Eowyn The White Lady of Rohan
The Characters that Really Matter
“What do you fear, lady?' he asked. 'A cage,' she said.”[1]
The deep beauty and richness of Tolkien’s writing has always struck me with awe, I have read and reread the book, listened to the audiobooks, and watched Peter Jacksons, brilliant film adaptations way too often. So today I want to explore what he can teach us about the Feminine Genius through the fierce, multifaceted, female character of his famous Shieldmaiden, Eowyn.
Born as a daughter of kings, essentially a warrior princess, of a war-loving and horse-taming nation, Eowyn is already set up as a fierce and brave character. What sets her apart from all the rest though is actually her femininity, beautifully unveiled by Tolkien’s writing.
When we first meet Eowyn, she is caring for her uncle, an ailing, old man, struggling to keep his kingdom together. She is just referred to as ‘the woman’, showing that her role is undefined and at first glance insignificant. As we get to see more of her over the next pages, we can detect a hint of unhappiness and unfulfillment with her role. She is passionate in her care for Theoden, but Gandalf’s words to Eomer, summarise his sister’s position at court: “My friend, you had horses, and deed of arms, and the free fields; but she, being born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on.’[2] Eowyn can’t see how her care for Theoden, loving as it is, will fulfil her desire for glory and greatness.
But reading on we can see Eowyn has a character arc to undergo in this book as even Aragorn remarks that she is ‘fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood.’[3] He recognises that she still has a naïve attitude towards, life, love and most importantly war, and is not fully grown into her femininity. Indeed, the reader discovers this himself as Eowyn declares ‘I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death.'[4] After which her true fear is revealed "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”[5] Eowyn wants to make her mark in the world, she wants to do great deeds and her greatest fear is not fulfilling this desire. It is what makes her character one of the most relatable female presentations I have met. We all want to be a part of something greater than ourselves, the hero of the story, but just like Eowyn will discover, we usually don’t have to wander far from home to find our heroic deed.
Theoden appoints her as a leader, when he asks her to guide the people from Edoras to Helm’s Deep, clearly recognising, the ability she has to take care of her people, to do what no men can do by comforting and nurturing them on this difficult journey. Mind you not necessarily with food, we all remember the look of that stew. But with her presence, the feminine care that she radiates for those around her that are small and vulnerable.
She displays this care most in her interactions with the Hobbits. When she meets Merry at Meduseld she begins taking care of the young Hobbit. While Theoden makes him a Knight of Rohan, Eowyn is the one that nurtures his desire to go into battle, who delights at his declaration to go to war with his friends and the one that makes this possible for him. She believes in him in a way that none of the men do and enables him to achieve his heroic deed.
Her true feminine strength is revealed most aptly when Eowyn enters the battlefield, veiled in the guise of Dernhelm. She does not come in like so many modern female characters, with an unrealistic display of strength. We see her struggle and most importantly we see her fear in the face of war. This lends her actions even more significance as we see her overcome her natural physical weakness compared to her opponents and her fear turns into bravery.
Theoden’s death rips her out of the action of battle and she shows her deep love for him by rushing to his side and mourning his death. Not only this but she decides to defend his body against an enemy that no one has dared to stand up to, that only Gandalf manages to bar from the city. The Witch-king laughs at the sight of her and calls her a ‘fool’ for even attempting to stand against him who ‘No living man may hinder’.
Finally, Eowyn unveils herself, her sacred femininity with the epic words ‘But no living man am I! You look upon a woman.’ [6] In this absolute show of feminine strength, Eowyn gives a very feminine reason for her fierceness: ‘You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.’[7], her love for her family. Her motives are orientated outwards, she does not care for her own security, she only cares about the man she has loved as a father, she has cared for and nurture in illness and this is what makes her strength even more admirable. The witch-king is so much stronger than her, she struggles and is severely wounded while fighting him, her shield and arm crushed under the weight of this great evil. Yet again an aspect of her femininity saves her. A little hobbit, who would not even be on this battlefield if it wasn’t for her motherly care and nurture of his potential and belief in his fighting spirit, distracts the arrogant, malicious Witch-king with a stab in his knee. As the Witch-king falls to the ground, falling into himself and disappearing into nothingness, the Genesis prophecy inevitably comes to mind ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.’[8] Eowyn crushes the enemy that no men could overcome and uses her greatest source of strength, her femininity, to accomplish this.
Again, Tolkien creates even more admiration for Eowyn by showing her weakness and humanity, Eowyn struggles and almost dies from the black breath of the Witch-king. It takes the servant kings healing touch, to restore her to health, but her near death experience changes Eowyn forever.
This is where I would like to give consideration to the romantic aspect of her character, which I know some find controversial. Aragorn is the epitome of masculinity in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that Eowyn falls in love with him almost immediately emphasises this even more.
Faramir has met Eowyn as a fully formed woman, he sees her in all her painful beauty, she has seen the world and war. Aragorn was presented with an innocent and at times naïve Eowyn, he liked her, but he did not love her, because his heart was already spoken for. Faramir can now give Eowyn the one thing she has always craved, unconditional and sacrificial romantic love. His temperament is much more akin to Eowyn’s, having grown up as the more insignificant sibling to a great warrior and none the less earning his place as a hero of the War of the Ring. He has a similar view on war as her, just like her actions were to protect her country and her adoptive father Faramir says: ‘I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.’[9] They both have a great love for their nations and
Ironically, Eowyn ends up right where she began, as a caregiver, a healer, someone who nurtures others back to health. The ignoble task has turned for her into the most glorious one. She recognises the horrors of war and after experiencing it, just like Tolkien did in the Trenches in France, she chooses a life of peace and declares: “I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun; and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a Shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer and love all things that grow and are not barren.”[10] Eowyn has realised that her striving for glory also disguised a slightly more selfish desire, as she continues: ‘No longer do I desire to be a Queen.’ She has realised that she has fulfilled her great task, she has found honour and glory on the battlefield, but the price was too high. Now she has learned an important lesson, humility is a beautiful virtue. The humble task of serving others has won a new appreciation in her eyes. Eowyn has realised that just as St Therese, our little Flower, realised after wanting ‘to be a warrior, a priest, an apostle, a Doctor of the Church, a martyr…’ that ‘Jesus my love! At last I have found my vocation. My vocation is love! I have found my place in the bosom of the Church and it is you, Lord, who has given it me.’[11]
It reminds me of the idea that the simplest task done by a humble woman in her own home, turns into the most glorious and powerful act, when done as a radical yes to God, a ‘I am here, today, showing up, because you have called me to it.’
I would love to turn this kind of article into a series, if you know a female character from either book or film that you would like me to write about next, please comment their name and the title of the work, below!
[1] The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter II
[2] The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter VIII
[3] The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter VI
[4] The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter II
[5] The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter II
[6] The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter VI
[7] Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter VI
[8] Genesis 3:15
[9] The Two Towers, Book Four, Chapter V
[10] The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter V
[11] Letter to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart (September 8, 1896) in The Autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul trans. John Beevers (New York: Image Books, 1957) manuscript B, fol. 2v pp. 153-155