No sleep, mostly because the dog is occupying my side of the bed. Anyhow, doing some catching up.
I think that our differences here stem not in the book but in personal perceptions. So I'll get personal in a purely personal way.
At every turn Eowyn is told, "No, you can't do that, cos you're a girl." I cannot tell you how many times I was told that as a child, an adolescent, and as a young adult. I still hear it occasionally (and take rather ebil pleasure in then fixing that motorcyle, or planning a better treehouse). And the thing about people who say, "No you can't cos you're a girl" is that they also have very clear ideas about what it is girls should do. These days darning socks is a skill quite lost (just buy new ones), but there are still a helluva lot of men (and women) who believe that a woman's place is in the home, and that 'the home' begins in her husband's bed and ends there after she's dutifully put their children to bed.
You might not see that in the story, and that's fine, but as a woman, I see it quite plainly and I'm not alone.
My take on Eowyn has her saying:
I was a fool, and I bent my knee to a man who will never forget that. Aragorn wouldn't call me weak for it, not after Pelennor Fields– he's too good a man to disparage even a woman's strength, but he'd call me womanish and never his equal. I don't think it too much to want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone, and face the same hardships and joys. But I'm made to feel, by men like Aragorn and a few nobles of Rohan, that what I want is beyond any reasonable expectation.
I think you'll recognize book!Eowyn there, but my take on her is a lot stronger, and instead of telling her, "No, you can't do that cos you're a girl," as writer I'm asking, "Eowyn, as a woman, what can't you do?"
I don't think there's any doubt as to which is fairer handling.
no subject
I think that our differences here stem not in the book but in personal perceptions. So I'll get personal in a purely personal way.
At every turn Eowyn is told, "No, you can't do that, cos you're a girl." I cannot tell you how many times I was told that as a child, an adolescent, and as a young adult. I still hear it occasionally (and take rather ebil pleasure in then fixing that motorcyle, or planning a better treehouse). And the thing about people who say, "No you can't cos you're a girl" is that they also have very clear ideas about what it is girls should do. These days darning socks is a skill quite lost (just buy new ones), but there are still a helluva lot of men (and women) who believe that a woman's place is in the home, and that 'the home' begins in her husband's bed and ends there after she's dutifully put their children to bed.
You might not see that in the story, and that's fine, but as a woman, I see it quite plainly and I'm not alone.
My take on Eowyn has her saying:
I was a fool, and I bent my knee to a man who will never forget that. Aragorn wouldn't call me weak for it, not after Pelennor Fields– he's too good a man to disparage even a woman's strength, but he'd call me womanish and never his equal. I don't think it too much to want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone, and face the same hardships and joys. But I'm made to feel, by men like Aragorn and a few nobles of Rohan, that what I want is beyond any reasonable expectation.
I think you'll recognize book!Eowyn there, but my take on her is a lot stronger, and instead of telling her, "No, you can't do that cos you're a girl," as writer I'm asking, "Eowyn, as a woman, what can't you do?"
I don't think there's any doubt as to which is fairer handling.
Just saying...
–Nici