A woman’s history of the world

[altariel]

A woman’s history of the world in nine drabbles.

Sister-daughter (Théoden)

Are you there, beloved sister, are you there? I see you sometimes, from the corner of my eye, wandering these halls, but pale and cold and silent. It is long now since we danced through Edoras till dawn, and they say that you are gone, long gone. Who is this then that haunts these halls, so pale and cold and silent? Who, sister, if not you? They say that you are gone, long gone, a grief that should have faded with spring flowers. And yet she walks these halls, she haunts them. Who is she, sister, if not your shade?

House of lamentation (Théodred)

The night before I left for the Fords I went in search of her through the darkening hall. Long I sought her, and at times it seemed that I could hear her quick footsteps ahead, but, turning a corner, found her already gone. Like a maze this hall has seemed of late, and I come daily to think there is no way out. Save one.

There she is, now! Quickly, I give chase. Before her pale figure can slip away again, I call, “Cousin!” And she stops and turns, and I hold her – dear sister! – and I promise better days.

Touched by frost (Gríma)

Does it sicken you, lady, to see what I see? Your uncle demented, your brother a fool? Do you brood on it, lady, throughout darkening nights; in the cold, by yourself, do you curse fate and flesh that trammels you so? I would guess that you long to see new better days, that unsleeping you pray this disease will soon end. And my prayer is yours, lady! My hopes mirror yours! – I would see this place ordered, and bettered, and cleansed. We are more alike, lady, than you care to admit. And one day I shall make you my queen.

The ill chances of the world (Aragorn)

And what would I say, lady, should I come at last to the end of the path that I must now follow, and see your uncle and your brother again? How would I say that I took you into danger? That I led you towards death? Not your sadness, lady, nor my own shame can persuade me, though my heart hangs heavy in my breast.

Our fates are set and I cannot divert them. Fair lady of sorrows, you must stay. Duty demands sacrifices of us all. Your home is here. You have no place or purpose in the south.

No living man (Merry)

Éowyn! You must not die, not one so fair! You must not die still desperate! Éowyn, so brave, so fair – a better day is coming, I am sure! You must not blench now, you must not fail, though the black breath blows and the Rider and its monstrous steed bear down upon us – Éowyn! The winged beast is dead, but the Black Rider comes like a cloud, like despair, like death. I will help you! I must – and my northern blade is true.

Éowyn! Strike now! End this terror! And then live, fair lady, live the life that you desire...

Bitter watch (Éomer)

In my memory, sister, you are so small; small and fierce and silent. Together we stand, waiting for our uncle, and I ache for you and grip your hand. You whisper to me, “Fear not, brother. I am at your side.”

Duty sent me to the marches; duty kept you to the hall. And when I rode, I would keep the last image of you in mind – standing on the threshold, tall and fierce and silent, indomitable, proud keeper of the hall.

Ah Éowyn – how did I lose sight of you? Why did I not see how you had changed?

Daughter of kings (Gandalf)

And how will they sing your song in the end, I wonder? Will they recall the long years of dutiful waiting, watching a loved old man fall, and without the chance of aiding him? Will they guess how grim the nights could be, the walls pressing, the key turned, all hope of a future locked away? Will they hear your footsteps pacing your prison; will they listen to how you cried out, to what you cried out – and try to understand? Or will they seek to blame?

Will they forgive you, Éowyn, honour you? Or will they only ever judge?

The speech of living men (Faramir)

Fair lady, if I but had the words to capture it, I would sing to the world your worth. Your fortitude through those long years alone in that darkening hall. Your steel in rejecting your cage, in resisting all the petty tyrannies and cruel restraints that men had put upon you and called duty. Your valour in the great battle of our time. And, at last, your courage, when you turned from the Shadow to the sunlight, risking joy.

“No longer do I desire to be a queen,” you said. Most happily, I think. For I am not a king.

Sunlit sky (Théodwyn)

And what would I give you – little girl, little queen – if everything in this wide world was mine to give you? I would give you stars, to set a crown upon your beauty. I would give you sunlight, to warm you and to bless you. I would give you strength, for the battles ahead will require from you all the courage that men must show, and more besides. I would give you steel to forge your own way. I give you love already; I would add life and joy and voice. And I would not demand you be a sacrifice.

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this insight into Éowyn! I think she may be my favourite female character in Lord of the Rings and always thought it was a horrible thing that 'duty' should stop her from going to the wars, just because she was a woman. We never get to hear enough of her story, though so I am pleased to have someone delve into it, even if you did make me cry!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I hope it was the good kind of cry! Eowyn was my favourite female character too (although Galadriel was the one I aspired to - hence pseudonym!). I doubt Tolkien was much of a feminist, but it's fascinating how well he lets this character articulate a kind of proto-feminist consciousness.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, these are so very sad and beautiful! There is far too little Éowyn fic out there, and most of it doesn't pay her true respects. Éowyn was my favourite character in The Books when I read them as a young girl (so long ago that I barely remember the time), and I still love her beyond measure.

Thank you for honouring her with so beautiful words... and such true ones. *is particularly pissed at Aragorn*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get pissed off with Aragorn when I read his conversations with Eowyn too. I'm really glad you liked these. She was my favourite as a young reader too. (And the Elf-Queen, of course!)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

That's very good indeed. It rather has the flavour of poetry rather than prose. I thought that "risking joy" was a particularly brilliant expression.

One typo: "Our fates our set..."

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm really glad you liked them! mraltariel suggested organizing the lines like poetry, but I don't think of myself as a poet. (And thank you for spotting that typo, oops!)

[muuranker.livejournal.com]

Lovely. Typical Eowyn, that her voice is the silence, in-between.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you, yes, that's exactly what I was aiming for.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

I want to punch Aragorn.

And Théodwyn's blessing made me cry.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd like to punch him too. (We call him "Aragorn-the-great-pranny".)

*hugs you*

[wormwood-7.livejournal.com]

Lovely.
The images of Eowyn walking her own halls like a ghost and how she is seen, or not seen, by the people around her are haunting.
I liked how she dared "risking joy" in the end and how you ended the drabble series with Theodwyn's wishes for the daughter she didn't live to see grow up. Very poignant.
Thank you for sharing these!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was particularly pleased with "risking joy", I think that can be a risky prospect for people. It felt really important to end on a woman's voice. At first, I was going to use her grandmother, Morwen, but then I thought, "Well, why not her mother?"

[uitlander]

*applause*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Wonderful. Eowyn is such a wonderful character, she almost makes up for the lack of women in the book. These drabbles more than do her justice.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked them. I love Galadriel too, obviously, but she's more of a goddess than an actual woman.

[fallingtowers.livejournal.com]

Such a heart-rendering tribute to Éowyn, who is forced to be the spectator from the sidelines for so long and much of whose story is shaped and told by the male heroes of the narrative. But she shines through every word you write, both her cool and hard aloofness and her fierce desire to live and grow. And the way you gave her a mother's blessing made me cry.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad these worked for you. It amazes me, really, how well Tolkien seems to understand the difficulties of such a young woman in Eowyn's situation. I wonder if this was how he felt it must have been for his mother, when her family were angry about her converting to Catholicism.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! Beautifully written, and really catches the truth of the originals. The Merry one made me cry, too.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I hope it was the good sort of cry. I love Merry, my favourite of the hobbits, light-hearted, yet clever and sympathetic. I think he would admire Eowyn uncomplicatedly, for herself, rather than what she should be. Perhaps one day I'll write about Faramir quizzing him for information about her in the Houses of Healing.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Perhaps one day I'll write about Faramir quizzing him for information about her in the Houses of Healing.
Please do! I for one would very much like to read that. Faramir is very dear to me and I was very angry with what was done to his character in the films.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's been hanging around the hindbrain for a while. It's one of the few remaining bits in the Houses of Healing that I haven't mined yet for fic!

(I also want to do a piece about Faramir and Galadriel meeting, as I think They Need To Talk About Boromir.)

[furius.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for these. I still remember Eowyn being a breath of fresh air when I first encountered her in LotR. These drabbles are beautiful and provide so much insight into her character and the world she lived in.

I especially loved Eomer's view, the idea that duty bound them all and the shadow, too, haunts them all and yet Eowyn, too, like the male heroes, found her way through the darkness....


Duty sent me to the marches; duty kept you to the hall. And when I rode, I would keep the last image of you in mind – standing on the threshold, tall and fierce and silent, indomitable, proud keeper of the hall.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad they worked for you. We see so few women, never mind young women like Eowyn. I think Eomer is learning to see the similarities in their situation.

[vasiliki.livejournal.com]

WONDERFUL! <3

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[kerravonsen]

Lovely!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! My pleasure.

[dkpalaska.livejournal.com]

Came over after reading on TFF, and had to put in pleas for Faramir and Merry! And Morwen and Eowyn. Hasn't that come up before? Has someone written them together?

Again: Beautiful! Thank you.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

So delighted that you liked them, I really hoped you would! :-)

I drabbled Morwen and Eowyn, and put some hints of their relationship in In a Stone City.

Merry and Faramir have been long on my list! I'll get the hindbrain ticking over!

[dkpalaska.livejournal.com]

*double forehead smack* Of course! It was lost my fragmented brain, I'm afraid, with only a vague teaser memory able to creep out.

I still think that is such a sublime drabble that you did for Dwim.

Also reminds me that I need to reread AGoC and In a Stone City again...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's ages since I've been able to read AGoC. Can't go back there! But I took a peek at "Stone City" again after linking you to it, and I was fairly pleased with what I saw. There's more Morwen in it than I remembered too!