and Aegon make a bargain for murder while posing as a couple to be wed under the weirwood tree.
Reading these pieces together is like watching GRRM rewriting Tolkien’s sentences to transform the story into a new, dark romance.
There is a reason for that darkness. Tolkien wrote about hope while GRRM has been writing about disappointment. Though there is still room for love.
