[Mithalwen]

I wouldn't call Eowyn flat ..... she is one of the few psychologically complex people .... and has the strength to yield unlike that other complex woman Erendis...

I agree with Davem on the importance of Tolkien's Catholicism with regard to division of journeys to either spiritual or physical/emotional fulfilment . The highest estates in Catholicism are either the priesthood or a marriage of unrestricted fecundity (I wish I wasn't writing this within 48 hrs of watching "The Meaning of Life" lol) and it is not possible to do both. The religious life and family life are separate. The spiritual path is ultimately a lonely one....... and by implication, yielding to the will of the flesh even within the permitted and sanctified confines of marriage, detracts from the spirit. Body and soul are opposed not complementary ..

It seems to me that the Eldar , as portrayed in the Laws and Custom, are just about perfect Catholics, one indissoluble union, the inseparable links between marriage and sex and sex and procreation..... with a few vocab changes it would be more or less interchangeable with "The New Catholic Catechism".......