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Old 02-22-2010, 01:06 PM   #1
Mister Underhill
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One thing that comes up for me as I read the oft-repeated expressions of disappointment in the fact that Éowyn lays down her blade and becomes a healer is that it somehow seems upside down. Shouldn't we feel happy for her (or for any character, regardless of gender) who is able to find peace and love and retire from death and slaying? I guess maybe this is the reason why endings to fantasy stories, or I guess any story, are often a little bittersweet, even if they're happy endings. We'd feel the same way if Indiana Jones ever hung up his whip on his study wall, or if Conan ever decided to rule from his throne-room and leave the slaying to his minions. I'm not sure this has anything to do with sexism though, and maybe more to do with what we get out of the adventures and exploits of the characters that we identify with and fantasize about being.

Another thing I wonder about is how many people in Middle-earth are really professional warriors anyway. My sense is, not that many. No doubt Gondor has a standing army given their geography. But elsewhere, it seems that battle is something that is engaged in when it's necessary, not as a matter of course, and being a warrior is just something that you do in addition to whatever else it is that you do. In a world at war, more men take up the warrior role, sure, but what becomes of the warrior when the war is over? The fate of those stuck in the warrior sphere seems lonely and bitter indeed. Not that bitter loneliness doesn't have its attractions.

I'm reminded of the end of John Ford's The Searchers -- as the rest of the family heads inside the homestead and the camera pulls back through the door, Ethan, the John Wayne character, remains outside, isolated, tragic. He turns and walks away as the door closes. A warrior who is always off to new adventures is also always turning away from home and hearth and family.

Another thought -- the flip side of the expectation that women will stay home and mourn their dead is the expectation that men will take up arms and fight, and die. The social pressure on men to be warriors can be incredible, as Tolkien himself knew full well. So what if you're a sensitive young man, more given to poetry and learning than the martial arts? Well, you take up arms anyway and do your duty, as you can hardly do otherwise without suffering the censure of society. I seem to recall Tolkien saying that Faramir was the character with whom he most closely identified, and I get the sense that it's in this regard too. Faramir doesn't relish his role as warrior, and he can't wait to get back to less violent pursuits when the war is over. Both men and women can be victims of the pressures and expectations exerted by their culture.

Last edited by Mister Underhill; 04-17-2010 at 10:58 AM. Reason: To correct the homophone.
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Old 02-22-2010, 01:35 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Mister Underhill View Post
Another thought -- the flip side of the expectation that women will stay home and mourn their dead is the expectation that men will take up arms and fight, and die. The social pressure on men to be warriors can be incredible, as Tolkien himself knew full well. So what if you're a sensitive young man, more given to poetry and learning than the marshal arts? Well, you take up arms anyway and do your duty, as you can hardly do otherwise without suffering the censure of society. I seem to recall Tolkien saying that Faramir was the character with whom he most closely identified, and I get the sense that it's in this regard too. Faramir doesn't relish his role as warrior, and he can't wait to get back to less violent pursuits when the war is over. Both men and women can be victims of the pressures and expectations exerted by their culture.
That's a very good point, I think, and a nice new perspective.
There are examples of 'reluctant (male) warriors' in the books, who were unable to perform the duty required of them as men. The host of the West that were to act as cannon-fodder for Sauron's armies to give the Ring-bearer a chance had some.

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So time and the hopless journey wore away. Upon the fourth day from the Cross-roads and the sixth from Minas Tirith they came at last to the end of the living lands, and began to pass into the desolation that lay before the gates of the pass of Cirith Gorgor; and they could decry the marshes and the desert that stretched north and west to the Emyn Muil. So desolate were those places and so deep the horror that lay on them that some of the host were unmanned, and they could neither walk nor ride further north.
ROTK The Black Gate Opens

And much earlier in ME history, there was the sad plight of the lord of Brethil, Brandir son of Handir. With a lame leg which left him unable to perform as a warrior, and having a gentle temperament as well, he was publicy humiliated by his kinsman, Dorlas.

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"Hearken, Men of Brethil, it is now well seen that for the evil of our times the counsels of Brandir were vain. There is no escape by hiding. Will none of you take the place of the son of Handir, that the House of Haleth be not put to shame?
Unfinished Tales Narn i Hîn Húrin

Plainly not every woman is a housemaid or a healer by desire, but neither is every man a fighter, though both have pressure to perform certain duties.
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Old 02-22-2010, 03:20 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Mr Underhill
So what if you're a sensitive young man, more given to poetry and learning than the marshal arts? Well, you take up arms anyway and do your duty, as you can hardly do otherwise without suffering the censure of society. I seem to recall Tolkien saying that Faramir was the character with whom he most closely identified, and I get the sense that it's in this regard too. Faramir doesn't relish his role as warrior, and he can't wait to get back to less violent pursuits when the war is over. Both men and women can be victims of the pressures and expectations exerted by their culture.
I think I like this point best, as it shows how Faramir, far from being merely 'second best' for Éowyn, actually was a perfect match for her - a man who, having had a similar role problem, only from the opposite direction, could understand and complement her better than even Aragorn. I hadn't seen their marriage in this light before, but it makes perfect sense now.
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Old 04-13-2010, 03:29 AM   #4
McCaber
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For me, this issue doesn't come down to Eowyn following her proscribed gender roles as it does her choosing optimism and hope over grim fate.

If "the hands of the King are the hands of a healer," Eowyn should feel no shame in traveling that same road. There should be no stigma in laying down the instruments of death and spreading life and healing. After the War that was what was needed most, and it's still part of her duty as nobility to care for those under her. She just used nonviolent means to do it, as did Faramir.
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