Éowyn’s storyline in The Return of the King is a fan favourite: the sword-wielding princess who disobeys her uncle the King in order to seek battle. Oddly enough, however, this isn’t the first time such a thing happens in Middle-earth. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien tells us about Prince Faramir, son of King Ondoher of Gondor, whose story takes place some 1100 years earlier.
Prince Faramir, like his namesake in The Lord of the Rings, is the younger son. When King Ondoher and his firstborn son march against the Wainriders, Prince Faramir is left at home to rule in his father’s absence – the laws of Gondor require that at least one royal heir not go to battle. But just like Éowyn, Faramir is discontent at the thought of staying home while his brother and friends ride out to glory. He disguises himself and goes with the army. Unlike the Princess of Rohan, however, Prince Faramir is slain in battle, ending the line of Anárion, for his father and brother are killed as well.
The basic story is exactly the same: Éowyn and Prince Faramir are the last of their houses. As her uncle and his father leave for war, the Princess and the Prince are instructed to rule the people, to defend their cities if worst comes to worst. Yet, discontent with such a critically important position, they feel they must find glory on the battlefield.
Éowyn’s escapade, of course, turns out relatively well. She saves King Théoden’s body from dishonour and deals the Witch-king’s deathblow, and even if she had died, well, Éomer survived, right? It’s tempting to think this means that if it turns out well, it’s worth being disobedient even in such a critical time. But Prince Faramir’s story does not end happily. The similarities between the two form a warning (intended by Tolkien or not) against exactly that idea. Prince Faramir’s rash disobedience singlehandedly destroys the line of Kings, relegating Gondor to years of rule by stewards. The same could so easily have happened to the House of Eorl.
It’s a funny thing that Éowyn winds up marrying someone named Faramir. Coincidence? I think not!
Benita J. Prins is a Christian fantasy writer who will never deny her work is highly influenced by Tolkien’s. She has two published books and several more on the way. Find out more about her work at benitajprins.wordpress.com.
Thank you to Benita J. Prins for this lovely guest post commemorating the 61st anniversary of the publishing of the Return of the King. Rather swamped by the 'History of Middle-earth series" I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the Unfinished Tales, but I look forward to doing so.
~Goldenrod
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love getting comments. Even ones that have nothing to do with anything.