Eowyn and Faramir: Choosing Quiet Domesticity

I'm sure many people have noted that Eowyn in Lord of the Rings, though a strong warrior woman, chooses quiet domesticity in the end.

Thing is, she is not alone.

Faramir too chooses quiet domesticity with her.

So do Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Bilbo.

It is not just the woman warrior who chooses quiet domesticity when given the chance in Lord of the Rings.

Virtually all of the men, too, save only those who are evil and crave power, also, when given a chance, chose quiet domesticity.

Men such as Faramir, Aragorn, Elrond, and even Gandalf choose the warrior's path only because it is necessary.

All the heroes, male and female, would choose quiet domesticity if given the chance.

Even Boromir chooses the warrior's path only because danger is out there and it is necessary- danger is all he knows, just like Eowyn.

If he had ever known a chance to be spared danger and duty, like Eowyn did, he too would discover and chose the path of quiet domesticity.

The experience of Eowyn and Faramir in the book when they meet lying in the hospital is a very moving one, one which Tolkien himself knew very well.

This is the experience of the men and women who had to go to war in World War I and World War II, among them, in the first World War, Tolkien himself and his beloved Edith.

This is a soldier and his war bride in 1918 meeting after the war and finally getting a chance to move on.

Tolkien here knows that given the chance, the men and not just the women would choose quiet domesticity if they only could, if duty did not call them.

For not only does Eowyn choose quiet domesticity.

So does Faramir.

And it is perhaps the most moving section in the entire series of books!

A happy ending for both Eowyn and Faramir, a happy ending both have been longing for, whether they know it or not!

God loves you!  Seek happiness- you deserve it!

Sincerely,

David S. Annderson