I am Eowyn!
Ever since I was just a wee lass, Eowyn has been my favorite character from the Lord of the Rings. I can really identify with her in a lot of ways, and we even look a bit alike! Well, not so much any more since I cut my hair...but that's not the point. Before you go any further, though:
A long time ago, I saw the Rankin-Bass 1980 version of The Return of the King. This movie in general is just really weird. It has singing orcs in it, and a lot of the dialogue is extremely cheesy. But when you're four years old, stuff like that doesn't matter very much.
I was captivated by her bold words to the Witch-King of Angmar:
And then she takes off her helmet and about four feet of gorgeous blonde hair falls from it, and then with a single stroke decapitates the Ringwraith. It was this scene that permenantly turned me into a Tolkien nut. It also inpired me to grow out my hair freakishly long. What four-year-old girl wouldn't make Eowyn her life-long Heroine?
Eowyn is a wonderful person. Not only is she a beautiful princess, but she is nobody's fool. She can "ride and wield blade" just as well as any man in Rohan. However, there is Wormtoungue, the quintessential stalker. Because of him, Rohan is falling apart by the time Aragorn and Co. gets there. Because of this guy, Eowyn sees pretty much everything she loves crumble into dust. When Aragorn does come on the scene Eowyn sees him as her savior, even though it was technically Gandalf and not Aragorn who casts out Wormtongue. But Aragorn did a lot more for Rohan as well. Helms deep, for instance. When Aragorn rides off to the paths of the dead, and when her brother and Uncle ride off to Minas Tirith, she fears she will never see them again. She is fiercely loyal to her loved ones and wants to go with them, which she is perfectly capable of doing. She is needed in Rohan, however, to "stay home and keep house." Tolkien gives her this beautiful monologue about how she resents what is expected of her, which is to be found in the chapter, "The Passing of the Grey Company". "All your words are but to say 'you are a woman, and your part is in the house!'"
Ultimately, she proves her uncle and everybody wrong by delivering the world from the Witch-King. Plus there was that really cool scene which was in the movie (but sadly, not the book) where she takes out that Mamuk. While she's in the hospital recovering from the wounds she obtained destroying said enemy, she meets Faramir, who is noble and compassionate, eloquent, and completely wonderful, and they fall in love and get married. After she meets Faramir, she decides to hang up her sword and become a healer instead of a warrior princess.
The whole love story between Eowyn and Faramir is absolutely beautiful.The chapter "The Steward and the King" is one of the most romantic things I have ever read. I think Faramir is the best guy in the whole book. I was disspointed with Peter Jackson's portrayal of Faramir as power hungry because he wasn't like that at all in the book. Since watching the Extended cut of Two Towers, and since seeing Return of the King (which was completely wonderful), I feel this image of him has been redeemed. In any case, at least Peter Jackson mentioned it, because Rankin and Bass just didn't cover it at all, even though it's the best part in the whole book!
David Wenham played Faramir in The Two Towers. Again, Faramir had better redeem himself. But as long as they keep the story romantic, I might be persuaded to overlook that. While we're talking about the different movies, I found a picture of Eowyn as depicted in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version (The worst film EVER!!!)
Ugh. She looks middle aged or something.
If you wanted to, you could make a lot of connections concerning Eowyn in a sort of "Sister Missionary" sense.
Before I go, and while I'm on the subject, I just have to say that I REALLY like Faramir's character in the Lord of the Rings. I named my trusty computer after him, even though he bluescreens all the time (but that is not Faramir's fault - it's because he's got windows ME installed on him) When I saw "Return of the King" I came home feeling that I definately wanted to marry Faramir. But since he's fictional, the next best thing will be to find someone with many Faramir-like qualities, such as orc-slaying ability. But since this is the real world, he'll also have to have some kind of desire to live in the Middle East since that is where my life seems to be going at the moment.
Onward to Minas Tirith!(If by Minas Tirith you mean Home...)
Last updated 28 December 2003