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Originally Posted by eowyntje
The way I see it, Eowyn had a spirit for adventure and adrenaline, for heroism and a meaningfull life, I don't find it likely that this spirit would leave her after one experience. Eowyn would probably get bored of married life after a while and long for a more exciting life again.
Tolkien made the choices he made and I can't change them, but personaly, I don't find it believable that Eowyn would make such a huge chage and live on feeling happy about who she was for the rets of her life after having givven up so much of herself.
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Without wanting to sound as old as Methuselah's grannie, I would say that my view of Eowyn has changed in the years since I first read LOTR as a 10 year old. Then I felt let down that she had "settled" for marriage seemed so soppy after fighting fell beasts, then as a teenage feminist I felt she had really let the side down. Now with age, if not maturity
. I see her situation differently.
The Eowyn who rides to war is not doing it for kicks or adventure, she is desperate, her spirit is under a shadow, and more or less has a deathwish. In a sense her decision is selfish (though totally understandable) since she disobeys her lord's command. She cannot bear to be left alone to be leader of a people in thrall to Sauron. She has had no positive female role model having lost her mother young, and her aunt having already died in childbirth. Meanwhile the remainder of her family are men and mighty warriors, lords of a warlike people. But as a woman this route to status and respect is not open to her. This may be the secret of her desire to be a shield maiden rather than it being her natural vocation. I know myself what a motivator being told you can't do something because you are a girl is!
At the moment Aragorn arrives, her cousin is dead, her brother out of favour, her uncle under malign influence, she has a major league creep on her tail, the whole country faces ruin and noone is doing anything about it. Then this dynamic leader arrives and offers hope and it is inevitable she will be attracted to him. But he too tells her to be a good girl and stay at home and keep the home fires burning. And Eowyn is not passive so she choses to ride to near certain death rather than wait for near certain death - and probably a slower, less clean one - come to her.
She goes to war and does a mightier deed than she could have imagined, but it does not bring her fulfilment, but if anything increases her despair. If you look at the "Steward and the King" you see that she is acutely aware of the reality of the situation, is an active realist in a situation that agin demands her to be a passive fatalist. Then a change comes both in herself and the world situation, and I believe the change is not one that will demean her but rather enrich her - allow her to become a more complete person rather than a lesser one. Tolkien does not palm her off with Faramir, he unites his most interesting, rounded and psychologically interesting characters.
Theirs is a mental as well as a physical attraction and he loves her for herself not just becasue she is beautiful. I always think of this bit of Yeats for them:
"How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;"
It is possible (so I'm told
) for marriage to be an enriching experience and Eowyn does not look on her future as negative rather than positive "The Sahdow has departed, I will be a shieldmaiden no longer... nor take joy only in the songs of slaying, I will be a healer and take joy in all things that grow and are not barren"..
She has chosen life over death ... to be creative not destructive and has a clever, handsome, supportive husband to keep her company on the way.... not such a bad deal all things considered......
And gardeners always have challenges ...