Eowyn and feminism and Tolkien

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

There is also an issue with Eowyn that hasn't been explored as much as it should. Her uncle made her regent of the kingdom in his absence and that of her brother. Ruling Rohan in the place of Theoden was, I'm sure, a serious responsibility. (I'm presuming here that she exercised real power, and wasn't a nominal regent, with an 'advisor' or 'advisors' exercising the real power.)

Due to this, I've had an issue over the last few years with her deserting her post as regent to fight in Gondor.

What I'm wondering is:

How did she get away with it at all? She was left behind in order to be the acting ruler of Rohan - but she disappeared. How was she not instantly missed by those left behind in Edoras? Why did someone not immediately ride at full speed after Theoden to inform him that the Lady Eowyn was missing?

In any case, what did the people of Rohan think when their ruler went missing? Any thoughts?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheHalflings

What I'm wondering is:

How did she get away with it at all? She was left behind in order to be the acting ruler of Rohan - but she disappeared. How was she not instantly missed by those left behind in Edoras? Why did someone not immediately ride at full speed after Theoden to inform him that the Lady Eowyn was missing?

In any case, what did the people of Rohan think when their ruler went missing? Any thoughts?

Presumably Éowyn would have designated someone before she left to stand in for her. Maybe the former condition of Théoden under the influence of Wormtongue was known to the general population in Rohan, and thus Éowyn's forced role as a nursemaid was known also. In that case, the people could well have taken pity on her, and being a fairly warlike people, understood her desire to stand or fall in battle. Perhaps the severity of the situation too lent her some degree of leeway from the people. They were well aware the host of Théoden stood a real chance of not returning, and it would be only a matter of time before they all were rooted out and enslaved. I don't think they would have wished the House of Eorl to fall to that personally.

[Mithalwen]

Erkenbrand was left in military charge. I suspect Elfhelm tipped him the wink.

[mark12_30]

Or, Aragorn and the topic of unpraised valour

This discussion continues to weigh on my mind:

‘A time may come soon,’ said he, ‘when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.’

And she answered: ‘All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. ’

I grant the weight of Eowyn's words;. "Shall I always be left behind when the Riders depart, to mind the house while they win renown, and find food and beds when they return?"

But neither do I disagree with what Aragorn said, nor feel that he had no right to say it.

From The Council of Elrond:

‘If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played another part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?

‘And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. “Strider” I am to one fat man who lives within a day’s march of foes that would freeze his heart or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would not have it otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so. That has been the task of my kindred, while the years have lengthened and the grass has grown.'

And again:

From "Strider":

‘It would take more than a few days, or weeks, or years, of wandering in the Wild to make you look like Strider,’ he answered. ‘And you would die first, unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be.’

On his behalf, Aragorn had every right, I think, to talk about "valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds .... Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."

[Lindale]

A very quick thought regarding feminism, Eowyn, Erendis, and women-left-at-home-when-men-go-to-war:

As mark notes from the book: ‘All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. ’

And as Erendis says to Ancalime: 'Thus it is, Ancalime, and we cannot alter it. For men fashioned Numenor: men, those heroes of old that they sing of; of their women we hear less, save that they wept when their men were slain. Numenor was to be a rest after war. But if they were weary of rest and the plays of peace, soon they will go back to their great play, manslaying and war. Thus it is; and we are set here among them. But we need not assent. If we love Numenor also, let us enjoy it before they ruin it. We also are daughters of the great, and we have wills and courage of our own. Therefore do not bend, Ancalime. Once bend a little, and they will bend you further until you are bowed down. Sink your roots into the rock, and face the wind, though it blow away all your leaves.'

Hopelessness seemed to be the lot of women for ages, IRL and in Tolkien, but to be put that way by two, well, aristocratic women but from different times... These two just fought it. Perhaps that's why they are so noteworthy: very few women in Tolkien achieve so much. Sometimes I think Erendis seems stronger, because she interpellates Ancalime so strongly with this ideology, but loses her daughter's love, which is all she has that is worthwhile; whereas Eowyn lives to see her moment of glory realized after killing the Witch-King. On the other hand, I too do not like Eowyn becoming a healer... Not that I think healers don't have a special place in their societies, but well, aren't women healers allowed in Minas Tirith but they never are soldiers? So it's still a second-level designation. Eowyn was put in her 'proper' place--ideologically (she will be a shield-maiden no longer) and literally (she retires from military service forever).

[Mister Underhill]

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.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

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.

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.

"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.