Movie Character of the Week: Eowyn of Rohan by Yumi

 

  "No living man am I! You look upon a woman! Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. Begone if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him"

From what movie: Lord of the Rings 

Actress: Miranda Otto

Short Background:

Éowyn was a noblewoman/shieldmaiden of Rohan, daughter of Éomund and Theodwyn, younger sister of Éomer and niece of King Théoden. Forced to spend most of her youth caring for Théoden in his declining years, she yearned for an opportunity to prove herself in battle. She was driven to despair by her unrequited love for Aragorn. When she was rebuffed by the men she longed to accompany into battle, she disguised herself as a man and accompanied the Rohirrim army to Minas Tirith, where she won great renown in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by slaying the Witch-King of Angmar, with the help of Meriadoc Brandybuck, whom she had carried with her. Severely wounded by the Ring Wraith, she nearly died, but recovered with Aragorn's help in The Houses of Healing. There she met Faramir, the Steward of Gondor, and fell in love with him. The two married in TA 3020, and settled in Ithilien after the War of the Ring.  

Yumi's Insights:

Eowyn is one of my favorite movie characters and I admire her fully for her personality and bravery. Applying the Feminist film theory, I could say that she's not a typical woman or a female to be viewed as a 'sex object' or passive character though throughout the film of LOTR, she's discriminated by being not allowed to join the battles and fight; And this is obviously because of her gender as a female. In LOTR, human females are not to fight and they are nothing but passive characters who did nothing but to mourn for the death of their men, hope that they will return or take care of the children from the background. They're not really doing anything different except from the typical things women used to do even in real life. But Eowyn is a hell lot of different from the others, she proved to many that she's not just a woman to be kept in the house, that she can also do what men can do--and this is proven when she slayed the Witch King. She's such a strong woman and deserved a better title than being a Shield Maiden alone. I can say that Eowyn symbolizes those women who worked hard and can do things like what men can also do. 

 

~YL(Mary Louise O. Sarion)

Resources:

www.fanpop.com

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/%C3%89owyn

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/3000000/Eowyn-lord-of-the-rings-3060264-1024-768.jpg

stock knowledge XD