Just wanted to point out... [Eowyn changes]

[davem]

Originally Posted by eowyntje

This seems a very drastic change that effects Eowyn's entire character, how could someone change so much? "The Sahdow has departed, I will be a shieldmaiden no longer... nor take joy only in the songs of slaying, I will be a healer and take joy in all things that grow and are not barren"..
This seems to me to be a very drastic change in eowyn's character? How could one change so much in moments? It seems to me impossible that her old spirit would have completely left her. Maybe I lack the maturity to understand the beauty and fulfillment of healing, it seems like a boring job to me. :P

I wonder how complete Eowyn's change was - she says she will no longer 'take joy only in the songs of slaying'. This implies that the side of her that took joy in the songs of slaying will remain a part of her. I think it will be an interesting marriage

[Mithalwen]

Well while I doubt very much that she would be a "surrendered" passive wife ... I don't think Faramir should panic too much .. I think she has made a full commitment to giving up the shield maiding... That said I think the knowledge that your wife is capable of dispatching both a fell beast and the Lord of the Nazgul (albeit hobbit assisted) would keep most husbands up to scratch .... bet he wouldn't forget their anniversaries or get back late from the office when he is due to babysit Elboron while she is out with the girls

[Lalwendë]

There's another thing about Eowyn that makes me think that she did not undergo such a great change. She was not always a shieldmaiden, and I do not get the impression that it was always even a desire for her. Yes, she has the skills to ride and use a sword, and she is brave enough to face the Witch King, but this seems to be a latent desire which is awakened when she meets Aragorn. I wonder just how much this interest was stirred by his appearance in her life?

Originally Posted by davem

I wonder how complete Eowyn's change was - she says she will no longer 'take joy only in the songs of slaying'. This implies that the side of her that took joy in the songs of slaying will remain a part of her. I think it will be an interesting marriage

Hmm, I can just see Eowyn singing a rousing chorus about hewing bodies apart and being soaked in blood while she tends to the household.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

She was not always a shieldmaiden, and I do not get the impression that it was always even a desire for her.

So you're suggesting that shieldmaidening was just a "passing phase" for her ...

[Mithalwen]

Well I think both career and recreational options were probably a bit limited in Rohan at the end of the Third Age .... you can see how it happens ... spend years quietly in a barn in the middle of nowhere with a lot of blond beardie types and then tall dark stranger arrives ..who just happens to be a king and who is heavily into the warrior scene ... shieldmaiding probably seemed a good idea....

[Elianna]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

shieldmaiding probably seemed a good idea....

True, but I doubt shieldmaiding was that new to her. Aragorn did bring changes in her as both Eomer and Aragorn observed in the Houses of Healing. "A flower wrought by elven smiths of steel." Aragorn says, "Or was it of ice?" And Eomer answers, "Not ice until she saw you." (paraphrasing)

So she was made of steel before Aragorn showed up. Somehow, I find ice more desperate than steel.

[Mithalwen]

Sorry .. I was writing tongue in cheek... but that is a wonderful quote.

I think you are right - a flower made by eleven smiths from steel is a rather positive image - beautiful, cold maybe, yet strong and enduring. Steel may flex under pressure but spring back. A flower of ice on the other hand may also be beautiful but it is also fragile, easily shattered and fleeting. Steel is tempered by the fire but ice melts .....

I am sure Eowyn reatined her steel even though in happier times she allowed herself to develop the full range of her character.