Why Éowyn is the most misunderstood female character in the Lord of the Rings.
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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
This is how Tolkien describes Éowyn. "Very fair was her face and her long hair was like a river of gold"
"Fair" is a cognate of Old Saxon fagar, meaning beautiful, pretty or peaceful.
Tolkien envisioned Éowyn as a truly beautiful daughter of kings.
Again if you ask most casual fans of the Lord of the Rings, they view Éowyn as more of a comely and masculine figure. A 90s era "I can do anything a man can do" brand of female empowerment figure.
Whether you like or dislike that depiction, it is not how Tolkien describes Éowyn.
A helpful thing to consider with Éowyn is how Tolkien intended to use the character. Originally, Tolkien intended for Éowyn to marry Aragorn. However, he decided against it because Aragorn was "too old and lordly and grim".
From this we can surmise that Tolkien viewed Éowyn as youthful, energetic, beautiful and regal. A woman so valuable that she was originally selected to marry the king of kings.
Tolkien also considered making Éowyn the twin sister of Éomund, and having her die to avenge or save Théoden. He envisioned having Aragorn truly love Éowyn and regret never marrying after her death.
Tolkien goes on to talk about Éowyn. "She was also not really a soldier or 'Amazon', but like many brave women was capable of great military gallantry at a crisis"
Once again, Tolkien explicitly tells us that Éowyn was not a masculine 'Amazon' figure. But rather a brave shield-maiden capable of great military gallantry at a crisis.
No doubt the Éowyn character was influenced by the brave female nurses who he observed in WWI and who tended to him for months in hospital as he recovered from Trench Fever in 1916.
But perhaps most revealing of all is one of my favorite passages from the Return of the King.
"Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.
'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said; 'and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shield-maiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.'"
What Tolkien is telling us with Éowyn is the despair that results from women rejecting their feminine nature.
The common perception is that Éowyn was unhappy because "she was locked up" "caged" all she wanted to do was to go fight with the men, that would make her happy. Wrong!
Éowyn was in despair because the men around her were dying and weak. The men were failing. And when the men fail, women are heavily affected!
She was a reluctant shield-maiden. She was resentful that the failure of the men of her house required her to take up arms.
Tolkien describes her time fighting as "her winter", and when the war of the ring is over. She does not choose to join her brother on his continued conquests.
She chooses to be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.
Éowyn is a rejection of the idea that women should be strong masculine figures who compete with men in male domains. It's also a lesson in the despair inflicted upon women when men are abject in their duties!
The character is a fantastic depiction of a woman's true nature.
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