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You know, there were some interesting things I came across in glancing through HoME today but forgot to add to my initial post:
Éowyn was initially conceived as a possible mate for Aragorn. This storyline was of course later dropped, but it may help to explain why the tale of Arwen and Aragorn is less integrated into the larger tale.
One of Tolkien's notes guesses that, "Probably Eowyn should die to avenge or save Theoden." I wonder if some of Tolkien's critics would have been happier or less satisfied if this had been Éowyn's fate.
Éowyn is also described in at least two instances in the professor's notes as an "amazon". I don't know if that means anything about anything, or if it offers any insights. I think that it's interesting that Tolkien initially planned to pair his warrior king with a warrior queen.
Then there's the tantalizing matter of Idis, Théoden's daughter, who appeared ever so briefly onstage in early drafts before disappearing without explanation...
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