[Child of the 7th Age]

When I saw Eowyn's fear, and that of Merry, the first thing that popped into my head was the scene in The Hobbit where Bilbo has to conquor his fear before he can go down that dark passageway to approach Smaug. Of course, we have no idea if the scriptwriters ever read The Hobbit! Still, Tolkien says that all Bilbo's later physical fighting was really nothing when compared with the fear that he overcame in that dark corridor that allowed him to push ahead.<P>That's kind of how I read Eowyn's (and Merry's) reluctance. Most of the others were seasoned soldiers but neither she nor Merry had ever been in a battle before. So I saw it as reasonable that there would be a moment of quavering. That was not important. What was important was that they kept going forward.<P> And yes, Eowyn of the movie was warmer and less despairing than the Eowyn of the book.<p>[ 12:20 AM December 18, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]