Re: [DL] Not even pretending to be a DeadLands topic...

[SteveL1979@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/1/00 4:24:38 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
natasha_corey@yahoo.com writes:

<< AND THEN THEY MARRY HER OFF LIKE A PRIZE!  She gets to
 slay THE bad guy, and does she get to transcend gender
 stereotypes as a result and live out her dreams of
 riding into battle as befits her rank?  Nooooo... she
 winds up grand prize at the conquest party. >>

    I *promised* myself I was going to stay out of this discussion. As far as 
I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't like LOTR or finds it dull is Broken and 
Needs To Be Fixed (as a friend of mine would say :) ). But I feel the need to 
address this point.
    Marguerite, I think you're badly mistaken in your interpretation of 
Eowyn's fate. She wasn't in any way, shape, or form "married off as a prize." 
During their mutual convalescence in the Houses of Healing, she and Faramir 
fell in love. The text makes that quite clear. It also makes it clear that 
she chose to marry Faramir *of her own will* -- Eomer specifically says so. 
She made a choice, and a perfectly valid one at that, to give up her initial 
desire to be a shield-maiden and marry a man she was in love with. There's 
not a thing in the world wrong with that. Indeed, I think it's fair to say 
that she was acting of her own free will -- free will, after all, being one 
of the themes of Tolkien's work.
    One may quibble with gender roles in Tolkien (I wouldn't, but reasonable 
minds may differ). But I don't think Eowyn provides any fodder over which to 
quibble.

Steve Long