Tauriel’s failure
as a character continues right up until her story’s main point, which of course
has to do with the love story. Tauriel’s entire character climaxes with her
scene fighting with Kili
against the Orc Bolg, and Kili sacrifices himself to
save her. After Thranduil appears, seeing her holding mourning while holding
Kili’s body, Tauriel says, “If this is love I do not want it. Take it from me,
please. Why does it hurt so much?” It is difficult to truly feel her grief,
even when the acting is well done, for the entire premise of their love is
largely baseless and poorly built throughout the movies. Thranduil responds, “because
it was real,” a callback to a moment with Thranduil earlier in the film. This entire
exchange is a weak attempt to work with the stressed connection between
Thranduil and Tauriel’s characters, but since Tauriel’s relationship with Kili
was underdeveloped and shallow, any meaning behind this exchange feels false
and forced. Thranduil’s character seems to grow more than Tauriel’s as he
acknowledges that his statements about her earlier in the film are wrong, a
humble move for such a prideful elf.
Tauriel’s character and Kili’s death fall to
the sidelines in the face of a much more interesting and well-developed
relationship between Thorin and Bilbo. Thorin’s callback to Bilbo’s acorn just before
Thorin dies resonates and holds much more power than Tauriel’s entire character
because, unlike Tauriel who was developed only as a romantic interest, Bilbo and
Thorin were complicated characters given the potential to explore in many
different directions. The failing of Tauriel’s character is connected to the
overall failure of much of the Hobbit movies as they attempted to cram more and
more subplots and characters into the relatively simple story of the Hobbit,
but Tauriel is a clear example of how characters that are shaped almost
completely by a romance plot, especially a poorly done romance plot, lack depth
and quickly become uninteresting characters.
Tauriel’s
character in the Hobbit Trilogy was a much needed woman in an otherwise male
dominated story, but even though her character was written from scratch to fit
into the existing story of the Hobbit, her character was stunted by a shallow
love triangle and an almost complete dependence on the love stories to exist as
a character. At first glance, Arwen’s character in the Lord of the Rings
trilogy seems similar to negative aspects of Tauriel’s character, specifically
her character’s dependence on romance to evolve her character. Though she
becomes an interesting and meaningful character, for the most part, her love
interest in Aragorn and Aragorn’s love for her are her only connections to the
rest of the story. Other than her first scene rescuing Frodo, she is never
included in the story other than when it is about her connection with Aragorn. Though
her character is mostly unable to grow outside of the romance, significantly
limiting her ability as a character, her character and her relationship is
symbolic of the larger struggle against the darkness and death in Middle Earth.
Unlike Tauriel’s shallow and forced romance, Arwen’s story resonates with the entire
meaning of the trilogy as the characters fight against death and darkness. Though
her character is built only around the romance, her role and the romance’s role
is still crucial to the story of the Lord of the Rings.
Arwen’s dependence
on a romantic plot minimizes the potential growth of her character, but despite
this flaw, it is still important to address that the romantic storyline should
not be undermined. It is meaningful, profound, and extremely touching, and it creates
character growth for both Arwen and Aragorn. The scenes involving Arwen and
Aragorn’s relationship are powerful and well done, and their love story is one
of the most beautiful love stories I have seen. Though it bothers me that her
only role in the movie is as a love interest, she couldn’t be part of a more
meaningful and wonderful love story.
Arwen is a
fascinating character that explores the complications of life and death,
different types of love and relationships, and sacrifices made for love, but
she is still almost completely reliant on her relationship with Aragorn to
explore these ideas. If there were more scenes like her first appearance, her
character may have been able to develop more complex layers and ideas beyond
the romance. Though I still take issue with her romance being the only developed
part of her character, I also want to reiterate how much I adore Arwen and
Aragorn’s love for one another. It is symbolic, thoughtful, and heartfelt, and
though I wish there was more to Arwen’s character, I am still very glad that we
have Arwen and her romance with Aragorn.
Part 3: Power and Independence in Galadriel’s character
Tauriel and Arwen
are characters that are almost completely centered around their romantic plots
(though Arwen’s romance and love story is infinitely more complex and
interesting), but the only one of the four women in Lord of the Rings and the
Hobbit without a primary focus on love is Galadriel. Galadriel is the Lady of
Lothlorien, a guardian of the woods of Lothlorien alongside her husband Lord
Celeborn, and she plays a small but crucial role to the story in the Lord of
the Rings. She acts as both as a source of wisdom for the fellowship, giving
them warnings as well as providing them with hope and gifts, and she does so
with no dramatic or emphasized romantic attachments. Tauriel, Arwen, and Eowyn
are all characters whose development is heavily reliant on other male
characters as love interests, but Galadriel’s character and her development is
completely separate from romantic involvement with any male characters, and as
such, her character and its role have a powerful presence that the other three
lack partially because of their dependence on the romances and love stories.
After narrating
the prologue and appearing briefly showing the rings of the elves, Galadriel’s
first appearance in the Lord of the Rings demonstrates her power beyond most of
the other characters in Lord of the Rings. Even just a few seconds in the
beginning of the prologue is a powerful place for Galadriel, for she is one of
the holders of the rings of power (the only woman to get one of the rings), and
this in itself demonstrates her power and influence. Her first appearance after
the prologue is the only time that there is any hint of romantic connection,
and even then, it is barely present and not the focus of the scene. She walks
down the stairs with her hand on Celeborn’s, but other than this moment, their
relationship as husband and wife is never mentioned or even hinted at again. Though
Celeborn speaks first, he quickly becomes the least important and least
powerful of the two, and Galadriel becomes the character of importance in the
forest of Lothlorien. Celeborn asks where Gandalf has gone, clearly ignorant of
his fall in Moria, but Galadriel only needs to look at the group to know that Gandalf has fallen into shadow. Her unknown
and awesome power is the focus of many
of
the camera angles of this scene, some of them focusing only on her eyes
then on a member of the fellowship as she examines each of them. She
demonstrates her power again soon after, for while she is talking to the
entire
group, Frodo also hears her voice in his own head talking only to him.
Later,
when Frodo meets with her looking into the Mirror of Galadriel, she
further
solidifies her power through the power of the Mirror, showing Frodo
“Things
that are, things that were, and some things that have not yet come to
pass.” She
demonstrates the gift of foresight, just as Elrond and Arwen both
possess, but
Galadriel’s visions are some of the most concrete and foreboding as she warns
of the possible failure and accurately predicts Boromir’s attempt to take the
Ring. Even in just a few minutes of screen time, her power and knowledge is
evident, and it does not rely in any way on any romantic relationship or
connection with a male character.
Her mystical
powers are impressive and foreboding, but it is not until Frodo offers her the
ring that her true power and wisdom is revealed. When Frodo first offers the
ring, she initially moves towards it, saying, “I do not deny that my heart has
greatly desire this,” and suddenly, her form changes into a ghastly green and
terrible yet beautiful glow as she continues in a deep and menacing voice
saying, “In place of a dark lord, you will have a queen. Not dark but beautiful
and terrible as the dawn, treacherous as the sea. Stronger than the foundations
of the earth. All shall love me and despair.” She almost seems ready to take
the ring and become a new and different Lord of power, just as terrible yet
different from Sauron, but she breaks from this terrifyingly powerful and ominous
state. This state shows that she has flaws, demonstrating that while powerful,
she is weak to the same temptation for power that is created by the One Ring. She
is not an unfailing Goddess or character above reproach, but also able to make
poor decisions just as all other are. When she drops out of this state and
turns away from the lure of power, she demonstrates growth and incredible
power. She is not corrupted or twisted by the power, instead choosing to “remain
Galadriel” and using her own spirit and power to keep herself from failing.
This growth of character is similar to when both Gandalf and Aragorn turn away
from the power of the ring when Frodo offers it to them. She proves herself
more powerful than many before her, and she demonstrates that her power lies
not just in her mystical and magical abilities, but also to know when not to
act and when not to use her power. Galadriel’s magic and mystical wisdom is
beyond most of what has been seen before, and though short lived on screen, her
development needs no romantic love interest to create this growth and establish
her character as both impressive and intimidating.
Galadriel is only
on screen for a few short minutes, yet her presence is carried quite literally throughout
the rest of the movie by the fellowship. When she first appears, she is a light
in a time of great darkness and sadness for the fellowship after Gandalf has
died, but she also acts as a warning of the uncertain nature of their journey.
She simultaneously symbolizes the hope and the peril of their quest, saying, “The
quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to
the ruin of all.” She warns that their journey is dangerous, and the hope of
all of Middle Earth lies in their hands. The fellowship at this moment is
crushed, and she acknowledges that in many ways, they are right to feel the
incredible weight of this responsibility on their shoulders, and they should not
take it lightly. However, she continues, “Yet hope remains while company is
true. Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Though she warns the fellowship of
the gravity and difficult nature of their quest, she also gives them hope, both
through her words of hope and wisdom as well as the physical gifts that she
gives to the fellowship. She gives special weapons and material to Legolas,
Mary, Pippin, and Sam. She warns and encourages Aragorn, saying his choice is
to “rise above the height of all your fathers… or to fall into darkness with
all that is left of your kin.” Gimli’s gift is the strangest, yet also the
sweetest. Gimli tells Legolas later that, “I asked her for one hair from her
golden head. She gave me three.” Frodo’s gift, possible the most important of
them all, is “the light of Elandir, our most beloved star. May it be a light
for you in dark places when all other lights go out.” With these words,
Galadriel fades from sight, not seen again in the movie, yet all of her gifts
hold incredible importance for each of the members of the fellowship throughout
the rest of the trilogy.
All of these gifts
continue to demonstrate the power and the foresight of Galadriel long after the
she been seen on screen. Though it is a shame that her character was only
onscreen for a short time, her influence in carried throughout the movie,
placing her as an indispensable and incredibly powerful character. Each of the
gifts end up holding some sort of importance to help members of the fellowship,
often times saving them from great peril or helping them maintain hope. Legolas
uses his bow to save his friends in many battles. Mary and Pippin’s daggers,
though lost when they flee from the orcs, end up helping Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn
to find their trail, and Sam uses his rope in various ways to help aid Frodo on
his trip to Mount Doom. These are the simple gifts, but Gimli and Frodo’s gifts
are the most interesting. Her gift to Gimli is purely as a keepsake, but it
spurs his character development and begins his acceptance of elves and his
friendship with Legolas. Before Galadriel, Gimli was stuck in his hatred of the
dwarves, but after the gift of her golden hairs, both Gimli and Legolas begin
to share more and more important moments of comradery and friendship. The other
women characters in Lord of the Rings often rely on men for character
development while the men usually stay the same from the relationship, but in
this case, the roles are switched. Gimli begins to develop more as a character
from his interaction with Galadriel, and Galadriel is the one who remains
stable and unchanging from the relationship. Her character growth is completely
separate from her gift from Gimli, instead coming from her experience with
Frodo and the ring. Her
gift to Frodo reestablishes her role as a bringer of
hope, and it brings a whisper of her character back to the screen when Frodo
uses the light of Elandir in his fight against Shelob. Galadriel is a light for
the fellowship in dark times, and she helps many of the members of the
fellowship grow and improve throughout their journeys, even if she herself is
only physically around for a short time.
After her time in
Lord of the Rings, her role appeared in the later trilogy of The Hobbit, and
while it was forced and tacked on as with much of the other subplots in the
Hobbit, it did reestablish her as an independent and incredibly powerful
character. The largest failure of the Hobbit movies was too many additions and
subplots as the movie tried to connect the plot of the hobbit to the Lord of
the Rings trilogy and the War of the Ring. Many of these additions were awkward,
confusing, or ill developed even if many of them were based off of Tolkien’s
own writings, and so too was the addition of Galadriel in the movies, even if
it did reiterate her power. Just as Tauriel was a needed female addition, it
was good to have Galadriel as another woman in story dominated by men, but her
presence was tacked on and awkward. Much of the time, she was only standing
there as other male
characters talked, or she demonstrated the mysticism and
the power of the elves in a story that focused on Hobbits and Dwarves. However,
though her character was forced into the subplots, she was a needed female
component to the hobbit stories, and her character still did not rely on any
romantic connections with the male characters, allowing her to establish her
power on her own.
Though her place
in the movies was awkward and tacked on, when she did have moments of
importance, these scenes built off of the incredible power and knowledge
present in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Galadriel goes to Dol Goldur, a
fortress where Gandalf is held prisoner, and she saves him with a short but
terrifying burst of power. The orc assaulting her barely has a chance to move
before she blows him apart with a mere wave of her hand. The power of her attack
tears him to pieces, and the energy ripples around the entire fortress. Her
power is evident in this scene, and she plays the role of the savior instead of
the damsel in distress. At first, she seems to revert back to the cliché damsel
mode just minutes after, for when she is surrounded by the shadows of the
enemy,
Elrond and Saruman rush in to join the fight and save her. While Saruman
and Elron fight a dramatic and intense fight scene, Galadriel is sitting in the
middle of the fight holding Gandalf and wakes him with encouraging words and a
kiss to the forehead. This seems to hint at a romantic relationship with
Gandalf, but in reality, it plays off of the elves’ reverence for Gandalf, whom
they call Mithrandir.
Luckily, Elrond
and Saruman’s fight are only the appetizer to the real conflict of this scene. After
Gandalf awakes and leaves the area, the eye of Sauron bursts into existence in
the fortress, and Galadriel quickly rises from where she lies on the ground,
her form distorted and green as it appeared in the Lord of the Rings when she showed
her incredible and dangerous power when she almost took the ring from Frodo.
She speaks to Sauron, unafraid and unflinching, saying, “You have no power
here, servant of Morgoth. You are nameless, faceless, formless. Go back to the
void from whence you came.” She banishes him, the fire of his eye and the
shadow of his form hurled from the fortress like a bolt of fire into the
distance. Both Saruman and Elrond are nearly toppled over by her power at this
act, and while she nearly falls at the end of this scene from the exertion, her
astounding power is clearly demonstrated in this scene. Though these scenes
still feel forced into the existing plot of the hobbit, written in to connect
it more to the Lord of the Rings and the War of the Ring, Galadriel’s role in
this trilogy still demonstrates her power and establishes her as an incredibly
powerful and independent character.
Galadriel only has
a few short scenes, only in about 20 minutes total combined in the Hobbit
Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings, and while they are important, her lack of
screen time prevents her from developing as a more complex character in the
story. Arwen and Tuariel likely would have similarly dropped out of the picture
without a love interest in a main character, and since Galadriel lacks the love
connection to other characters, her screen time was up once the fellowship
moved on from her area. However, this lack of a love interest leaves her
completely free to develop as a character independent and powerful on her own,
even if her time on screen is short. In some ways, Galadriel is the most
inspiring and powerful of the four women in the Lord of the Rings movies
because she remains unattached romantically, not dragged along by any romantic
subplots, but despite her independence and power, her lack of screen time and
presence in the overall story made her second in my list of female characters,
just before Eowyn. Even though Eowyn is involved in romantic relationships with
male characters (which sometimes limits her character), Eowyn evolves over the
films in a way that none of the other women are able to.
Women
and Romance in Lord of the Rings: Part 4
Eowyn’s character
is easily the most developed and complicated female character of the four women
in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Her character’s storyline is loaded
with romantic interactions between no less than three men in the films, and
these romantic interactions are a large part of how she is developed as a
character. However, unlike Tauriel and Arwen, she does not rely only on her
romantic connections and interactions with male characters in order to develop
as a character, and she gets much more screen time and development than
Galadriel. In fact, a crucial part of her character is that she grows beyond
the first two romances and develops independently without any reliance on a
romance with a man in the story. Her character grows and thrives, and even
though her character’s story ends in a romantic relationship with Faramir, her
character is not restricted to this romance after her previous development. Eowyn
is involved in romantic relationships, but her character is not dependent on
these romances, allowing her to have a much more memorable and compelling
storyline.
Eowyn’s first
romantic interaction in the movies is less of a romance and more of a perverted,
one-sided fantasy that Grima Wormtongue has towards her. Grima Wormtongue becomes
a servant of Saruman, and he manipulates Theoden, the king of Rohan, in the
hope of getting Eowyn as a prize once the corruption of Rohan is complete. Eowyn
is essentially being stalked by Grima, seen as a prize to be taken. When Eomer
confronts Grima about his obsession with his sister, Eowyn holds no place in
this conversation and has no voice to defend herself. Instead, she is the
subject of Grima’s gaze, and Eomer, another man, is the one to defend her as he
tells Grima, “too long have you watched my sister. Too long have you haunted
her steps.” A man talks to another man about Eowyn’s fate, and at this point in
her storyline, Eowyn is little more than an object to be defended or
fantasized. She has no voice of her own, only the topic of discussion between
men. However, after Eomer is banished, she defends herself and begins to have
more control of her own fate.
After Eomer is
banished, Grima takes more direct action and goes to Eowyn, offering false and
shallow comfort to Eowyn as she mourns the death of the king’s son. Grima puts
his hand on her shoulder, an act immediately creepy and unpleasant for Eowyn
and the audience. She quickly throws his hand off of her and yells, “leave me
alone snake,” but Grima persists. Though he does not physically force himself
on her, he attempts to manipulate her as he switches from fake comforting words
and instead tries to isolate her, saying, “but you are alone.” He tries to
remind her of her fear of loneliness and helplessness. After his disgusting and
creepy speech to her, he touches her face and
strokes her neck. At first, she
seems like she has fallen victim to his lies and slimy rhetoric, standing there
almost frozen, looking scared and helpless. However, after a few moments, her
face hardens, and she says, “Your words are poison.” Now that she is allowed to
speak for herself, it is clear than even when she is afraid, she will not
accept this slimy behavior. She strides from the room and out the front doors
of the hall, where she stands in the wind as it whips her hair in front of her
face. Her own desperation and fear mimics Rohan’s helplessness and despair as
she watches the flag of Rohan tear off in the wind and land on the ground near
Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, and Aragorn as they ride in the front gates. At this
point, Rohan and Eowyn alike are both trapped and helpless, and it is clear
that Eowyn feels unable to control her own destiny, especially in the face of
all the men around her trying to control it for her. Eowyn’s character feels
like little more than a victim struggling to stay afloat. She stands up for
herself as much as possible, but she is still seen as vulnerable and unable to
do much to change her situation.
When Aragorn
arrives, Eowyn’s mentality changes, and she begins to show her strength and
protest the lack of agency allowed to her by the men around her. Aragorn
quickly establishes himself as a mysterious, strong, goodhearted and kind
stranger come to help her and her people, and he is a kind voice and a patient
ear for Eowyn who has so often been pushed to the shadows, a subject of
conversation but not able to have her own voice. Eowyn is a strong yet also frail
character during her time with Aragorn. She establishes herself as a fighter,
skilled with the blade and afraid of “neither death nor pain.” She is strong
and brave and ready to fight, but she is simultaneously still afraid and more
timid. She tells Aragorn that she fears “a cage. To stay behind bars until use
and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or
desire.” She knows that she can be useful, and she wants to fight alongside her
king and the rest of the men, but all her life, she has been pushed
aside,
not
allowed to fight nor demonstrate her valor. Aragorn acts as a hopeful
voice,
telling her that, “You are a daughter of kings, a shield maiden of
Rohan. I do
not think that will be your fate.” Arwen looks almost shocked at his
words. Later,
when she dreams of being frozen, only able to face the darkness, Aragorn
comforts her again and puts pleasant thoughts in her head full of
nightmares
and fears. Before Aragorn arrived, Eowyn’s life and fate was controlled
by men.
When Aragorn listens and comforts her, he gives her hope that she will
not be
trapped and useless, instead able to control her own fate and keep
herself free from the cage. Her relationship with Aragorn is one that
builds her character
through hope and kindness as she struggles against her own fears, but
though it
does a great deal to grow her character, her romance with Aragorn still
has
many issues.
Aragorn is a warm
and kind voice, a welcome change from Eowyn’s fears, but he is still a man that
ends up controlling her and relegating her to the very cage that she wishes to
escape from. Eowyn begins to become more independent and complex around Aragorn,
but she is still hesitant and awkward around him, a young girl around a much
older love interest. She grows more independent, partially because his hope and
presence bring her out of her fears, but her connection with Aragorn also
limits her. Eowyn clings to him and his kind words even though he restricts her
in similar ways that all the men before him have limited her. Before they reach
Helms Deep, Theoden, Eowyn’s adopted father, tells Eowyn to lead the people to
Helms Deep instead of helping them fight the Wargs. This is something that
Eowyn has experienced her whole life, hence her fear of being
relegated to a
cage and unable to be useful and prove her valor. Though she resists, she gives
in to Theoden’s wishes, used to these restrictions from her father. Aragorn, on
the other hand, is the man who has been telling her than she will not be
committed to this cage, yet in his attempts to protect her, Aragorn tells Eowyn
to leave the fight and go with the other women, just as Theoden told her
earlier. She objects to her station with the other women and children, saying
“You do not command the others to stay. They fight beside you because they
would not be parted from you. Because they love you.” Eowyn is pushing back
against Aragorn’s double standards, and she is starting to truly take action
and reject the cage that others have been trying to put her in for her entire
life. Though she does what Aragorn asks of her and goes to be with the women
and children, her initial defiance against their orders is crucial to her
character development.
When Eowyn loses
hope in Aragorn returning her love, she is finally able to break free from him
and other men controlling her life and begin to truly show her growth. After
the battle, Eowyn’s infatuation with Aragorn is lessened (but not broken). She
has seen his love for Arwen, and she also begins to realize that he traps her
in her role as a woman just like Theoden and other men in her life did. However,
she still sees a possibility that he will return her love, so she continues to
pursue him. While she continues to stay attached to him, her character remains
stuck to that relationship as well, so when Aragorn finally rejects her, her
detachment from Aragorn and their strange relationship actually keeps her free her from
the cage and allows her to become her own independent woman. When Aragorn
turns
her away, he says, “It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot
give you what you seek. I have wished you joy since first I saw you.” In a way,
Aragorn himself is acknowledging that he is trapping and limiting Eowyn, for
she deserves more than what he can give her. Though heartbreaking for Eowyn at
first, his rejection is also freeing, allowing her to find what she seeks by
being disconnected from Aragorn. After Aragorn leaves, she refuses to let men
tell her what to do any longer. When she joins the army of Rohan, taking Merry
with her, she becomes her own woman and takes control of her own fate.
Eowyn and Merry
ride to war together, and their platonic relationship bolsters both of their
characters more than Eowyn’s romances ever did. Hobbits and women are both
underestimated people, belittled by men and told to stay on the sidelines while
the real warriors fight. Eowyn encourages Merry as he becomes a fighter for
Rohan, but Eomer scoffs her efforts, saying, “you should not encourage him… I
do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm. When the fear takes him, and
the blood and the screams and the horror of battle take hold, do you think he
would stand and fight? He would flee, and he would be right to do so. War is
the province of men, Eowyn.” It is clear that Eomer sees hobbits and women
alike as unfit for war. Though their hearts may desire the glory and the
bravery, Eomer believes that both hobbits and women in the thick of battle
would quail and run in the face of the violence and horror.
Eomer is
expressing a common sentiment among many people, both in fictional worlds and
real life. Eomer and many men see that women have no place in fighting or war
or dirty business because they are about life and hope and purity, not death
and destruction and pain. The other women in Lord of the Rings fit into this
category, such as Arwen whose life with Aragorn demonstrates hope and the
return of happiness and goodness to the world. Eowyn, on the other hand is more
complicated. Eowyn constantly asks the men around her why she cannot fight for
those that she loves, and she asks this on Merry’s behalf as well, saying, “Why
should Merry be left behind? He has
as much cause to go to war as you. Why can
he not fight for those he loves?” Eowyn argues that Merry has a reason to
fight, just as men do, and that gives him a right to go to fight. Though she
talks about Merry, she is also talking about herself, implying that she too
wants to fight for those she loves and has just as much reason to go to war as
men. Eomer snubs her and says nothing more on the matter. However, Eowyn and
Merry will prove that they are able fighters in war, not people who run in the
face of the horrors. They are fighting for love and hope as well as courage and
protection, demonstrating that the best of heroes work with courage and love
together, not one or the other.
Eowyn and Merry
are motivated to fight to protect those that they love, not for glory or honor
as many men fight for. Early on, Eowyn clearly wants to show her valor and seek
renown when fighting, protesting her station looking after the women and
children by saying, “What renown is there in that?” However, when she rides to Gondor
with Merry, her motives switch to become much more powerful and wholesome as
Merry and Eowyn fight to protect those they love. After they join the riders to
Gondor, Merry says “I know there is not much point now in hoping. If I were a
knight of Rohan, capable of great deeds, but I’m not. I’m a hobbit, and I know
I can’t save middle earth. I just want to help my friends. Frodo. Sam. Pippin.”
Merry believes that he is small and a nobody, just as
he has always been told, and
he only wants to help his small group of friends. He believes that he isn’t
capable of courage or hope because he is small and only motivated by helping his
friends, but in the end, their desire to protect those that they love makes
both Merry and Eowyn stronger than those who fight for bravery and honor alone.
Just before the battle at Gondor begins, Eowyn whispers, “Courage Merry,
courage for our friends.” They are not trying to be courageous to be tough or
like all of the men riding with them, instead fighting with a courage motivated
by their love for their friends. Other characters’ motivation to fight is far
less powerful. Legolas and Gimli seem largely motivated to fight out of a
strange competition between the two of them and their kill count. While this is
a hilarious competition that continues throughout the trilogy, it does not hold
the same power and passion as Eowyn’s desire to protect those that she loves.
Eowyn and Merry’s love ends up being more powerful than the valor of the great
knights that both of them had earlier admired so much.
Eowyn’s motives
are substantial and meaningful, and they end up being a main reason that she is
able to defeat one of the most powerful enemies of middle-earth: the
Witch-King. Any analysis about Eowyn’s worth as a character would be incomplete
without her well-known line, “I am no man.” Her most important moment has
nothing to do with romances, yet it relies on her identity as a
woman. However,
it is not just the power of her womanhood that allows her to defeat the
Witch-King. She never would have even gotten into that fight if it had not been
for her desire to protect Theoden. Everyone else fled from the Witch-King even
as he attacked Theoden, their king, but Eowyn stands between the Witch-King and
her father figure, saying, “I will kill you if you touch him.” The fear in her
eyes is evident as she fights this enemy that is much more formidable and
powerful than she is, but she continues to stand against him in order to
protect her father figure Theoden.
Theoden’s
relationship with Eowyn is that of a father trying to protect a daughter, and
though Theoden’s desire to protect restricts Eowyn, their relationship is still
crucial to Eowyn’s character and her growth. Throughout their relationship,
both of them are trying to protect one another. Some of Eowyn’s first moments
are seen trying to help and protect Theoden as he suffers from Saruman’s
control, and she tries to go to his aid when Gandalf is purging Saruman from
his system. Eowyn, however, is mostly helpless to do anything to help him for
most of the story, largely because of the restrictions that Theoden himself
puts on her. He is not her natural father, instead taking her in after her
parents died. He does his best to raise her as his own, protecting her however
he can, but sometimes in his attempts to protect her, he limits her. In many
ways, Theoden’s protections of Eowyn are the cage that she fears so much. He
keeps her from the fighting in order to protect her, but she wants to fight to
be able to protect him and the rest of Rohan. Eowyn feels trapped, but even
while she feels restricted by Theoden’s rules, it is clear that they care for
one another very much. Some of Theoden’s first words when he is released from
Saruman’s power are her name, and his last word is her name. He also clearly
trusts her with great responsibility and power. Though he keeps her
out of war
to protect her life and keep her from pain, he tells her right before he rides
into battle that, “I have left instructions—the people are to follow your rule
in my stead. Take up my seat in the golden hall. Long may you defend Edoras if
the battle goes ill.” He knows that she is a capable leader, and even when he
keeps her out of physical danger, he does not relegate her to the sidelines and
ignore her, instead giving her duties that help protect the rest of his people.
He has great faith in her, but he also wants her to be happy. When Eowyn asks
what other duties he asks of her, he tells her, “I would have you smile again,
not grieve for those whose time has come. You shall live to see these days
renewed. And no more despair.” Theoden makes his mistakes in parenting as he
pushes Eowyn away from the fighting, but everything he does, he does trying to
balance his desire to protect her and to see her happy. He desperately wants
her safe and happy, and Eowyn is motivated by the same desire.
Eowyn’s desire to
save her father figure is what gives her the motivation and power to defeat the
Witch-King. Eowyn rushes to his aid, disregarding her own danger and fear, and
Merry goes to help and protect Eowyn. Merry stabs the Witch-King when Eowyn
seems to be failing. Merry is fighting to save Eowyn, someone he has grown to
care about, and by protecting her, he helps bring him down enough so that Eowyn
can kill him. She utters her immortal words, “I am no man,” just after she
takes off her helmet and reveals her identity as a woman. Her role as a woman
and an outlier help her defeat the Witch-King, but an often neglected factor is
that Merry and Eowyn defeat the Witch-King together because they are fighting
with a desire to protect those that they care about. Together, a woman and a
hobbit unite with the intent to protect those they love, and in doing so, they
become more powerful than many of the sources of evil in Middle-Earth.
Eowyn is at the
peak of her character development during the Battle of Pelenor and when she
defeats the Witch-King. The battle still raging around her, she goes to her
father, who lies dying trapped beneath his horse, and she still wants to help
him, saying, “I’d like to save you.” Ever since her first appearance, she
desires to help Theoden. Theoden and Eowyn’s relationship as basically father
and daughter makes this encounter much more powerful for her character than if
it was a romantic relationship. She had been with Theoden for many years,
whereas her other two “romances” were only for a short while and much less
substantial. On the battle field, even after defeating the Witch-King, her
focus is still on helping her father figure whom she loves very much. When
Theoden sees her, he does not fuss about her safety or make any comment as to
why she disobeyed his orders.
He shows again the love for Eowyn and the trust
that he puts in her, and he replies to Eowyn’s desire to save him by saying,
“You already did.” He acknowledges that she saved him here on the battle field and
implies that she has been saving him his entire life. Though Theoden ends up
dying from his wounds seconds later, Eowyn was finally able to take direct
action to fight and protect those that she loves. She saves Theoden from a
horrible death at the hands of the Witch-King, and his last words to her are
not those of a father worrying about her safety and trying to restrict her fighting.
Instead, his last moments are saying goodbye to a loved one and communicating
how much he cares for her. Eowyn has grown as a character, finally able to
fight to protect those she loves, and now she must also grow from the death of
someone that she loves.
As Theoden dies,
Eowyn experiences the pain of war and death around her. Theoden’s death is
horrible and heart-wrenching, but in the end, this is a crucial moment of
character growth that she has created herself. She is free from the cage that
she feared so much, and she liberated herself by taking control and fighting
against helplessness. After years of being told what to do by others and
waiting for someone else to help free her, she tires of those trying to protect
her by keeping her locked in the cage. She takes action herself, ignoring the men
around her who told her no. Though it exposes her to more pain and death and suffering,
she had already experienced that in her life, unable to do anything about it as
she was forced to stand by and watch. Now she has the ability to act and try to
protect people, and her freedom is all thanks for her decision to stop letting
people try to protect her by keeping her locked in the cage.
After Eowyn’s
defeat of the Witch-King, her character does not experience nearly as much
growth as she regresses partially back into the theme of women in romantic
relationships. She is saved unwittingly by Aragorn in battle after she was
already wounded, and then Aragorn heals her from her injuries. Though she does
take on a bit of a damsel in distress feeling because of this, she does not
become romantically involved with Aragorn again. In fact, this scene which could
have been much more sexualized and romanticized instead focuses on Eowyn and
her struggle with sadness after the battle and Theoden’s death. She does not
revert back to depending on Aragorn for validation and comfort, instead shown
standing alone after she is healed. She retains her freedom that she gained
herself when she became fighter in the Battle of Pelenor. Eowyn is alone for
only a short while however until she becomes romantically involved with
Faramir.
Though she as a
woman should not have to be in a romantic relationship in order to be valid and
complete, her relationship with Faramir is different than her other two
“romances.” This one is mutual and wholesome. Wormtongue was a perverted creep
who lusted after her, and she had little control over that situation. Aragorn
was a place of comfort and safety, but it was one-sided and still
trapped her
in dependence. When she interacts with Faramir, it is more like two people who
need each other equally, both relying on one another for comfort and happiness
in a dark time. Faramir experienced his own great loses when his brother and
father died, and he is in a place of despair similar to Eowyn’s. Eowyn tells
him, “The city has fallen silent. There is no warmth left in the sun. It grows so
cold.” Both of their expressions show this despair that is reflected in the
silence and cold, but Faramir responds, “It’s just the damp of the first spring
rain. I do not believe this darkness will endure.” Eowyn and Faramir smile at
one another,
and though they are small smiles, it is clear that being together
and talking is a comfort to both of them. Faramir and Eowyn are both mourning
the recent loss of the family members. After the suffering that they have
endured, they are able to act as almost therapy for one another, a source of
comfort in a cold world. This scene is less than a minute, but it demonstrates
that they are able to give each other hope and a bit of happiness. Faramir
isn’t just finding a broken woman to fix and grow his character; they are both
grieving and broken and finding solace in the company of one another.
After the Battle
of Pelenor, Faramir and Eowyn’s stories fade as the War of the Ring concludes, so
the only other time this romance is seen is for a brief couple of seconds at
Aragorn’s coronation as they stand next to one another applauding and sharing a
look of great happiness between one another. Eowyn’s growth as a character
mostly finished after Theoden’s death, and her only other parts in the story
are these brief scenes with Faramir. A part of me takes issue with the idea
that she had to end up with a man in order to be happy, but if she was going to
be put back into another romantic relationship, as all the woman seem to be in
Lord of the Rings, her relationship with Faramir was a good way to do so. Both
were lost souls and had problems with their fathers, and they were each
struggling with their role to try to protect the ones that they loved around
them. Theirs is not a one-sided relationship, but instead one where they both
benefit and grow and are able to be happy and at peace with one another. After
so much suffering on both their parts, they each get a well-deserved happy
ending.
With only four
main women in the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, each of them play critical
roles as a representation of women in the world. Out of the four, only
Galadriel’s character is not deeply connected or reliant on romantic
relationships for character growth. I long for more women characters in Lord of
the Rings who are not so fully wrapped up in romance stories. Some romances are
wonderful for the story, but as evident by the many men who function without
any romances in their story arcs, it is not necessary for all characters to
have romances for their characters to be meaningful. Though Lord of the Rings
lacks a diversity in female characters and usually limits them to romantic
plotlines, Eowyn’s character and her relationship with men is still a crucial
representation of women in Lord of the Rings and fantasy settings in general.
Eowyn escapes a very disturbing and one-sided relationship with Wormtongue, who
rather than love, was obsessed and lecherous. She abandons an unrequited and
complicated love interest in Aragorn and instead strikes out on her own,
finally moving away from every man who is telling her what to do. She fights
for friendship and hope, not just romantic love. Though she ends with Faramir
in another romantic relationship, her time as a character completely
unconnected with any romantic love was important not just for her character
development but as a symbol of what all women could be allowed if not shackled
down with their role as someone only relevant in romantic relationships. When
Eowyn was free from her romantic relationships, she was able to become independent
and grow to have one of the most iconic moments in the entire Lord of the Rings
trilogy. The more women are disconnected from romances, allowing their
characters to vary, the richer fantasy worlds can be.
