Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan

[Queen_Beruthiel]

This is aimed at being the first of a series of discussion threads on Tolkien's characters. The object is general discussion rather than scholarly stuff from MoME. However, I thought it would be nice to start off with some biographical info on the character in this initial post.

I'll add more, as and when.


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Éowyn was the niece of King Théoden of Rohan (Théoden Ednew) and sister to King Éomer.

She was born in 2995 of the Third Age, in Rohan. Other names and titles: Dernhelm, Lady of Rohan, White Lady of Rohan, Lady of the Shield-arm.

Éowyn's parents were Éomund, a Marshal of the Mark of Rohan, and Théodwyn, sister of King Théoden.

Éomund was killed in 3002, pursuing a band of Orcs to the borders of the Emyn Muil, where a larger force waited in ambush. Théodwyn took sick and died not long afterwards, to the grief of her brother the king, who took her children into his own household.

[Queen_Beruthiel]

I'll post here a few pertinent quotes about Éowyn and descriptions of her.

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Mostly from Aragorn's pov:

Grave and thoughtful was her glance, as she looked on the king with cool pity in her eyes. Very fair was her face, and her long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings. Thus Aragorn for the first time in the full light of day beheld Éowyn, Lady of Rohan, and thought her fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood. And she now was suddenly aware of him; tall heir of kings, wise with many winters, greycloaked, hiding a power that yet she felt.

TTT: The King of the Golden Hall

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From Merry's pov:

... a woman with long braided hair gleaming in the twilight, yet she wore a helm and was clad to the waist like a warrior and girded with a sword.

RotK: The Muster of Rohan

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Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed , and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him."

RotK: The Battle of the Pelennor Fields

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Aragorn again:

"For she is a fair maiden, fairest lady of a house of queens. And yet I know not how I should speak of her. When I first looked on her and perceived her unhappiness, it seemed to me that I saw a white flower standing straight and proud, shapely as a lily, and yet knew that it was hard, as if wrought by elf-wrights out of steel."

RotK: The Houses of Healing

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Gandalf:

"My friend," said Gandalf, "you had horses, and deeds of arms, and the free fields; but she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man , whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean, dishonoured dotage, and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on."

RotK: The Houses of Healing

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The greatest deed of that day was the deed of Éowyn Éomund's daughter. She for love of the King rode in disguise with the Rohirrim and was with him when he fell. By her hand the Black Captain, the Lord of the Ringwraiths, the Witch-king of Angmar, was destroyed.

HoME

[Queen_Beruthiel]

Tolkien has been much criticised, even by fans, for his treatment of Éowyn. She isn't developed much; may as well not be in TTT at all; etc., etc.

The author sets her up in almost perfunctory fashion. She walks on stage and promptly falls in love with Aragorn. Bit quick, eh? Only later does Tolkien give us the backstory which enables us to see how this came about: the proud girl, whose noble house seemed to have fallen in honour to a barn where brigands drink in the reek, etc..... The frustrated woman, quite the equal of her brother, who is left to tend the house while the men go off to deeds of errantry. Small wonder that she identifies with the most knightly of the newcomers, whose arrival brings hope to Rohan.

But that comes later.

Tolkien focusses in on Éowyn just at the moment when she faces temptation - and would have fallen but for Aragorn. She wants to abandon her post and follow him. I'll come back to the scene between them later, merely commenting on the irony (JRRT was big on irony) of Éowyn's actions. For she does, of course, abandon her post, but not to follow the man she thinks she loves. She follows the man she does love: her surrogate father, and through defending him (in vain: he still buys it) gains, not the death she seeks, but new life, true glory, and .. redemption?

'Cos she still deserted her post, didn't she?

Any comments so far? Agreements? Total disagreements?

[Jnyusa]

What a great idea, Queen B.!

So glad you started with Éowyn. She was always my favorite character.
Here is my cryptic contribution:

The story of Éowyn is the story of Eve.



Jn

[Queen_Beruthiel]

Very cryptic!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

All right, Jn, we're not going to let you get away with that.

Éowyn? Eve? Explain.

(I do have more then that to say in this thread, but not now.)

[Jnyusa]

I'll explain when I get back from the supermarket and eat dinner

Jn

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Hurrah for Éowyn discussion! I had been thinking of starting a similar thread myself.

The author sets her up in almost perfunctory fashion.

He does this with quite a few characters. Look how Aragorn, Éomer, and Faramir appear make their entrances.

Tolkien focusses in on Éowyn just at the moment when she faces temptation - and would have fallen but for Aragorn.

One might (though I don't) say that she fell because of Aragorn.

She wants to abandon her post and follow him.

I don't think she sees it as abandoning her post, though. She's been assigned to watch over a people she thinks will soon be slaughtered. What kind of post is that? It's just one more rejection.

'Cos she still deserted her post, didn't she?

She did, but no matter what I don't think she would have seen her assigned duty through to the end. Had she not disguised herself as Dernhelm I would not be suprised if she had committed suicide. She is assigned to protect her people. She switches who she's guarding and goes from guarding those left behind to watching over Théoden. By protecting the King, she is in some ways still watching over the interests of her people, though I'm sure she didn't think of it that way.

More later.

Edit: A postulation (is that a word?) as to what Jn meant.

Éowyn and Eve fall to temptation. Eve eats fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, while Éowyn desires knowledge of battle and life beyond the confines of the lot that has been assigned to her. Eve, by falling to temptation, was cast out of the Garden and gave us the lot in life that we now have. Éowyn, by falling to temptation, ended up out of Edoras, but conversely to Eve, ended up in a Garden: first those of the Houses of Healing, and then Itihilien. By slaughtering the Witch King with Merry, Éowyn allows the Men of Gondor a chance to win that battle and create a future.

That's a more than a bit muddled and I'm sure it's even more off the mark, but there you have it.

[Cerin]

Tolkien has been much criticised, even by fans, for his treatment of Éowyn. She isn't developed much; may as well not be in TTT at all; etc., etc.

I don't know, it seems to me one could not hope for more for a character, than to be immortalized in such a transcendent scene as the death of the Witch King. It never struck me that Éowyn was underdeveloped (but I'm not a very analytical reader).

Hi Queen B! I love the idea of the character study threads.

[Pearly Di]

Éowyn and Eve fall to temptation. Eve eats fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, while Éowyn desires knowledge of battle and life beyond the confines of the lot that has been assigned to her. Eve, by falling to temptation, was cast out of the Garden and gave us the lot in life that we now have. Éowyn, by falling to temptation, ended up out of Edoras, but conversely to Eve, ended up in a Garden: first those of the Houses of Healing, and then Itihilien. By slaughtering the Witch King with Merry, Éowyn allows the Men of Gondor a chance to win that battle and create a future.

Wow.

Well, love, whatever you say.

Seriously, that was masterly although it still leaves me As in: can Tolkien possibly have MEANT all that??????

(Oh, and Mossy, your sig pic ...!!!! )

I must confess, the only character in LOTR I ever feel like analysing to death is Frodo - big surprise, huh - and also Sam - what am I talking about, I've discussed and fanficced Frodo and Sam ad infinitum - but Éowyn is certainly one of the most interesting characters in LOTR.

I've never really analysed her motives in much depth. So she falls for Aragorn. I can understand that. And then she experiences the Real Deal - Faramir. Hoo boy, I can certainly understand THAT.

She is perhaps a wee bit underdeveloped - although not as much as, in my opinion, Boromir - but maybe that's because, in a book full of noble archetypes (and don't mistake me, I love Tolkien's archetypes), Éowyn in some ways bucks the archetype. She's the nearest thing in Tolkien to a feminist.

Great thread.

[JewelSong]

To this day, the scene wher Faramir kisses Éowyn up on the battlements gives me goosebumps. Maybe because it's the only scene with any "romantic" overtones in it...and because the two characters have been so utterly broken - and yet, unexpectedly, they find a love that shines like the sun.

"And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light that shone about tham as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing."

Their love gave them light.

Damn, I just love that!

[vison]

I have spent a lot of time thinking about Éowyn. She came alive for me quite early in my LOTR-reading career.

She seemed, always, so very young to me. Although she was, if memory serves, about 25 when Aragorn showed up in Meduseld, she was utterly inexperienced in matters of the heart. It's no wonder she fell like a ton of bricks for Aragorn, what other men had she known but her brother, cousin and uncle? And of course the sort of courtiers who stood by and watched Wormtongue take over the reins of power. Not much scope for her, really.

She DID betray her oath to guard the Rohirrim. That was her fall, all right, as sure as Eve taking the Pomegranate from the Serpent. And while our poor lady Eve was blamed forever, Éowyn got off more or less scot free. Not without some pain, to be sure, but hardly eternal damnation. But then, we must remember, this is only the story of a high-born and idealistic shield-maiden, not the story of the Mother of Men.

She was, like Gollum, a plot device. But I still love her.

Although I am a great admirer of LOTR, I am not an admirer of Tolkien's women. He only did justice to one, and that was Galadriel.

Éowyn Eomundsdattir is bold, angry, high-spirited, high-born, ambitious, virginal, cold, unawakened, beautiful. I could scarcely bear to watch what PJ did to her, but that's another story.

She was called "shield-maiden", but it was never for one second believable to me that she could ride to Mundberg unknown to the other riders. And the "Master Bag" bit just made my teeth ache. That, and going into battle with that same Master Bag on her cantle.

But all was redeemed when she confronted the Witch King.


Just one more minor whine: why, why, why, why, why couldn't PJ have let her speak Tolkien's words?

Okay. Whine over.

[Ethel]

I like Éowyn a lot and was so pleased that she ended up with Faramir. Tolkien couldn't grant her wish to be a warrior and escape from the world of 'women's stuff' - what happened at Pellenor had to be an exception - but he did his best for her.

She often made me wince though. It was so embarrassing to read the scene where she threw herself at Aragorn. Poor gal. He was nice about it but there's just no good way to say, "Thanks, but no thanks."

I did think she was very derelict in her duty by abandoning her post - but she paid a high price for it, and redeemed herself by vanquishing the Wiki. One of the best passages in the books, I think. At least once she got to blaze with courage and passion - to be the warrior she always wanted to be.

I found myself wincing again when she got all snippy with the Healers. Good thing Faramir showed up when he did. What a lovely, romantic scene when Faramir drapes his mother's cape around her shoulders and their hands clasp.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I hope you don’t mind if I get just a bit scholarly on ya.

In the Tolkien on Film book put out by Mythopoeic Press (no I’m not going to talk about the films) there is an excellent essay by Marueen Thum called “The ‘Sub-Subcreation of Galadriel, Arwen and Éowyn: Women of Power in Tolkien’s and Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings in which she makes some interesting observations about Tolkien’s Éowyn (I won’t mention her views about Jackson’s Éowyn, for fear of driving vison insane ).

Thum’s take on Éowyn is that Tolkien does not present her a “in traditional terms as a robust, intelligent woman who must be silenced, and punished or killed for transgressing the patriarchal codes that govern her society. Instead, Tolkien undermines the traditional binaries by showing how Éowyn defies the limits of her mythic/historical context.” Thum points out that in traditional medieval romances (not to mention in Shakespeare’s comedies), a powerful woman like Éowyn would have been punished for her transgression, “castigated for taking a man’s role, an act that was considered no less than a perversity, or even an abomination of nature. But Tolkien does not show her as being punished. Quite to the contrary, she is received with praise, sympathy, and understanding by all the main male characters ... .”

I particularly like this statement of Thum’s:

Tolkien is careful to show that she is not simply a virago, a manly woman who was dismissed in patriarchal societies as a mere anomaly, or even a perversity of nature. Instead, she clearly both woman and hero, retaining her womanly beauty while demonstrating her undaunted courage:

... her bright hair, released from its bonds, gleamed with pale gold upon her shoulders. Her eyes grey as the sea were hard and fell, and yet teears were on her cheek. A sword was in her hand, and she raised her shield ...

[Alatar]

I could scarcely bear to watch what PJ did to her, but that's another story.

I've explained this before!!!

Ok, it's just another excuse to post this...



[The beast growls and approaches Théoden. Théoden looks up and is afraid. Éowyn leaps between them.]

Éowyn: Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!

PJ: Cut!!! So what's a dwimmerlaik?

Phillipa: It's a created wird of Tilkien, cinstructed frim ancient roots...

Fran: Lose the "Dwimmerlaik" Miranda...

PJ: And Roll....

Witch King: Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.

PJ: Cut! erm... Do we really need all that about being naked and shrivelled?

Phillipa: Ibsolutey. It's cricial to the plit.

PJ: Well, yeah, in the book maybe, but we're contractually obliged to deliver a PG13 here...

Fran: Well, maybe we could drop that bit so...

PJ: Ok so. Roll...

Witch King: Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured

PJ: Again. I'm not so sure about the devouring of flesh thing. Ordesky would have a fit if he heard that! Look, just cut it down to "Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey!" It's short! It's punchy! It says it all! And roll...

Witch King: Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey!

Éowyn: Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.

Witch king: Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!

Éowyn: But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.

PJ: CUT!!! Yeah, look I see where you're going with this whole Macbeth, "not born of woman" thing but it's a little obvious isn't it? I mean Miranda's a bit too sexy to pull that off. I knew we should've looked for Hilary Swank or that guy from the Crying Game. How about we cut to the chase... Éowyn, your bit basically says "I'm not a Man" so lets just say that!

Phillipa: Mutter... Mutter... Screenwriter my ass...

PJ: And Roll!

Éowyn: I will kill you if you touch him!

Witch King: Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey.

Éowyn: Aaargh!

Witch King: You fool. No man can kill me. Die now.

Merry: Augh!

[Merry strikes the Witch King from behind. The Witch King falls to his knees. Merry drops his sword and falls back, clutching his arm as if it's been burned.]

Merry: Ahh!

[Éowyn rises. She takes off her helm and lets her hair fly free.]

Éowyn: I am no man! Aha!

PJ: And CUT! Perfect! We just need something to raise the tension. I know, we'll intercut with Aragorn and the Corsairs!

Phillipa: The fans are going to crucify me....

[Pearly Di]

Alatar, heh.

I'll bet that's not so far off the truth either!

V-man, thanks so much for posting those GREAT quotes.

Marueen Thum and I obviously sing from the same hymn sheet. Totally. This is how I have always seen Éowyn. She, and Galadriel, are definitely my two favourite Tolkien women.

(And I very much liked Miranda's 'softer' take on her too.)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Still waiting for Jn to explain her comment about Eve.

[Jnyusa]

I got sidetracked last night by a call from my daughter who needed some help editing.

Jn

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That was last night, what about today.

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Seriously, that was masterly although it still leaves me As in: can Tolkien possibly have MEANT all that??????

Thanks! Though I have to wonder that myself.

(Oh, and Mossy, your sig pic ...!!!! )

(That was pretty much my reaction, too. )

Alatar,

Vison, I think we disagree on a lot, (was it you that I was discussing this with back in the days of yore in m00bies?) but I couldn't agree with you more about this:

I could scarcely bear to watch what PJ did to her, but that's another story. . . . Just one more minor whine: why, why, why, why, why couldn't PJ have let her speak Tolkien's words?

Miranda could have been good, but PJ tampered with her character too much. He changed the high spirited, brazen shieldmaiden into a desperate lovelorn maiden who happened to be good with a sword. (Exaggeration maybe, but still.)

Voronwë, really interesting quotes! We were discussion that the other day in my English class, so it's especially neat to see it brought up in relation to Tolkien. I'd like to read that essay sometime. I know Tolkien was originally going to kill Éowyn after her battle with the WiKi. Do you (or anyone else) know if his descision to change that was to defy the common paradigm (is that the word?)?

Also waiting (not so) patiently for Jn's explanation.