Faith and Choices

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

[I]Note that on the evening they met, Plath bit Hughes in the face...I would have liked to see how Aragorn would react to that...

This probably belongs more on the Luthien/Thuringwethil thread, no?

Originally Posted by radagastly

We know that the Rohirrim had developed a somewhat different belief system than the structure we see in the Sil. They had a profound reverence for their ancestors, a belief neither unwarrented nor inconsistent with the myth of the Ainulindale, but certainly not specified. They seem to have held that personal honor, courage and glory in battle would lead them back to the Halls of their Fathers (how very Nordic of them, or Japanese.) What do we know of a woman's place in this belief system? How would a high-born shieldmaiden, forced into the (to her) ignoble role of nursemaid, beyond any chance of glory, tending a feeble old king, himself seemingly beyond any chance of glory as well, react to the chance of war represented by the arrival of Aragorn? Did his courteous, polite response fuel her feelings for him, or drive her into battle and doom?

I'm not sure how much could be read into Eowyn's position in terms of a full blown critique of the Rohirrim honour system, although your thoughts are suggestive, rad. It is true that such a system was thoroughly patriarchal. (And it is true that Aragorn walks in in full testosterone get up, providing a dynamic spark in a very wet situation.) Yet Tolkien expends so much thought and care and devotion to the depiction of the Rohirrim love of battle, and to the battle itself, that I'm not sure we can extrapolate to consider whether he meant through the character of Eowyn to provide a critique of such cultures. I think the emphasis is rather on a critique of her character, as she rather easily finds a place post-WotR within the the heroic structure.