The Life of Éowyn | Tolkien Explained

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Eowyn is a perfect example of a well-written female protagonist, and Tolkien wrote her in the 1940s. Miranda Otto played her perfectly in the movies. Wanted to prove herself as a warrior to protect her and her nation's freedom overcame fear, and bravely fought Sauron's deadliest servant to protect and avenge her beloved uncle and king. A Joan of Arc type of heroine. Modern writers could learn much from Tolkien's example. She's one of my favorite characters in the series.

I'm glad Eowyn found Faramir. And both of them earned their own happy ending.

There is a certain beauty in Eowyn that even the fairest elven maidens couldn't quite match.

"Then, Eowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither flower nor lady have I seen till now in Gondor so lovely, and so sorrowful. It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still. For you and I have both passed under the wings of the Shadows, and the same hand drew us back." -- Faramir

Miranda Otto did magnificence portraying Eowyn. Made the role her own. Riveting performace, djust about the strongest, well-ritten female charactar in the trilogy.

Éowyn's healing doesn't just come at the hands of Aragorn. Its Faramir who heals her heart. I identify to this day with her, and even though I found no Faamir, I continue to walk away from the Shadow.

When Eomer sees his sister on the fields, it’s one of just a couple parts of the book I cry like a baby. And they nailed it in the movie. It’s not exactly how it goes down in the book I know. But the fact that they include it and his acting gets me every time too. Man honestly return of the king has a few parts that pull my heart strings in different ways. It’s just such a Hopeless journey. And they did it man!! “Praise them! With great praise! 😭😭😭😭 haha

Eowyn needed Faramir to help her learn there is more to life than death in battle and glory. Who better than the man who does not love war and praises gardeners from the Shire? Gardeners nurture things and Eowyn decides to tend gardens at the end of LOTR. During her time with Faramir in the Houses of Healing, Faramir shows her that there is value to things outside of fighting. Eowyn provides Faramir with acceptance. She cares not that Faramir is not a king. They both were near death at the hands of the Black Breath and they both were healed by Aragorn. Faramir and Eowyn are the best couple in Middle Earth.

I am almost a 60 year old gal, and consumed this classic many times. I was so impressed at such a strong female character, but Tolkien’s classic works have always included strong male and female hero’s. The man was inspirational to me for this reason,that and his amazing writing. Really loved the artwork in this video

Eowyn and Faramir were always my faves. Their getting together whilst they recuperated in the Houses of Healing was so sweet and touching.

"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." said Faramir. In the end, I believe that Éowyn came to believe that way as well. What she and Merry did to bring down the Witch King was amazing but she was far more than a shield-maiden.

Éowyn and Faramir - another excelent lovestory written by Tolkien. This story is on second position in my list of Tolkien's lovestories(first is Beren and Lúthien).

I like the part where Eowyn...er...Dernhelm removes her helmet and suddenly all the Witchking's hubris melts away and in the last moments of his life, he is consumed by doubt. I guess it had never occurred to him that "not by the hand of man will he fall" didn't actually include the hands of women or hobbits! I also like that the most powerful and dangerous of all Sauron's servants was killed by two of the unlikeliest combatants in the history of Gondor, a woman and a hobbit, both of whom were ordered to stay behind. One thing that I actually liked better in the movie, one of the very few things I actually liked better in the movie, was that Merry knew it was Eowyn from the start. I just find it unlikely that she could have kept her identity secret from him for that long, especially given that they were riding on the same horse for the whole time. He would have almost certainly heard her voice at some point along the way.

1:00 is the literal appearance I imagine of Éowyn in the books. What a fantastic portrait of cold, repressed rage over her lot in life Tolkien wrote of the young woman. That exchange she had with Aragorn - wise though Aragorn is - genuinely shut him up. I wish Tolkien had written more female heroines & given them their own epics, because he would have absolutely set the standard. Then we might have templates for female characters in popular fiction with true depth, rather being randomly "quirky" or "badass" or whatever superficiality Hollywood writers can manage to squeeze out of their pea brains. Sigh. I wish Tolkien had lived longer. Excellent video, as always. 💕

I know there's a lot more to her character than this, but the fact that she dared to go 1v1 with the witch king is seriously impressive. Especially after seeing how so many others fled in terror when he turned up. For me it's up there with Gandalf v Balrog and even Fingolfin v Morgoth in terms of sheer daring!

Eowyn is one of Tolkiens greatests heroes (heroine in this case). Out of sheer bravery, she disobeyed King Theoden since she just wanted to fight. I think she was very afraid, though, but for me real heroes are those who do brave actions while keeping their fears at bay. The image of her, crying, standing alone between the Witch King and his pray, and with all the odds against her, and still having the guts to threaten him…. A true Heroine!

Eowyn, an actually strong female character (both in the sense that she was written well and that she has great strength of mind and spirit) who does not sacrifice her womanhood on the alter of glory and honor. I love how in the end she realizes that despite the enduring praise she did earn for the LEGENDARY deed of defeating the Witch-King (which saved Minas Tirith and turned the tide of the war in the heroes' favor), she doesn't need to be a powerful warrior or to earn glory and honor to be fulfilled as a person. Those things should not be what one pursues for their own sake, no matter what your starting circumstances are. When Eowyn faces the Witch-King, she is no longer thinking of earning glory for herself or bucking gender stereotypes like she was when she had that conversation with Aragorn. In that moment on the field of battle, she had no thought for herself and was instead motivated exclusively by an unbreakable love for her family and her people, making her ready and willing to sacrifice herself for them even in the face of what seemed to be an utterly hopeless defense against a seemingly unstoppable foe. THAT'S what makes her a true heroine, not the brash and self-centered bad-assery we get from a lot of modern so-called heroines. I don't want to put words under Tolkien's pen, but it seems to me that that was the whole purpose of Eowyn's character - to communicate the idea that honor and glory are empty pursuits in and of themselves, and that no matter who you are or where you came from, self-sacrifice for the sake of those you love is what is truly honorable. All of which to say, Eowyn is still one of the GOATs in fiction. Tolkien FTW!

Eowyns story is also a great one about healing from depression. Although its not described directly in her dialogues, if you can read between the lines it's becoming clear that she hates her life and living in a 'cage' and the shadow that is dwelling on her, she rather seeks a glorious death in battle aka suicide. Only when she fells in love with faramir he gives her a purpose to live and the shadow in her fades away. Truly an inspiring and tear-inducing story and character arc.

Also: 1975, after the battle off Fornost was finished, and the Witch-king had fled, it was Glorfindel who predicted that no mortal man would ever destroy the Witch-king.