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

[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.

[Lalaith]

I think another important point to remember is that Eowyn's marriage to Faramir is not just about Eowyn as a woman and Faramir as a man, they are both representatives of their respective cultures.

Rohan, while of course thoroughly splendid in many ways, was a vassal kingdom, its people and culture were more primitive than those of Gondor. Remember, Gandalf talks about their lack of literacy. Eowyn is marrying the greatest man in Gondor, next to Elessar himself, a man in whom "the blood of Westernesse runs nearly pure." Faramir's interests are more "elvish" and elevated - lore, healing and wise rule. By having her turn her back on "songs of slaying", I think Tolkien intended to give Eowyn a cultural step upwards.

[Mithalwen]

Certainly her horizons widened but I think that is a little harsh. Eowyn is at least a quarter Gondorian through her grandmother Morwen of Lossarnach - who despite her name was of the strong and noble Numenorean line of the Princes of Dol Amroth. Faramir and Eowyn are cousins (albeit third or forth cousins). But on a more general level I think the two countries will be brought closer in many regards by the intermarriage of their noblest houses (with Eomer and Lothiriel also). Gondor has culture, but Rohan has perhaps more vigour and dynamism.

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

Good discussions here... there are many ways that one can look at Eowyn's character. There are also many ways that she can be analyzed, since Tolkien never really dives that deep into her head as to tell us exactly why she makes the decisions she makes. I can analyze her as a character from my own personal point of view, but also from the point of view of an actor.

I can relate to her actions in many ways, so I'll tell it how I see it.

I don't think she ever truly had an "adventurous" spirit, nor did she desire to battle. I agree that this was more of an act of desperation. She's been caged her whole life taking care of an Uncle that barely even notices her existance... the only love she's known is that from her brother, and the corrupt love that Wormtongue has for her. So, no one has really looked upon her before with more than a brotherly love or a lust. Then along comes Aragorn... he shows her a compassion that she's never really experienced before. He has a spirit that she desires to have as well. In a way, I think he's almost what she desires to be... so she wishes to follow him. She's found someone and/or something to devote herself to, and by following him she's escaping her cage and the life she's known. It's desperation to escape her current circumstances. It's not unlikely to develop a "love" of sorts for someone who you think is going to save you. In a way, he took the cloud from her eyes and she saw what she could truly be. His coming helped her to find her strength.. and then it exploded.
When he was going to be taken from her as quickly as he came she got desperate. We've all had moments of desperation, no? The fact that her Uncle and brother were going off to war didn't help things. If she got left behind then she'd be back in her cage. She'd be in charge of a sleepy kingdom and the whole time she'd be picturing those she loved be slaughtered in her head... so she chose to run from her cage to avoid being reimprisoned. She knew which life she did not want, and she refused to return to it. She had to follow something that made her feel alive.
So, we all know what happens next. She proves her strength.
She did not die, as she desired to... but she also discovered that she had not lost everything. Along comes Faramir. Now, I'm not Tolkien scholar, but I can sure say that when someone (who is not creepy) actually shows love interest in you, it makes you want to melt... even if you are reluctant at first. She is given a second chance, and I don't think she settled at all. I think she truly fell in love with Faramir and she no longer had need for acts of desperation.

Oh man, my brain died in the middle of typing that. I sounded much more profound in my head... maybe it'll come back to me, because I know it sounded better than that in my head.

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

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

That's possible. If you can see the end of your country looming and your countrymen dying and all those horrendous events at that time, surely as the king's niece you would want to be able to help in any way. And at that time, the best way to help is by fighting. When everyone around you discourages you from helping in the way you want to, you are motivated all the more (as Mithalwen had pointed out).

I can't seem to picture Eowyn playing with dolls during her childhood, though. She could have spent most of her time in homemaking, of which eventually she grew tired and wanted something more exciting, like hewing heads off bodies.