[Mithalwen]

Is there any significance in that these three characters never meet (as far as we know- obviously it is not impossible that the paths of the "first lady" of Rohan and the heir to the steward of Gondor might have crossed. Indeed had Boromir not devoted himself to warfare, and if Rohan and Gondor followed the practice common amongst European royalty until even the last generations, it would have been a highly suitable dynastic match. However that devotion to warfare and skill in arms and the rejection of family life is a shared characteristic of Boromir and Eowyn. It is one of those neat little twists that the hobbits who Boromir dies saving facilitate the survival of Faramir and Eowyn. Little Hobbit cupids bringing them together at the houses of healing - don't forget that Merry fills Faramir in of Eowyn's sadness! If I remember the early drafts rightly, Tolkien originally thought that Eowyn would die ... it may be a fancy ( and I have a well known fondness for Faramir!) but I wonder if one of the reasons that Faramir wandered from the woods of Ithilien and in to the plot to Tolkien's own surprise, was to (in a sense) provide a kind of "cleansed" reincarnation of Boromir . They are some of the most interesting characters because they are psychologically in complex and perhaps more realistic than the more consistently noble characters who disregard their own feelings with regard to the greater good.

I feel it is harsh to single out Eowyn's action as evil - Faramir and Eomer also break the rules crucially for the plot.

All three are slightly lonely figures striving for something beyond their reach. Eowyn is a women alone among men - no mother, sister, aunts to provide role models. I have argued elsewhere that her upbringing might have predisposed her to avoid a traditional female role and the same might also be argued of Boromir - much is said in the few lines that tell the story of Denethor and Finduilas. And when Boromir arrives at Rivendell he has travelled far and alone - it is not surpising he too seems defined by his pride. Used to being revered in his own land he arrives at Imladris almost as a beggar at the gates to a place where even his noble line is relatively lowly; little surprise that he sounds his horn as he leaves refusing to go forth as a thief in the night. Little of course is known of Gollum's background but he is more alone than anyone.

I would also make a point about education - if they do not fully understand the story this must surely have a role. Faramir has learnt enough from the archive of Minas Tirith and Gandalf to get the bigger picture whereas Boromir regard sthe ring as a weapon - such is his training and inclination. Gollum is a relatively primitive creature - a true victim of circumstance if he could never have been expected to resist the lure of the ring (btw a typo just made me realise that rule and lure are anagrams ...) . Eowyn, well I see her a little as a force of nature. She is often described as a flower - a lily tocuched by frost.... she is not a barbarian, if anything she aspire to a higher civilisation than the one she was born into but she still feels trapped by convention. Oh dear ... anopther stream of consciouness ramble and the essence of what I am trying to say escapes me ... but I there may be a few things that people may choose to run with!