I thought finding a Lady I Love for the letter E was going to be a tough one in the A to Z Challenge, but if you haven’t figured it out by now, I do have a bit of a geeky side to me which means literary resources abound. And today that will manifest itself in the form of crushing on one of my favorite fictional characters, Éowyn from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read the trilogy many years ago, and my all-time favorite scene by far is from Return of the King, when Éowyn is fighting the Witch King during the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Although Éowyn was a trained shieldmaiden of Rohan, her uncle, King Theoden, ordered her to stay behind with the women and children to guide their people while the men went to their almost certain doom to fight against the tides of Sauron. She said, “screw that” and disobeyed him, dressing and acting as a man to sneak her way into the battle. In the book, she meets the Witch King (the head of the ghost kings with the Nazgul) on the battlefield just as he has injured Theoden. The Witch King is all, “No living man may hinder me!” because there’s a prophecy that states that the Witch King could not be felled by the hands of a man. But Éowyn takes off her helmet and reveals herself, saying:
But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.
And the dumb-ass Witch King attacks her, but surprise! Éowyn ends up kicking his ass and killing him. Well, Theoden still dies, but it is a fantastic scene. The movie plays it down a little bit, but it’s still a highlight for me. To get the full impact, you really should read the book, but here’s a clip for you to enjoy in the meantime!
Fuzzy Undertones 
I really think it might be time for me to introduce myself to some Tolkien!
Yes!!! I recommend reading “The Hobbit” first – it gives some great background info to the whole story and there’s some humor in it, too. But I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy for sure – Return of the King is my favorite! 🙂
LOVE your blog! Your humor is right perfect with mine 🙂 Roller derby? Super cool! Will be following! Your Challenge posts are awesome!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you stopping by – and I took a look at your site; your watercolors are AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for the rest of April! 😉
Yep! Badass for sure. And one of my favourite scenes too!
Totally! Thanks for stopping by – and Iove your short but sweet quotes, too! 😀
Thank you, Marci!
Yes! Eowyn was awesome. And I loved how she and Faramir ended up together–awesome pairing. That scene where they watched Mordor collapse from the walls of Minas Tirith is one of my favorites.
I totally agree – Faramir was a much better match for her than Aragorn! Thanks for stopping by, Joe! 🙂
Awesome. Love Eowyn. Great moment in the film as well. Her confidence and bravery are great for anyone to emulate! Gail
I agree, Gail! Eowyn embodies so many great traits – not only confidence and bravery, but empathy and loyalty, as well. Such a great scene in the book. 🙂
Great theme! And one of my favorite scenes in the trilogy, too! Looking forward to the rest.
Geri
http://www.gerijeter.com
Thanks so much, Geri! I appreciate you stopping by 😀
You’re right. She was more badass in the book. That speech rocks. Pity they downplayed it in the movie.
I know – I wish they had given her the spotlight a little more in that scene, but I suppose it’s more than some characters got – some really great characters in the book were left out of the films entirely! Oh well – Eowyn is awesome regardless! 😀
Yes! Eowyn rocks. Thanks for mentioning her. Great post.
Thanks, Donna!!! I appreciate you stopping by! 🙂