Here we are, friends. Twelve years ago today, on my 19th birthday, I submitted an essay analyzing one of my favourite characters from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: Éowyn of Rohan. This essay was the major project from the Tolkien and Fantasy course I took. Yes, the same one I have already mentioned as having played a significant role in my choice of university. In any case, when I decided to start this blog, I knew at some point I wanted to share this essay, because yes, I still have the copy I submitted for the class with the critique from the TA (or professor, I cannot remember who marked mine) and my final grade.
I don’t have the assignment brief anymore, but I do remember there was a list of topics, as well as some other requirements. These requirements included the length (10 pages, double-spaced) as well as needing to use at least one of the volumes in The History of Middle Earth as a reference. My chosen topic was analyzing a character of my choice (as mentioned, I chose Éowyn) through the lense of Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.
So, dear reader, I present to you the essay I wrote 12 years ago — exactly as I submitted it back then. I have not changed anything, whether it be awkward sentences, formatting issues, inconsistencies, et cetera. I haven’t even “corrected” some of the things I say with the Tolkien knowledge I have gained since. I was very much a Tolkien beginner back then, so there are several gaps I see now and many places I could improve. Honestly, not changing anything was a task, because I felt myself just itching to correct myself in places. Perhaps one day I will edit this essay and present a new version of it to you.
Until then…
She Is No Princess: Examining Éowyn’s Role as a Hero in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
The role that each character possesses in the final draft of a novel is the most important part that that specific character could play in the overall story. However, the shift and development of a character from their original role to their final role is as equally significant to the overall arc of the story. Perhaps one of the most significant shifts that would have a substantial impact on the story as a whole in addition to the impact on the individual character is the shift from the role of the “Princess” to that of the “Hero.” The Princess role can take two forms: first, the character defined as the Princess could be “the object which is deliberately sought by the Hero” (“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.”) or the reward at the end of the Hero’s journey. Propp defines the role of the Hero as a major character with whom many of the readers will identify strongly and a “key person around which the story is told” (“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.”). Finally, it is noted that the Hero can also be identified as a “seeker after some treasure of knowledge” (“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.”). In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Éowyn of Rohan undertook this exact shift during the formation of the story. Her role during the beginning of Tolkien’s writing of The Lord of the Rings fit perfectly with Propp’s definition of the Princess as she was seen as Aragorn’s love, in place of Arwen, and therefore an object/reward. However, the role she takes on in the version of The Lord of the Rings that is known to readers is significantly more heroic; the shining moment of which is when she kills the Witch-King in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The addition of Arwen into The Lord of the Rings allowed Éowyn to change from the Propp personae role of “The Princess” to one which bears a striking resemblance to “The Hero,” and allows her to grow in traits and narrative functions that closely resemble the skjaldmeyjar (shieldmaidens/female warriors) in Old Norse literature, the Grimm fairytale of Rapunzel, and the legend of Hua Mu Lan.
Éowyn’s character is introduced partway through The Two Towers when Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf reach Rohan and walk into the halls of King Théoden. At first it seems as if she is only to have a domestic role and exists only to wait upon her uncle the King, however this is soon challenged by her unhappiness with staying behind and participating in the overall war. This unhappiness is first exhibited when she is told to stay behind while the others ride off to Helm’s Deep to fight Saruman’s army. While she does essentially take on a protector role in this case, it is clear from her later actions that she would rather be in the middle of a battlefield alongside her King. She further expresses her unhappiness by making the point “that women must ride now, as they did in a like evil time” (J. Tolkien, War of the Ring 243). The main turning point for Éowyn and her shift to a heroic role, however, occurs when she makes the decision to disguise herself as a man (Dernhelm) in a “subversive act of defiance” (Woodard 2) and rides off to battle in what is the equivalent of a combination of the Counteraction and Departure functions in Propp’s 31 narratemes. These functions are described as the points in the story where the hero makes a decision to counteract a perceived lack and then departs on their mission, which for Éowyn is marching out to battle and fulfilling her need to play a larger role in the Battle for Middle Earth. However, the decision to ride into battle isn’t the most heroic action that Éowyn takes. In the heat of the Battle of Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King, she laughs at the Witch-King in response to his declaration that “no living man can hinder [him]” (J. Tolkien, RK 823) and makes one of her own, informing him that she is not a man but rather “[he] look[s] upon a woman” (J. Tolkien, RK 823), and reveals her true identity. These instances of Éowyn proving herself to be a hero were not in the original plan for the story, as evidenced by notes such as “Aragorn was silent, but his eyes followed Éowyn” (J. Tolkien, The Treason of Isengard 447) point towards her mutual love with Aragorn and her categorization of as a princess-like character. Finally, there are additional pieces of evidence, such as “Cf. the notes given in VII.448: ‘Probably Éowyn should die to avenge of save Théoden.’ These notes contain also the suggestion that the mutual love of Éowyn and Aragorn should be removed” (J. Tolkien, WR 267). These notes indicate Tolkien felt as if the love of Aragorn and Éowyn had to be removed in order for her to reach her heroic potential.
When Arwen Undomiel was introduced in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien slated her into Éowyn’s former role in that she was going to be Aragorn’s love interest and eventual wife. The fact that she is the love interest of one who is destined to be king, combined with her initial introduction in The Fellowship of the Ring and description of beauty, “light of the stars was in her bright eyes…yet queenly she looked…she was the Evenstar of her people” (J. Tolkien, FR 221), points to her role as the Princess. Furthermore, the Princess has the definition of being a “reward” for the Hero. Arwen does not participate in the war in a heroic capacity in that she does not “ride out on errantry” (Enright) and stays behind in Rivendell. But above and beyond the fact that she replaces Éowyn, there are a couple of significant facts about her story with Aragorn that point toward Éowyn being better suited for a different role. Their love story is only briefly mentioned in the body of The Lord of the Rings and the majority is “told in the Appendix to the Return of the King” (Enright). This makes it clear that had Éowyn been in the same role, the story would have been all but eliminated from the overall narrative. Keeping that in mind, the addition of Arwen proves that Éowyn’s shift was extremely important for the story as a whole, and that this shift allowed her to grow from a minor character into a heroic female warrior similar to the skjaldmeyjar are in Old Norse literature.
The skjaldmeyjar in Old Norse literature are simply defined as shieldmaidens or female warriors, similar to Éowyn’s ultimate description as the shieldmaiden of Rohan. Éowyn and the Brynhilder of the Völsunga saga, share a number of narrative functions. The major function presented in Brynhildr’s story that connects with Éowyn’s is that of “Recognition”, where, as the name suggests the Hero’s identity is revealed to the other characters. In the Völsunga saga, Brynhildr is “mistake[n] for a man until [Sigurðr] removes her helmet” (Wallace 25). This form of recognition, while it comes at the beginning of the story, bears a striking resemblance to Éowyn’s recognition when “the helm of her secrecy had fallen from her, and her bright hair, released from its bonds, gleamed with pale gold upon her shoulders” (J. Tolkien, RK 823). There is also a second Brynhildr, who “appears in one chapter…in Bósa saga ok Herrauðs” (Wallace 24), and with whom Éowyn shares some traits, such as bravery during their battles as well as the tenacity to not compromise their independence at the end of their stories. In addition to these traits, both women participate in the same narrative functions. The first connection that can be made is that both women are of royal blood: Éowyn being the niece of a king but treated like a daughter, and Brynhildr being a king’s daughter. Both women share the “Struggle” and “Victory” functions of Propp’s 31 narratemes, which are described as a battle between the Hero and the Villain, “for living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him” (J. Tolkien, RK 823) and the subsequent defeat, “the outstretch neck [Éowyn] clove asunder, and the hewn head fell like a stone” (J. Tolkien, RK 823) of said villain. There is also another aspect of both characters that render their stories even more similar than they are now. In Brynhildr’s story, she encountered a man named Þvari who took care of her after her injuries in the battle and respected her for who she was, eventually marrying her. During their wedding, Brynhildr, ever the warrior, “sat at the bride’s bench with helmet and mail-coat, but their love was good anyway” (Wallace 44). This part of her story bears a striking resemblance to the end of Éowyn’s in The Return of the King. Faramir is described as a man who was “modest, fair-minded and scrupulously just, and very merciful” (Carpenter and C. Tolkien 344), and due to their similar backgrounds of both being motherless, was also said to have “understood Éowyn very well” (344). So it stands to reason that he, as Éowyn’s husband, would be the type to accept her as exactly who she is, including her ultimate decision to not revert to a completely domestic role “but [the choice of] an active career as a healer” (Woodard 4). The skjaldmeyjar clearly fit Propp’s definition of the Hero in that they are the key individuals around which their respective stories are told, and they are each seeking something during the course of their stories. The similarities that Éowyn shares with these warrior women indicate that she too falls into a heroic role in her own story rather than being a passive participant as in the Princess’ role.
Another character with whom Éowyn share a few traits and narrative functions is Rapunzel. The first function that the two of them share is that of “Reconnaissance”, in which the “villain seeks something” (“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.”). For Éowyn, her primary villain is the Witch-King who is seeking the Ring in order to return it to his master, Sauron. Rapunzel’s villain, on the other hand, is the enchantress who seems to only seek control over Rapunzel, causing her to “shut [Rapunzel] into a tower, which lay in a forest and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window” (J. Grimm and W. Grimm). These initial situations give way for each woman to prove her overall heroic abilities when the next narrative functions make their appearance. The “Delivery” function allows the Witch-King to find out that Éowyn is not a man but a woman, which catapults her heroism into its end stages and forces Éowyn to truly prove that it was worth her coming onto the battlefield. This function performs in a similar way for Rapunzel in that when the enchantress finds out about the prince climbing up to see Rapunzel, their “struggle” begins and she “clutche[s] Rapunzel’s beautiful tresses, wrap[s] them twice round her left hand, seize[s] a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, [cuts them off]” (J. Grimm and W. Grimm). As is the case with many fairytales and other stories, both Rapunzel and Éowyn defeat their villains. At first, Rapunzel’s “Victory” function appears softer than Éowyn’s in that she displays her healing powers after the prince “leapt down from the tower… [and] the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes” and she starts to cry, causing “two of her tears [to wet] his eyes and [become] clear again, and [allowing him to] see with them as before” (J. Grimm and W. Grimm). That is the defeat of the enchantress as it is presented in her story, with no death, versus Éowyn’s “Victory” in actually killing the Witch-King. That being said, both women share the power of healing, though Éowyn’s power appears after her “Victory” instead of appearing during the “Victory” as does Rapunzel’s healing power. Her main story after the Battle of Pelennor Fields and her defeat of the Witch-King is primarily in connection with Faramir. Both individuals had been wounded badly, both physically and emotionally, and now must “understand that skill in battle, though they have it to a high degree, is not enough for peace and wholes. Together, they must find healing” (Enright). Éowyn’s personal healing encompasses another shift for her character “from a desire for power and domination (i.e. as a queen) to the desire to heal and help things grow” (Enright). The decision to become a healer is a softer power, though it does not diminish the heroic qualities in Éowyn’s character in any way. Instead, it reinforces her heroic qualities and highlights her similarities with Rapunzel’s character. These women demonstrate that being a Hero is not limited to simply the destructive power that is displayed on battlefields and can include healing others, which can be considered a heroic quality because it is selfless. As well, the healing power that both Rapunzel and Éowyn exhibit demonstrates the innate kindness that both women have in their hearts. The final narrative function that Rapunzel and Éowyn share during the course of their stories is the Wedding function, where the Hero gets married at the end of the narrative. This function demonstrates that each woman has learned from their experiences. For Rapunzel, she learns from her years locked up inside the tower that she truly wants companionship. In Éowyn’s case, she seems to have learned from her time as a shieldmaiden that not only can she still be a Hero even if she is not on the battlefield. She expresses her newfound role as a Hero when she remarks that she will not “take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren” (J. Tolkien, RK 943).
The Chinese legend of Hua Mu Lan, an ancient female warrior, is perhaps the strongest story that can be connected to Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings. The first major connection that can be made through the two of them is through the “Villany and Lack” function, which is defined as the time where “the need is identified” (“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.”). The function that immediately follows, the “Mediation” function, is where the Hero discovers said need. In each woman’s story there is the identical need for strong soldiers and other men to fight in the war to protect their people. Of course, both women find out that soldiers are needed, but it is during the “Counteraction” function, defined as the time when the Hero makes a decision to act on the need, where the specific events differ slightly. For Hua Mu Lan, she feels the need to fight because she is “young and healthy, and [her father has] no eldest son” (Chin and Wang 6) and therefore decides that she is going to “dress in warrior’s clothes, walking and talking like a man, so no one ever knows” (Chin and Wang 6). When the initial comparison of these events to Éowyn’s own discovery of the need is made, it seems like the situations are quite different. After all, Éowyn has no elderly father to think about and her desire to fight in the war is a personal desire to protect the people of Rohan. But, the similarities are still unquestionable in that both women make the courageous decision to disguise themselves as men and ride off to what they believe will be almost certain death. The next functions, the “Struggle” and eventual “Victory,” not only highlight the courage that Hua Mu Lan and Éowyn displayed when they made their decision to fight, but also demonstrate the integral and heroic role that both women play in their wars. In Hua Mu Lan’s story, it is looking as if their army is going to lose the fight against their enemy, but she keeps on fighting against the enemy and eventually Hua Mu Lan’s “shout is heard, ‘Brave sons of China follow me!’ … [and it is] her courage [that] wins the day as she fights with her sword and spear” (Chin and Wang 12). As has been discussed previously, Éowyn’s struggle and victory is encompassed during her battle against the Witch-King and his words telling her that “no living man can hinder [him]” (J. Tolkien, RK 823). This unmistakably demonstrates Éowyn’s vital role because she is a woman and therefore the only one on the battlefield who would have been able to kill the Witch-King. It is also quite obvious that both women do not fall into Propp’s definition of the typical female fairy story role of the princess simply because they are in battle where the Princess would not be. The final major heroic narrative function that the two of them share is that of “Recognition,” which Propp defines as the point in the story where the hero is revealed. Typically, there is a separate “False Hero” who is mistaken for the Hero and the recognition comes when this situation is resolved. In both Mu Lan’s and Éowyn’s case it is actually the revelation of their true identities that lifts the mask of the False Hero and reveals the true identity underneath. In the final stages of their stories, which include the Wedding function for both women, they show the strength that they learned throughout their time in their wars and use it to their advantage. It is clear that neither woman wanted to be the typical domestic female in a more princess-like role, including afterwards when there was no more fighting to be done. One might assume that the women would be forced or expected to fulfill a more traditional “domestic” role post-conflict, but this turns out not to be the case. A man who was in the army with Hua Mu Lan asked her to become his wife, but before she agreed Hua Mu Lan communicated her desire for equality and respect in the relationship when she questions him as to whether they will “play a different game [because he] treat[s] [his] friends with honor. Can your wife expect the same?” (Chin and Wang 28). For Éowyn, it was a similar situation in that she ensured that her potential mate would accept her heroic personality and not subject her to a completely domestic, inferior life. As evidenced in this paragraph, Éowyn and Hua Mu Lan share in many of the same narrative functions, which in turn allow them to share in some of the same character traits. The first narrative major trait that both women share is that of protectiveness towards their families and the people in their respective regions. In addition to this, their decisions to plunge into battle exhibit their bravery and commitment to their protectiveness. Finally, both Éowyn and Hua Mu Lan show an extremely high level of tenacity when they decide not to settle for a husband who would not let them be who they are.
Éowyn’s role was extremely important in The Lord of the Rings, both as a woman and as a Hero. As Gandalf put it, “[they] had horses, and deeds of arms, and the free fields; but she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of [theirs]” (J. Tolkien, RK 848-849). This provides even more proof that Éowyn was indeed a Hero in the trilogy even despite the expectation for her to be a Princess as she was a woman. Ultimately it is Éowyn’s courage and love for her people and her uncle that is the salvation of Man in The Battle of Pelennor Fields. Éowyn grows as a character through some of Propp’s narrative functions such as Recognition, Struggle, and Victory in the case of the skjaldmeyjar in Old Norse literature. She also grows in relation to the fairy story of Rapunzel with respect to the Reconnaissance, Delivery, Struggle, Victory, and Wedding functions. Finally, the legend of Hua Mu Lan is the story with which Éowyn has the most similarities with and, while she demonstrates courage just as each of the others do, the courage that she and Mu Lan both exhibit is uncannily similar to one another. Both she and Mu Lan share in the Villainy and Lack, Mediation, and Counteraction functions, as well as the common Struggle, Victory, Recognition, and Wedding functions as in the other examples. But above and beyond these narrative functions, Éowyn exhibits the same love and courage as Hua Mu Lan in that they both ride to war to help a man they love as a father as well as to protect their people, and all of this is done with a great personal risk and sacrifice. However, Éowyn would not have been able to perform in this heroic role had J.R.R. Tolkien not realized that Aragorn was “too old and lordly and grim” (J. Tolkien, TI 448) and decided to add in the character of Arwen Undomiel, Evenstar of her people. With that decision, Tolkien moved Arwen into the role of Aragorn’s love and Propp’s definition of the Princess role in his eight dramatis personae, thus freeing Éowyn to make the transition to her ultimate role as one of the Heroes of Middle Earth.
Works Cited
Carpenter, Humphrey, and Tolkien, Christopher, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. By J.R.R. Tolkien. Mariner Books, 2000. Print.
Chin, Charlie, and Wang, Xing Chu. China’s Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan. Emeryville: Children’s Book Press, 1993. Print.
Enright, Nancy. “Tolkien’s Females and the Defining of Power.” Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 59.2 (2007): n. pag. Web. 17 November 2012.
Grimm, Jacob, and Grimm, Wilhelm. “Rapunzel.” All Family Resources. (2007). Wem. 17 November 2012. http://www.familymanagement.com/literacy/grimms/grimms09.html.
“Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale.” Changing Minds. N.p., n.d.. Web. 17 November 2012. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/propp_morphology.
Tolkien, John R.R. Lord of the Rings. Great Britain: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Print.
—. The War of the Ring: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8) Ed. Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1900. Print.
—. Treason of Isengard: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 7.) Ed. Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Print.
Wallace, Anna. “A Wild Shieldmaiden of the North: Éowyn of Rohan and Old Norse Literature.” Philament 17 (2011): 23-45. Web. 17 November 2012.
Woodard, Hannah. “The Shieldmaiden of Rohan.” Taylor University (2010) Web. November 17th 2012. http://library.taylor.edu/dotAsset/98a31375-1c0d-42c2-8a3e-7e991f9bda9b.pdf.
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