(from ROTK)

Éowyn was as brave and as fierce as her brother, and perhaps as skilled with a blade as her brother also : her father Éomund, who had to deal with Orcish invaders each day, probably learnt both his children how to wield a blade and how to ride a horse as soon as they had outgrown their diapers ; furthermore, after their father had died and Théoden took them in his household, Éowyn was probably further educated in the art of combat together with her brother, possibly by Théoden or Théodred themselves, as they probably noticed how their young niece loved to fight and was almost as skilled as her brother. Not to mention, it probably was custom that every man and every woman in Rohan would at least learn the basics of swordfighting and horseback riding, as both Mordor and Isengard were rearing their ugly heads in those days.

Yet, as Gandalf points out in the above quote, Éomer could have the time of his life in Rohan, whilst Éowyn could not, because she was a woman and therefor it was expected that she stayed in her bower in Meduseld all day, sewing and gossiping with the other ladies – needless to say, this was not the life Éowyn wanted, she wanted a life of action like her brother, she wanted to do great deeds in the spirit of her great forefathers. Hence, the life she led didn’t satisfy her, to say the least, and she was restless and unhappy because of this, and felt like she was trapped in a cage, “all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in”, like Gandalf put it.

When Théoden became completely overcome by Gríma’s poisonous words, Éowyn was forced to take care of her debilitated uncle, a task she undoubtedly found embarassing and inferior (even though she loved her uncle like a father), and completely the opposite of the ‘great deeds’ she imagined herself to do one day.

But then suddenly Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas came to Meduseld and awoke Théoden from his lethargy, after which the latter then continued to restore the glory of Rohan – and when Éowyn first met Aragorn, she was greatly impressed by his barely concealed greatness and glory, and felt that he was a man who had done great deeds, and who was about to do even greater deeds, and felt attracted to him as she felt she could finally know glory if she was on his side.


(from TTT)

No, at this point she did not love Aragorn, she only loved the glory he could lead her to, she loved the vision she had of him – she was attracted to Aragorn, but not more.
Only later in the end, she loved Aragorn, but not like one loves a lover, she loved him like the people of Minas Tirith loved their King.

After the events described above, and after the battle of Helm’s Deep, Éowyn was obviously very proud that the glory of Rohan was restored, and that her people were finally making war on Sauron and Saruman, even though she didn’t take part in it. At this point, Théoden had made her responsible for the people of Rohan in his absence, and she would have taken up this responsibility upto the end, she even found peace, if something dramatic hadn’t happened : the Passing of the Grey Company.

When she saw Aragorn again for the first time since he came to Meduseld, she probably thought that he was going to ask her to join him in battle (the folly of youth), but when it turned out he was taking the Paths of the Dead, which sounded like mere suicide in her ears, all confidence and peace she had known immediately went down the drain : the man she felt attracted to, who she imagined she loved, who she thought would lead her and others to glory, had chosen to throw away his life and she was completely unable to deal with this. In complete desperation she offered to join him, which he of course refused as she had a responsibility to her people. After he had left her, she thought he had died and after that she decided for herself that she’d die in battle as well, as she felt her life was again empty – the only beacon that had come to lend some of its light in the darkness which was her life, Aragorn, was gone, and perhaps she also felt that Aragorn was the only hope to save Rohan, and now that he was gone everything was lost anyway and she wanted to die a warrior’s death, instead of waiting to be struck down with the rest of the Rohirrim women, elderly and children that stayed behind.

The course of events after that is well known to everyone : Éowyn made it to the Pelennor Fields as Dernhelm, together with Meriadoc she defeated a powerful enemy, and was afterwards healed by Aragorn. When she woke up after her disease and thought about the course of events, she was both proud and embarrassed : proud as Théoden had died a glorious death and the Éorlingas had fought bravely and valiantly, yet embarassed that now everybody would know that Aragorn refused her pleas at Dunharrow, after which she tried to run into certain death like a lemming off a cliff. Yet, she was wrong in thinking this, as everybody in Minas Tirith saw her as a brave woman and everybody in Rohan regarded her as a true heroïne, and gave her the title "Lady of the Shield Arm”.

Yes, Aragorn had cured her body, but it took Faramir to heal her spirit, to finally release her from her gloom and restlessness. Or maybe when she met Faramir her restlessness ended as she finally found what she had been looking for her entire life : something that would give her life meaning and give her happiness ; she had always thought this something would be glory in battle, but in the end it turned out it was love.

wow, a really good post. you have the makings of a chief biographer of middle earth. how often have you read tolkien's works? you look like a real insider in every topic.

what a comparison...

Aragorn had seen everything that Faramir saw, both in Meduseld and Dunharrow, but he just had no time to deal with her and give her any psychological support, as he was quite busy elsewhere : the Paths of the Dead, getting to the Pelennor Fields in time, etc.


(from ROTK, the Houses of Healing)

Who knows, maybe Aragorn whispered "court Lady Éowyn and put an end to her obsession for me..." into Faramir's ear when he was healing him. Smooth.

A warm palacial bedroom in Minas Tirith, rather than the drafty barn she had at Edoras.

Me thinks she was only grasping at the first available straw that might lead to her rescue from the reek of the thatched barns of the Rohirrim.

She could've easily escaped Wormtongue by putting a sword between his ribs, something that Éowyn surely was capable of.

The fact that she never did this, speaks for Gríma's oratory prowess and the efficiency of Saruman's training.

But the fact that Gríma was still never able to talk her into marrying him, or other unsavoury affairs, speaks for Éowyn's steel will and stamina.

The question raises if Éowyn's actions were an attempt to raise herself to glory, or nohing more than a cry for attention. It is certain that together with so many women in those days, she was sometimes completely ignored (and we all know how much women like that..):


(from TTT)

Imo, this lack of attention was not the major reason for Éowyn's actions, but yet another contributing factor, along with the arrival of Aragorn in Meduseld, and Aragorn taking the Paths of the Dead.

To me, the major reason for her actions, or at least the primordial factor, is still the sturm und drang inside her.