oooh ... connie. Yes.

Sidenote - why is it that when people talk about women and honor, they refer to their sexual status alone?

Because we have no function apart from getting fucked and giving birth.

And, possibly, cleaning and cooking, but, really, my culinary honor has been suspect from day 1. Let's not talk about my housekeeping.

connie, a lot of LotR gets jumbled in my head, but that moment has always stood out clearly to me. I love what you wrote.

And if a woman is "brave", it's too often after she's been doing the damsel in distress stuff, and her bravery is in *not* shrieking in terror and fainting while the big tough guy saves her delicate self. "My brave darling." "Oh, Dirk, I knew you'd come!"

Eowyn's not expecting anyone to come. She'd be grateful for the backup, but the idea that she needs rescuing is foreign to her. Besides, there's no time for rescuing, there's smiting to be done.

I'd love to find any comments from its own day about Eowyn. I know Tolkien pulled his tropes from the Sagas, but I'm very curious about his inspiration for her--or if we're supposed to be interpreting her actions in light of Aragorn telling her that "Sorry, I prefer my women wispy and embroidering my flags in their bower." Even if the message is "Tomboys don't get the hot guys", nothing detracts from her standing between Theoden and the Witch King and "Begone if you be not deathless."

(Peter Jackson so wrecked that scene. Eowyn doesn't cringe.)

This, totally, Connie. I am right freaking there with you.

Me, too. I don't remember the books much, but I remember being pissed that Aragorn passed Eowyn over for a freaking elf (whose name I can never remember, but I remember Eowyn.)

whose name I can never remember

Arwen, whose part was beefed up in the movie because even Peter Jackson realized she was a drip.

I saw a car with the plate DRNHLM yesterday. That's got to be Dernhelm, right?

Eh, Eowyn didn't need Aragon. She didn't have to have her victory defined in terms of who she married. She wasn't terribly sane going into the Battle of Pelennor Fields, and then having carried a death wish that long and finding, when it came down to it, that she'd rather smite evil than die, left her bewildered while victorious. Faramir (always cooler than Aragorn in so many ways) was an anchor and a healing influence for her, which Aragorn would not have been. Aragorn was actually part of her deathwish - an infatuation, but not healthy love.

She chose to be Faramir's partner and live, and was able to make that choice because she chose to stand up to the Witch-King on the battlefield.

...

um, right. Going back to my radio silence now.

I'm just totally amazed at your recall! All I remember is "my precious" and the idiotic decisions that Frodo kept making.

I'm just totally amazed at your recall!

Snerk, Arwen's name is nothing, I'm still trying to remember all the Dwarvish poetry I tried to memorize. "In Moria, in Kazad-Dun."

And let's not get into "One ring to rule them all."